College Basketball Futures Picks: 3 Teams to Watch in Key Markets

As the college basketball season begins conference play, we take a deeper look at three teams making some noise early on and highlight picks to make in the futures market.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats is still waiting to shake the hand of Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, but that does not mean you should be waiting to buy the Crimson Tide in the futures markets.

We investigate some conference championship odds and picks in the college basketball futures markets (odds via FanDuel Sportsbook).

2021-22 College Basketball Futures Picks

Alabama

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Oats is one of the best college basketball coaches in the country and what he has accomplished at Alabama in such a short amount of time has been remarkable. The Crimson Tide currently boasts arguably the best guard trio in college basketball in Jaden Shackelford, Jahvon Quinerly, and JD Davison. 

Alabama has two of the best wins in college hoops this season. The Tide defeated second-ranked Gonzaga and fifth-ranked Houston, according to KenPom.com. 

They can win the whole thing but with their current style of play, I would be watching their odds to win the SEC regular-season title. A one-game knockout tournament is not the best format for a team that relies so heavily on the 3-pointer. Especially when the Sweet 16 and Final Four are played in football stadiums with terrible shooter backdrops.

Baylor

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The Bears are now the top-ranked team on KenPom after a 57-36 victory over Villanova. This is the sixth-most efficient offense in college basketball and Villanova was able to score only 36 points against Baylor’s defense. 

The number that jumps out in Baylor's futures markets is its odds to win the Big 12 regular-season title. Currently, the markets have Kansas as the favorite at +155 and then immediately followed by Baylor at +220. Baylor should be the favorites to win the Big 12 with the gap in odds being very marginal.

Ohio State

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The futures odds currently have the Buckeyes as the fourth-ranked team in the Big 10 behind Purdue (+200), Illinois (+400) and Michigan (+440). On KenPom, Ohio State is second in the Big 10, and trails only Purdue. 

The Buckeyes are currently 2-0 in the Big 10 and have a relatively easy conference schedule to start. They don’t play one of the top teams in the Big Ten until they travel to Purdue on Jan. 30.

The Buckeyes will also face only Purdue, Michigan State, and Illinois once each during conference play. Expect their +500 conference odds to be shorter in due time.

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