College Basketball Futures: Who is Going to Win 2021 NCAAM?
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Although the new season hasn’t even started, now seems like the perfect time to talk about basketball futures. Who is going to win 2021 NCAAM championship? According to online sportsbooks, there are three early favorites – Gonzaga, Villanova, and Iowa.
In this article, we’re going to examine the odds of those teams, as well as provide useful info about the 2021 NCAA basketball season in general. So, let’s start!
2021 College Basketball Season in a Nutshell
The new season of college basketball starts on Wednesday, November 25. It was supposed to start two weeks earlier, but was postponed due to COVID-19 worries.
The regular season is supposed to finish in April, followed by March Madness, and the National Championship Game that should take place on April 5.
All the conferences except the Ivy League have released their schedules for the new season. The Ivy League colleges, however, have decided not to take part in any sports competitions this winter.
The teams that will compete in the 2021 NCAAM season will play no more 27 games in the regular season, which is the maximum set by the committee in charge.
When it comes to March Madness, it starts on March 14 with Selection Sunday. The rest of the planned March Madness schedule goes as follows:
- First Four: March 16-17
- First Round: March 18-19
- Second Round: March 20-21
- Sweet 16: March 25-26
- Elite Eight: March 27-28
- Final Four: April 3
- National Championship: April 5
What Sportsbooks Think Who is Going to Win 2021 NCAAM?
A few days before the official start of the 2021 NCAAM season, online sportsbooks are giving +1000 odds on three teams. Those are Gonzaga, Villanova, and Iowa, each of which has the same chance of winning the championship in April, according to bookies.
Apart from the three main favorites, sportsbooks also think Baylor and Kentucky might get themselves involved in the title race.
To find out which other teams are given reasonable odds for winning the 2021 NCAAM, take a look at the list of favorites:
- Gonzaga +1000
- Villanova +1000
- Iowa +1000
- Baylor +1200
- Kentucky +1400
- Virginia +1800
- Duke +1800
- Texas Tech +1800
- Kansas +2000
- Michigan State +2000
- Illinois +2000
- Tennessee +2000
What Do Handicappers from the FatCatBat Think?
If you’re wondering what we think who is going to win 2021 NCAAM, our answer is: probably not one of the top three candidates. Although Gonzaga, Villanova, and Iowa have good players this season, we expect a dark horse to win the title.
Why? Because we live in crazy times, when COVID-19 pandemic is keeping the fans away from the arenas. Furthermore, there’s also the risk that star players might test positive for coronavirus, which would keep them off the court for at least a couple of weeks.
The experience has thought us that in such extreme situations, favorites tend to fail. This is why our advice is to watch out for teams with the pre-season odds of +2000, particularly Kansas and Illinois.
Kansas was the last season’s favorite for winning the NCAAM season, with the best defensive player in college basketball Marcus Garrett beating their pillar in 2021.
When it comes to Illinois, they have a superb offense this season, with center Kofi Cockburn and wing Ayo Dosunmu expected to do wonders over the next couple of months.