With March Madness right around the corner, the interest in college basketball betting is starting to heat up. Outside of three teams that have separated themselves from the pack, the rest of college basketball has been riddled with upsets and inconsistent play. Coupled with the impressive depth of talent throughout the country, we should be in store for another wild March with the potential of unexpected runs.
The college basketball betting odds for the NCAA Tournament are posted, and they can be very profitable due to the unpredictability of the sport right now. However, we have five of the best bets you can place right now for teams to make the 2024 Final Four of the NCAA Tournament, including some longshot bets with a big payout.
5 Best Bets to Make the 2024 Final Four | College Basketball Betting Odds
UConn (+110)
The reigning National Champions are the favorites to win the whole thing again, and they also have the best college basketball betting odds to make the Final Four. In my opinion, the Huskies are the only team in the country without a true weakness that you can point to. They have terrific guard play (Tristen Newton and sharpshooter Cam Spencer), a potential lottery pick (Stephon Castle), an elite 3-and-D wing (Alex Karaban) and center Donovan Clingan who is one of the most impactful two-way players in all of college basketball.
UConn will be a No. 1 seed and is simply too talented, too deep and too well-coached to be challenged until the Sweet 16. Furthermore, they will be playing in an East Region that has its regional semifinals and finals held at Boston’s TD Garden, a mere 90-minute car ride from Connecticut’s campus. Their fans won’t have to board a plane to watch them play in the NCAA Tournament until the Final Four.
The +110 odds for UConn to make the 2024 Final Four means a $100 bet would win $110. These are great odds for the best team in all of college basketball. Sign up with our BetUS Sportsbook promo code link today and deposit $50 to get $2,500 in college basketball betting bonuses for March Madness!
Creighton (+800)
The other Big East team that will appear on this list of best Final Four bets to make just ran the aforementioned Huskies out of Omaha. In what was maybe the most impressive performance by any team this year, the Bluejays made 12 of their first 20 threes and held UConn to just 19% from beyond the arc. Greg McDermott’s team has one of the best “Big 3s” in all of college basketball, if not the best. Baylor Scheierman, Trey Alexander and two-way center Ryan Kalkbrenner combine for over 52 points, 22 rebounds and 10 assists per game. Creighton boasts an elite offensive unit capable of posting scoring outputs that not many teams can match. The defense isn’t great, but it is certainly good enough to give them a chance in any game they play because of the rim protection from Kalkbrenner.
The Bluejays will likely be a No. 3 seed, meaning they get to avoid any of the potent No. 1 seeds until the Elite Eight. The college basketball betting odds to make the Final Four of +800 is great value for a team whose A-game would beat almost everyone else in the country.
Saint Mary’s (+1800)
Per Haslametrics, the Gaels are one of the most efficient teams in college basketball, featuring the seventh-best defensive efficiency. Not only is Saint Mary’s a truly elite defensive team, but they also have the highest defensive rebound percentage in all of college basketball. Guard duo Aidan Mahaney and Augustas Marciulionis give them two late-game options offensively to close out tight games.
The odds of 18-to-1 are great value for a team that has been as efficient as anyone over the last two months. You’ll need to see it translate against Power 6 competition in March, but going on the road and beating Gonzaga was a good sign for that.
Texas (+2000)
Speaking of guard play, the Texas Longhorns have two proven March performers that would be scary for any top seeds to see early on in the NCAA Tournament. Max Abmas is one of 12 men in the history of college basketball to score 3,000 points. If you remember, he helped lead Oral Roberts to a Sweet 16 back in 2021. Tyrese Hunter was a lead guard on Texas’ Elite Eight team last year and scored 19 points in a Sweet 16 win over Xavier.
Despite those two and some talent in the frontcourt, Texas is 20-1 in the college basketball betting odds to make the Final Four for a reason. They are just 6-8 in Big 12 play, including some head-scratching performances at home. They don’t rebound it well, and they turn it over too much. Texas has also been plagued by inconsistent shooting nights. Still, I believe this is good value as we’ve seen talented teams that underwhelmed in the regular season make Final Four runs (North Carolina just two years ago). Along with Abmas and Hunter, Texas has former five-star Dillon Mitchell, stretch-four Dylan Disu and defensive-minded center Kadin Shedrick. Top-2 seeds should be hoping they don’t see this team in the first weekend of the tournament.
Florida (+2500)
My favorite Final Four bet to place right now is the Florida Gators, at +2500 in the college basketball betting odds on BetUS Sportsbook. Since the last day of January, the Gators have beaten Kentucky in Rupp Arena, blown out Auburn and taken Alabama to overtime in Tuscaloosa. Florida has two elite offensive guards (Zyon Pullin and Walter Clayton) who will give them a chance in every game they play. The backcourt also consists of a terrific complementary piece in Will Richard and Riley Kugel, who has about as much talent as any wing in the country and can win the Gators a game in March. Then the frontcourt has a great combination of size, skill, physicality, scoring and defense, with the trio of Tyrese Samuel (13 pts, 8 rebs), Micah Handlogten and freshman Alex Condon.
Todd Golden’s team lacks the top-end talent that most of the best teams possess, but the Gators have a really solid top-seven corps, and they are playing as well as anyone in the SEC. Guard play wins in March, and Pullin and Clayton have shown the ability to both control games and win them down the stretch.
