Baylor Bears fans and bettors alike are still celebrating Monday night’s impressive 86-70 upset over the favored Gonzaga Bulldogs in this year’s NCAA Tournament’s championship game. It was the first time Baylor won the March Madness tournament.
¡Where to Bet on the March Madness Tournament
Baylor closed as a +175 underdog on the betting money line. It was a 4.5-point underdog on the closing spread. This was Gonzaga’s only loss of the year against 31 straight victories.
Turning the page towards next season, several online sportsbooks wasted little time in posting the early betting odds to win the 2022 NCAA Tournament for men’s college basketball.
Top Contenders to Win the 2022 March Madness Tournament
Gonzaga +900
Baylor +1200
UCLA +1200
Florida State +1400
Michigan +1400
Ohio State +1400
Villanova +1400
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Both Gonzaga and Baylor have built a college basketball program that quicky reloads on lost talent while also keeping underclassmen on the roster for longer than one season. Interestingly enough, the Bulldogs only have two seniors on this year’s player roster. That immediately adds value to their betting odds for winning the 2022 national title. Playing out of the West Coast Conference also provides a rather clear path to another No. 1 seed in next year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Bears went 28-2 in their national title run, saving their best performance for the last game of the season. A quick look at their roster points to another deep run in 2022. They will lose MaCio Teague and Mark Vital as seniors. However, those are two holes that can be filled. Baylor does face some much tougher competition throughout the year playing in the Big 12 but that may have actually seasoned this team for its successful postseason run.
None of the other schools on this short list are that big of a surprise. UCLA may be a bit overhyped right now (and overvalued) in light of the Bruins’ amazing run this this year’s Final Four. They took Gonzaga to overtime before losing that semifinal matchup on a last-second three-point bucket.
The Florida State Seminoles appear to be the class of the ACC right now with Duke taking a big step backwards in 2021. Also, the North Carolina Tar Heels are faced with life after Roy Williams as their long-time coach. That torch has already been handed to Hubert Davis.
Both Michigan and Ohio State should top the list in the Big Ten. Yet, both the Wolverines and the Buckeyes need to quickly move on from failing to live up to expectations in this year’s Big Dance.
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You can never count out the Big East’s Villanova Wildcats when it comes to winning a national title. This is another basketball program that is designed for continued success year after year.
With Jay Wright as head coach, replacing any lost talent has become much easier to do. The loss of team’s best player Collin Gillespie late in the season all but derailed this year’s national title chances. As a senior, that is one void that needs to be filled.
When it comes to the NCAAB futures odds (What Is a Futures Wager?) for two other prominent programs, Duke is on the board at +1600 odds. Keeping the Blue Devils out of the mix two seasons in a row does not seem likely.
The same could be said for the SEC’s Kentucky Wildcats. This program was another major disappointment in 2021. The Wildcats’ odds to rebound with a national title run next season are +1800.
