Duke has best odds for 2019 title
The favorite to win the 2019 national championship is currently Duke, while several other prominent programs are also in the mix with good odds to hoist the trophy at the conclusion of next year’s March Madness. Will the Blue Devils end up being the right team to bet on?
According to oddsmakers, Duke is listed at 6/1 odds to win the 2019 national championship. The Blue Devils are followed by defending national championship Villanova (8/1), while Kansas and Kentucky both have 10/1 odds. For a full list of current odds, check out our College Basketball Future Odds Page.
Top-notch recruiting class makes for seamless transition
Long-time Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski knew he would have some holes to fill heading into the 2018-19 season due to early NBA declarations, which the Blue Devils will have with the departures of Marvin Bagley along with Trevon Duval and Gary Trent Jr. But the incoming recruiting class should make Duke fans forget quickly about a team that lost 85-81 in overtime to Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. Incoming freshmen include 7-footer Zion Williamson, who will join RJ Barrett along with Cameron Reddish and Tre Jones as top-10 recruits all committed to Duke for the upcoming season. Many experts consider it the greatest recruiting class in NCAA history. There will be plenty of pressure on the young Blue Devils, but with so much talent there is good reason they are favored to win a national championship.
Who will replace Allen’s toughness?
Love him or hate him, Duke shooting guard Grayson Allen was not only a fantastic player but provided grit and energy to his squad whenever he was on the floor. It often got him in trouble when he went a bit overboard, but the controversies dwindled in number his senior season. Allen averaged 15.5 points per game this past season and had averaged as high as 21.6 per, which he did as a sophomore. The 6-foot-5 and 205-pound Allen is an interesting prospect at the next level as he is the rare four-year player which NBA teams have sometimes gravitated against in favor of younger prospects. But there is no doubt Allen will be missed in some aspects now that he is no longer wearing the Duke blue.
Outlook:
The Blue Devils will be one of the most entertaining and polarizing teams in the country, which is the usual for them. Expect the roster to gel slowly and by the team Atlantic Coast Conference play arrives, they might prove almost impossible to beat. Williamson was the last of the major recruits to commit and his size inside will be a huge boost to the inside-outside game and in securing the paint on both ends of the floor. Coach K knows how to coach them up and he’ll almost certainly turn this squad into a serious title contender and very possibly a national champion.