Duke, a team that bombed out of the just-concluded NCAA Tournament in the second round as a No. 5 seed, is expected to do far better next year.
The Blue Devils are one of the early favorites to capture the 2024 championship, according to oddsmakers.
DraftKings listed Duke on top at +1000 while FanDuel had the Blue Devils second at +1300 in odds available minutes after UConn beat San Diego State to win the 2023 crown.
Duke will be entering its second season under coach Jon Scheyer, the handpicked successor to Mike Krzyzewski, who retired after the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
FanDuel favors a UConn repeat in 2024, putting the Huskies on top of the board at +1100. UConn is tied for the third choice at DraftKings with +1500 odds.
Kentucky, which had the same result as Duke in this year’s March Madness, is the second favorite for 2024 according to DraftKings at +1200. FanDuel puts the Wildcats in a tie for third at +1500.
The Blue Devils fell 65-52 to fourth-seeded Tennessee in East Region round of 32 action last month. Also in the East Region, third-seeded Kansas State eliminated sixth-seeded Kentucky 75-69 in the second round. None of those big names claimed the regional title, which went to ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic.
After Duke, Kentucky and UConn, the rest of DraftKings’ top 10 favorites are Kansas (+1500), Marquette (+1600), Purdue (+1800), Alabama (+2000), North Carolina (+2000), Michigan State (+2000) and Arizona (+2000).
At FanDuel, after UConn, Duke and Kentucky are Arizona (+1500), Alabama (+1500), Purdue (+1600), Creighton (+2000), Marquette (+2000), Michigan State (+2000) and North Carolina (+2400).
UConn was listed at +6000 in the preseason ahead of the 2022-23 campaign, but the Huskies were heavy favorites at -125 entering the Final Four against three programs that had never previously reached that stage.
–Field Level Media
