With a few weeks remaining before the true grind of conference play tips off, the focus moves away from a packed nonconference schedule to a lighter slate that allows teams to take advantage of the holiday break, get healthier and prepare for a demanding three-month grind ahead. With that in mind, now is a good time to look at some futures.
Here are a few futures that we’re looking at ahead of the start of conference play.
Northern Iowa to win the Missouri Valley Conference (+325)
The Panthers came into the season with high expectations and have delivered. Ben Jacobson, in his 19th year at Northern Iowa, has guided the team to two regular-season conference titles since 2020. When placing our money on futures, we want to bet on teams and coaches who have done it before. A lot of recent winning coaches have left their schools for better jobs, but Jacobson has stuck around. Leon Bond III looks like he’s ready to be the go-to guy and Trey Campbell is off to a great start for his senior campaign. They have the best defense in the conference and it’s not particularly close. With experienced leadership and lockdown defense, the Panthers are well positioned to finish atop this conference.
Alabama to win the SEC (+340)
It’s clear that the SEC has taken a step back from last year. With schools like Kentucky and Auburn showing clear regression, there’s opportunity for a number of others to take advantage. Alabama has been competitive in every season since Nate Oats has taken over. They’ve won the conference twice and look to be in a good spot to do it again. Vanderbilt is the favorite for now and when you stack these teams together, it’s hard to not view Alabama as the better squad. Mark Byington has shown how good of a coach he is in recent years, but they just don’t have the dogs that Alabama does. And there’s probably not a team in the conference that does. Labaron Philon would’ve probably been a first-round NBA Draft pick, but decided to return to Tuscaloosa for another year. He’s been one of the top scorers in the country so far and he’s been his best against strong competition. The defense is a concern as always under Oats. However, this offense is good enough to carry them in a down year for the SEC.
Michigan State to make the Final Four (+500)
Taking a team to make the Final Four this early without seeing the draw is tough, but the value on this play is too good to pass. Tom Izzo’s teams always get better as the year goes on and typically play their best ball in March. He’s taken the Spartans to the Final Four eight times in 31 years at East Lansing. It’s been an awesome start to the season for his team and their starts are usually much slower. The one loss is to Duke, who is one of the best teams in the country, and they had the Blue Devils on the ropes. There are some concerns about this squad not having a guy who can take the game over, but they have a lot of guys who have bought into their role. Some think Jeremy Fears Jr. is one of the best true point guards in the country, and Jaxon Kohler and Carson Cooper have formed one of the better frontcourts in the country. They will certainly be battle-tested through conference play, as the Big Ten has looked like the best league in the country.
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