While the focus right now for sports fans maybe college football and the NFL, don’t forget that hoops season is right around the corner. More importantly, the best players from the college ranks are all set to get back on the hardwood. With that being said, our team here at VegasBetting is ready to provide you with the NCAA basketball 2020-21 preview and picks to get you even more amped for what’s to come.
Before the season gets underway, it’s important to pay attention to where things stand. As you’ve probably seen by now, Gonzaga holds the No. 1 spot at the top of the AP NCAA basketball rankings. While this is exciting news for Bulldogs fans out there, Gonzaga has still never won the NCAA national championship.
In 2017, Gonzaga made it all the way to the final of the March Madness tournament, but they suffered a close loss to eventual champions North Carolina. Entering the new season, Gonzaga has the best NCAAB odds to win the title, as the Vegas sportsbooks have them listed at +800.
When it comes to making your NCAA basketball futures picks before the season, though, we’re going to suggest staying clear of Gonzaga. While they have the best odds, they haven’t proven to get over the hump and win the championship even when they’re favored to do so. What hurts them at times is playing against weaker competition in the WCC. Because of this, bet elsewhere.
When March Madness does arrive, it will be a special moment for NCAA basketball fans, especially since the tournament was canceled last season due to the coronavirus pandemic. With that being said, which teams are in the running to win the NCAA basketball title?
While Gonzaga enters the year as the No. 1 team in the country, other contenders to win it all include Baylor, Villanova, Virginia, Iowa, Kansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Duke, Kentucky and others. Heading into the season, we’re going with our gut feeling, picking Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats to be the champs.
Villanova has won two national titles since 2016, looking to add an impressive third championship during that stretch run. Villanova is returning virtually every player from last year’s team which went 24-7. The major loss is Saddiq Bey, who left school early for the NBA Draft. He was just selected by the Pistons with the No. 19 pick.
Despite losing Bey, Villanova will return four starters in Justin Moore, Collin Gillespie, Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, and Jermaine Samuels. With so much experience coming back and Wright back on the bench as head coach, Villanova, which holds +1400 preseason odds, is our pick to be crowned the national champs.
While we like Villanova to be the champs and schools like Baylor and Virginia are also getting a ton of preseason love from analysts all over the country, it’d be foolish to not bring up the other legendary schools. Indeed, don’t forget about the other NCAA powerhouses who will truly have a shot of winning it all.
We’ve seen major upsets and teams who everyone expected to make it to the Final Four end up losing in the earlier rounds. While Gonzaga, Baylor, Virginia and Villanova are the early favorites to make it to the Final Four, don’t be shocked if one of them misses out. Looking at teams who could make a serious push for the title, we’re going to show some love to North Carolina.
Despite entering the season as the No. 16 team in the country, North Carolina is motivated after going 14-19 last year. It was the worst season of Roy William’s brilliant Hall of Fame career. However, Garrison Brooks is back and is the preseason favorite to win ACC Player of the Year. In addition, tons of star talent has arrived to Chapel Hill thanks to another stellar year in recruiting.
Cole Anthony did leave school after one year to head to the NBA, leaving question marks at the point guard position. But, if anyone knows how to replace top talent with another top talent, it’s Williams. North Carolina has +3000 odds to win the national title. Also, don’t be afraid to potentially pick them to win the ACC as well. This team could go on to surprise plenty of people this winter.
In terms of individual awards, there’s no question whatsoever that Luke Garza is the pick for National Player of the Year. The Iowa center is back for his senior campaign after a head-turning junior season.
Last year, Garza was named the Big Ten Player of the Year after averaging 23.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. Garza was virtually unstoppable last year and received National Player of the Year honors from multiple publications. However, he wasn’t awarded the Naismith Player of the Year award because the season was cut short, with no one taking home the trophy.
This season, however, Garza looks poised to help Iowa not only win the Big Ten, but go on a run for the national title too. He’s our pick to win National Player of the Year. We’ll find out in 2021 if he gets the job done.
