As the college basketball season continues after the Christmas break, what\u2019s fascinating to note is that we don\u2019t have a favorite. It\u2019s been such a topsy-turvy season that we\u2019ve had six different teams in the No. 1 spot in the rankings through the first seven weeks. Five of those teams have lost a game already, so the it\u2019s been quite the musical chairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The oddsmakers mostly agree with the polls as the odds to win the 2020 NCAA Tournament show no favorite. There are five teams tied at +1000 to win March Madness. We also have 12 teams at 20\/1 or shorter to win the title, so it\u2019s a complete crapshoot as of right now. As we get set to tip off the games following the break, let\u2019s take a close look at the five favorites:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Blue Devils have bounced back from their loss to Stephen F. Austin, but that loss (at home) hasn\u2019t been forgotten. Duke has to convince the country that it can dominate the ACC, which is hardly a sure thing at this point. We will have a much better idea of where Duke stands one month from now, after it has made a few ACC road trips and has been able to test itself against the upper-tier teams in its conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Zags are the beneficiaries of all the losses by No. 1-ranked teams this season as they\u2019re the new No. 1 in the United States. Given the fact that GU will soon play games in the West Coast Conference \u2013 where it normally does extremely well \u2013 the Zags might actually keep the No. 1 ranking for a long time \u2013 possibly all the way into the NCAA Tournament. Does that mean anything, though? Gonzaga was the top seed in the West last March and lost to Texas Tech in the Elite Eight, so their status as a national title contender will be hard to pin down in the coming months. We won\u2019t know if they\u2019re legit or merely playing through a soft schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Jayhawks lost a close game on the road at Villanova to fall out of the No. 1 spot and watched guard Marcus Garrett get injured in the first half of that one-point loss. They have reason to believe that if Garrett is healthy, they have the best starting five in the country. If Kansas can get back to full strength relatively soon, they might be able to rise to the top tier of the national rankings and be in position to make a run in late February and early March. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Cardinals play in-state rival Kentucky this upcoming Saturday, which will tell us a lot about them. A win there would be huge, while a loss would significantly dent this team\u2019s confidence. This is a gigantic game which, like it or not, will influence a lot of perceptions about the Cardinals and how good they really are (or aren\u2019t).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Buckeyes got clobbered on the road against Minnesota, but they bounced back and beat Kentucky in a neutral-site game in Las Vegas. Ohio State has won multiple games this season away from home against blueblood teams such as Kentucky and also North Carolina. While the Buckeyes are playing with veteran composure and have a star in Kaleb Wesson, who could carry the team in March, the Minnesota loss does carry some questions. They\u2019ll be tested more rigorously in Big Ten play and then we\u2019ll know more about them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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