Searching for next year’s Gonzaga in odds to win the 2018 national championship

By Case Keefer (contact)

Tuesday, April 4, 2017 | 12:08 p.m.

Gonzaga fell a few minutes short of overcoming 100-to-1 odds from the beginning of the season to win college basketball’s national championship last night.

Of course, anyone who actually bought the 100-to-1 price could have easily secured a profit by hedging on the Bulldogs as they turned a near-perfect season into a Final Four berth. That would have taken some of the sting out of Gonzaga’s 71-65 loss to North Carolina as closing 1-point underdogs in Glendale, Ariz.

At this time last year, the Tar Heels opened at 15-to-1 before spending most of the season lower than that after establishing themselves as one of the best teams in the nation. Both North Carolina and Gonzaga sit behind only three teams at 12-to-1 to win next year’s championship as the futures opened at Westgate Las Vegas Superbook earlier this week.

The Bulldogs’ run was a reminder that there’s value to be mined at the onset of future odds popping up around town, no matter how far away next year’s Final Four in San Antonio may seem. Inspired by Gonzaga, Talking Points has labeled some long shots that might have a better chance than oddsmakers give them below.

Find the full list of betting odds to win the 2018 college basketball national championship below, with a few of the blog’s favorite bets bolded.

Kentucky — 10-to-1

Louisville — 10-to-1

Duke — 10-to-1

North Carolina — 12-to-1

Gonzaga — 12-to-1

Kansas — 12-to-1

Villanova — 12-to-1

Arizona — 15-to-1

Michigan — 20-to-1

Indiana — 20-to-1

Wichita State — 20-to-1

Florida — 20-to-1

Michigan State — 20-to-1

Butler — 25-to-1

West Virginia — 25-to-1

UCLA — 25-to-1

Virginia — 30-to-1

Oklahoma — 40-to-1

Florida State — 40-to-1

St. Mary’s — 40-to-1

Baylor — 50-to-1

Miami — 50-to-1

Oregon — 60-to-1

Seton Hall — 60-to-1

Purdue — 60-to-1

USC — 60-to-1

Wisconsin — 80-to-1

Xavier — 80-to-1

SMU — 80-to-1

Cincinnati — 80-to-1

Iowa State — 80-to-1

Creighton — 80-to-1

Alabama — 80-to-1

Vanderbilt — 80-to-1

Notre Dame — 80-to-1

Connecticut — 100-to-1

VCU — 100-to-1

Virginia Tech — 100-to-1

Syracuse — 100-to-1

Marquette — 100-to-1

Maryland — 100-to-1

Minnesota — 100-to-1

Northwestern — 100-to-1

Illinois — 100-to-1

Arkansas — 100-to-1

South Carolina — 100-to-1

Texas A&M — 100-to-1

UNR — 100-to-1

San Diego State — 100-to-1

Utah — 100-to-1

Providence — 200-to-1

Georgetown — 200-to-1

Georgia — 200-to-1

Oklahoma State — 300-to-1

Kansas State — 300-to-1

TCU — 300-to-1

Texas Tech — 300-to-1

Dayton — 300-to-1

Rhode Island — 300-to-1

Wake Forest — 300-to-1

Clemson — 300-to-1

St. John’s — 300-to-1

Iowa — 300-to-1

Ohio State — 300-to-1

Penn State — 300-to-1

Nebraska — 300-to-1

Texas — 300-to-1

Illinois State — 300-to-1

Ole Miss — 300-to-1

Tennessee — 300-to-1

Auburn — 300-to-1

Mississippi State — 300-to-1

Missouri — 300-to-1

BYU — 300-to-1

California — 300-to-1

Colorado — 300-to-1

Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.