NCAA Final Four Futures: Odds of an Alabama basketball national title
Saturday’s tough loss at Oklahoma notwithstanding, Alabama basketball may be in the midst of the best season in school history, as evidenced by the SEC’s unbeaten 11-game record and passing historic Vanderbilt tobacconist Tuesday night. The Tide jumped from 2nd to 4th place in the AP poll this week, but where does Vegas see the Tide from a national perspective?
According to DraftKings sports betting, I’d say they look pretty good.
Currently, Alabama has the third-best odds to make the Final Four at +250, just behind Houston (+140) and Purdue (+240). For the uninitiated, this means that a $100 bet would pay out $250 if the tide reached that round.
Right behind Alabama is conference foe and hated rival Tennessee, sitting at +275 with just one loss in SEC play. If things stay as they are now, Alabama’s trip to Knoxville on Feb. 15 could well decide the SEC regular-season title and corresponding seed in Nashville.
If you really want to dream a little, Alabama’s odds of cutting the nets in Houston on April 3 are tied with Purdue for second-best at +1000, just ahead of Tennessee and Kansas at +1200, and behind only Houston (+600). Imagine thinking just a few years ago that Alabama basketball would be ranked in the top five, named the best team in the country by multiple pundits, and would sit in February with the second-best odds to win a national title.
From an individual standpoint, Purdue’s 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey is currently a big favorite to win the coveted Wooden Award at -1000, which means you have to bet $1000 to win $100. . Brandon Miller of Alabama is third with +2500, with Jalen Wilson of Kansas (+900) in between. If Alabama plays like they did on Tuesday, with Miller dropping 22 points and catching eight boards, they’ll have a chance to make up ground there.
Needless to say, it’s all a testament to the work Nate Oats put into the program. We’ve talked about it a lot here, but it’s high time for Greg Byrne to find a way to invest in a new arena and find the money to keep Oats going for the long haul. It will be an interesting test not only for his legacy, but for Alabama boosters to show that they are truly committed to Alabama being a championship school in sports other than football.
Do it, Greg.
Rolling tide.