College Basketball Futures: The 5 Best Futures Bets to Win the 2023-2024 NCAA Championship

The end of March Madness has arrived, but that doesn't mean college basketball isn't a year-round sport. With the transfer portal more active than ever before, there is plenty of value on college basketball Futures bets that you can jump on in the offseason with a little research. We are here to help guide you through it.

If you're looking to place College Basketball Futures bets, the best place to do so is DraftKings Sportsbook. The "Bet $5, Get $200 in site credit" offer from DraftKings Sportsbook is one of our favorites at the moment. Check it out!

2024 NCAA Basketball National Championship Probabilities

NCAAB TEAM	PROBABILITY
Duke Blue Devils	4.7%
Connecticut Huskies	4.4%
Kentucky Wildcats	4.1%
Kansas Jayhawks	3.3%
Purdue Boilermakers	3.1%
Arizona Wildcats	3.1%
Marquette Golden Eagles	3.1%
Houston Cougars	2.8%
Alabama Crimson Tide	2.8%
Michigan State Spartans	2.8%

Before we get into the best bets to make, it's important to note a few factors to consider when looking at 2023-2024 national championship Futures. First of all, it's incredibly difficult to know exactly who will be playing on these teams. With over 20% of all Division I college basketball players entering the transfer portal, there are too many moving parts to make sweeping judgments about how good (or bad) each team will be.

With that said, there are opportunities to find value in the Futures market that have never been there before. From looking at how many scholarships teams have available, how they are recruiting transfers, how much their NIL offering appears to be, we can start to make educated guesses about what teams will have advantages compared to where their odds are listed at the sportsbooks.

Here are our five favorite Futures bets to make heading into the college basketball offseason:

The 5 Best College Basketball Futures Bets to Make

1. Duke Blue Devils (+1300)

We start with the favorite, but just because the favorite has the worst odds comparatively to other teams now, that doesn't mean this isn't a good time to capitalize on value. Duke will be the most talented college basketball team in the country next season. With the return of the star-studded sophomore class that includes Tyrese Proctor, Kyle Filipowski and Mark Mitchell (all of whom could have been first round picks in the NBA Draft), Duke has a massive stock of returning talent to mix in with one of the best recruiting classes the sport has seen in years, that includes four five-star recruits (Sean Stewart, Jared McCain, Caleb Foster and TJ Power). Jon Scheyer had a quiet first year as head coach in Durham, but we expect them to be favorites from start to finish next season. DimersBOT agrees, making them the favorites to cut down the nets, with a 4.7% probability of winning it all.

2. Houston Cougars (+2500)

Next up is Houston, who comes in as the 8th most likely national champion next season according to our model, but at +2500 odds, you are getting great value on the Cougars compared to teams like Alabama, Creighton and North Carolina who each have a lower ranked probability but smaller odds according to the sportsbooks. Under Kelvin Sampson, Houston has become a national powerhouse, consistently finishing in the Top 10 according to advanced metrics. Next season, Houston joins the best conference in college basketball (The Big 12), and they will be one of the favorites. Especially after they landed Baylor transfer LJ Cryer, who is a superstar dynamic scoring guard. It's only a matter of time before Sampson's Cougars break through, and with additional transfers still to be added, there is lots of value on Houston early in the offseason.

3. Michigan State (+1600)

Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans will return to the national spotlight next season after a series of "okay" years by Michigan State standards. If you're a college basketball fan you have heard the saying "guards win in March" before, and next season Michigan State will have the best guards in the country. With senior point guard AJ Hoggard mixed with 5th year shooting guard Tyson Walker, the Spartans have more experience, toughness and skill than any team in the country at the guard position. The other element working in MSU's favor is their star-studded recruiting class heading to East Lansing next year. Headlined by Xavier Booker and Coen Carr, Michigan State will have an influx of athleticism that they haven't seen in years. Paired with their veteran stars, MSU will be one of the favorites to win at all once the season gets underway. We love their odds now in the offseason, and according to DimersBOT, Michigan State has the 10th highest probability to win it all, at 2.8%.

4. Florida Atlantic (+3000)

Can Cinderella strike twice??? We certainly think so. One of the better values on the board is the darling Owls, who stole hearts on the way to a Final Four appearance, and nearly a national championship appearance before San Diego State's buzzer beater victory ripped their hearts out. The Owls have a 1.2% chance to win it all next season according to DimersBOT, which is less than teams like Villanova and  Michigan, who missed the NCAA Tournament last season and have plenty of work to do to rebuild. Florida Atlantic does not, as they retained their star head coach Dusty May with a 10-year extension, and they are set to bring back every single key contributor from last year's team that won more games than any other team in college basketball. The Owls will likely start the season as a Top 10 team in the country, making their offseason odds extremely valuable.

5. USC Trojans (+4500)

Our final Futures bet to take a shot at is the USC Trojans, which may sound crazy on paper, but when taking a closer look makes a ton of sense. The Trojans got some great news with the return of their leading scorer Boogie Ellis, and they bring in the highest-ranked point guard in next year's freshman class, Isaiah Collier. Collier and Ellis would be dynamic enough as a duo, but there are loud rumors than LeBron James' son, Bronny James, could soon commit to the Trojans. If James did choose USC, USC would have three guards that are more talented than any other trio in the country. With the opportunity to round out the roster with transfers in the frontcourt, and the likelihood that plenty of talented players would love to play with those guards, USC possesses some great value at +4500. DimersBOT gives the Trojans a 1.7% chance to win it all, and that's good enough for us.