Duke Becomes Clear Vegas Favorite to Win NCAA Tournament After Kentucky Win

Duke is the clear Vegas odds-on favorite to win the NCAA tournament. Surprisingly after getting crushed by the Blue Devils, Kentucky is still second at +550.

The Duke Blue Devils crushed the Kentucky Wildcats 118-84 on Tuesday night. With that statement win, the Blue Devils have emerged as the early team to beat in the college basketball landscape.

Duke is a +300 favorite on the latest odds to win the NCAA Tournament at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Blue Devils may have the top three picks in next year's NBA Draft playing for them this season in Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Cameron Reddish, who all combined for 83 points in the win over Kentucky.

Williamson's 285-pound frame makes him virtually impossible to defend down low, and trying to double or triple team him would only open up Barrett and Reddish. This group has the chance to be very special.

Despite suffering the worst loss of John Calipari's career on Tuesday, Kentucky is still going off as the second favorite to win the championship at +550. Star shooting guard Keldon Johnson was held to just 23 points in the loss, but he should emerge as one of the nation's top scorers as the season progresses. The Wildcats have won the SEC regular season championship and tournament three times in the last four years, but haven't won the NCAA Tournament since 2012.

Kansas is going off at +950 to win the NCAA Tournament and entered the season as the No. 1 ranked team in both the AP Top 25 Poll and the Coaches Poll. The Jayhawks picked up a 92-87 win over Michigan State (+3500 to win the championship) on Tuesday, fueled by their sensational freshman shooting guard Quentin Grimes. Grimes is a talented guard that can both shoot and pass well, and he should make the deep batch of talent around him better.

Right behind the top three teams on the betting board are Gonzaga (+1000), Nevada (+1000), North Carolina (+1500), Villanova (+1600) and Virginia (+1800). Villanova lost its top four scorers to the NBA Draft this offseason, but this program has won the championship two times in the last three seasons and should still run one of the nation's most explosive offenses.

Other potential dark horse contenders on the 2019 NCAA Tournament odds include Tennessee (+2800), Michigan (+3300), Oregon (+3500), Indiana (+4000), Syracuse (+4000), UCLA (+4000), and West Virginia (+4000).