Spartans Still NCAA Tournament Favorites As We Head Into Feast Week

As we get ready for Feast Week, we’re taking a look at the odds to win the National Championship. For the most part, things didn’t move around too much from last week. However, with 10 of the 16 teams ranked this week will play in a holiday tournament (either the Maui Invitational or the Battle 4 Atlantis), a lot will change. Here’s a look at the odds as we enter the week:

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: +800

The Josh Langford injury is a huge blow for Michigan State, a team which lost to Kentucky in its season opener and has a lot to prove in the coming weeks about its staying power. Michigan State being the favorite isn’t an entirely unrealistic notion, given that Michigan State made the Final Four last year by beating No. 1 Duke despite not having Langford in the lineup. Yet, the margin for error is small now and will continue to be small with this team, as a result of Langford not being in the lineup.

We’ll learn a lot about this team in the coming 10 days as they’ll first host Virginia Tech this week and then host No. 1 Duke on December 3rd.

KENTUCKY WILDCATS
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: +1000

The Wildcats have to face the fact that they aren’t playing very well right now. They lost at home to Evansville and while they’ve rebounded with three straight wins, the victories weren’t overly impressive. They beat Utah Valley at home by only eight points and Lamar by 15. A team like this should be winning those games by at least 20 points.

Their defense is not in sync and John Calipari is struggling to find lineup rotations that work. His young lineup is taking time to grow into the flow of the system. There is always so much turnover with Kentucky’s lineup, given that underclassmen continuously leave Kentucky for the NBA Draft. Calipari doesn’t have a lot of roster cohesion from year to year, and it shows up in November.

They’re dodging a lot of these big upcoming games, though, and probably won’t have to break a sweat until they face No. 10 Ohio State on December 21st.

OREGON DUCKS
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: +1400

The Ducks beat Memphis earlier this month, a good win but also a win which came when the fate of Memphis’s James Wiseman was up in the air. Wiseman played in the game but he did not know how the NCAA would handle his situation. While that win felt somewhat questionable given that situation, the Ducks have since won two in a row, including a 78-66 pumping of the Houston Cougars. They’ll face No. 13 Seton Hall and Michigan in two of their next three games, so get set to learn a lot more about this Ducks team.

MEMPHIS TIGERS
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: +2000

We know now that Wiseman is set to miss 12 games due to the NCAA violation. Once he returns, then we’ll really find out how good Memphis can be. They dodged a bullet as many people feared he might be out for the entire season. As it stands now, not a whole lot has changed. This is one of the most talented teams in the country but the question is coach Penny Hardaway get them on the same page and producing this season.

The Tigers did earn a big win over Ole Miss this week, which is somewhat credible. They’ll play NC State and Tennessee in the coming weeks, so we’ll know more about them at that point. If they can win both of those games – especially Tennessee on the road – it will emphasize that they’re in fact a serious power player.

FLORIDA GATORS
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS: +2500

The Gators struggled in early-season losses to Florida State and Connecticut, but they bounced back to beat Saint Joseph’s, Miami and No. 18 Xavier to claim the Charleston Classic. Maybe the Gators are working out the kinks and finding a winning identity. They’re offering plenty of value at this point but the arrow is pointing up now that they’re on a three-game winning streak.

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