2024-25 Men’s College Basketball Championship Odds and Predictions

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We are one game away from crowning the 2024-25 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion as the Florida Gators take on the Houston Cougars for the National Championship on April 7.

If you are surprised to see Houston in the Finals instead of the Duke Blue Devils, you are not alone. The Blue Devils had a sizable lead with 90 seconds left in the game, but the Cougars clawed their way back and stunned the entire College Basketball nation.

The Gators won as expected and were led by Walter Clayton Jr. who put up 34 points against the Auburn Tigers. Florida and Duke have jockeyed back and forth as the odds-on favorite to cut down the nets. Now, the Gators are slight favorites to defeat the Cougars at the Alamodome.

With that said, let’s take a look at the latest NCAAB Championship odds, courtesy of the top sports betting sites, and make our NCAAB Championship predictions.

Men’s College Basketball Championship Odds

Check out the latest NCAAB Basketball Championship odds, courtesy of Scores and Stats:

These are the closest NCAA Men’s Basketball odds that we have seen for a championship game in recent years. It’s basically a toss-up as to which team will win. In the Final Four, Florida was a -144 favorite and Houston was a +185 underdog.

Like the oddsmakers, the best handicappers are also split over who will cut down the nets as the 2025 National Champions. Keep reading below to see which team we predict to win it all.

NCAAB Championship Betting Trends

Check out the following Florida Gators vs. Houston Cougars betting trends:

Florida Gators

• 34-5 SU in last 39 games
• 25-9 ATS in last 34 games
• 2-3 ATS in NCAA Tournament
• Over is 4-1 in NCAA Tournament

Houston Cougars

• 31-1 SU in last 32 games
• 13-3 SU in Non-Conference games
• 3-1-1 ATS in NCAA Tournament
• Over is 1-3-1 in NCAA Tournament

NCAAB Championship Preview

Let’s breakdown how each team got here before making our official NCAAB picks:

Florida Gators (35-4)

The Florida Gators were arguably the hottest team coming into the Men’s Tournament. This was evident by their Championship odds shrinking from and saw their February odds shrink from +1400 to +350.

The Gators were the #1 seed in the West Region, and looked it for nearly every round. The only time that they struggled was against UConn, where Florida held on to win by two points.

After that, they beat Maryland by 16 in the Sweet 16, Texas Tech by five points in the Elite 8, and Auburn by six points in the Final Four.

This team is led by Walter Clayton Jr. who is the first player since Larry Bird in 1979, to tally consecutive 30-point games in the Elite 8 and Final 4 rounds. Auburn was unable to stop Clayton who put up 34 points, which included five 3-pointers.

Forward Alijah Martin chipped in 17 points, which marked his fifth double-digit outing in the tournament. Martin has been the second-best scorer for Florida in the Big Dance.

The Gators head to the National Championship for the fourth time in school history and aim to cut down the nets for a third time (2006, 2007).

Houston Cougars (35-4)

The Houston Cougars have been battle tested in the NCAAB Tournament as they persevered through the tough Midwest Region.

Houston’s first big test was against Gonzaga in the Round of 32, which they won by five points. The 76 points that Gonzaga scored was the most that this Houston defense gave up all tournament long.

The Cougars went to a sixth consecutive Sweet 16 and they held on to beat Purdue 62-60. They followed that up with a surprising blowout win over Tennessee in the Elite Eight by 19 points. Then came the real shocker.

The Cougars were down by 14 points with eight minutes left in the game and pulled off a massive comeback that saw them win by three points over the heavily favored Blue Devils.

They held Duke to its lowest output of the tournament, just 67 points. And, the Cougars reminded the Nation that they have the #1 defense in the country.

Houston allows 58.5ppg on the season, which is 15 points below the Nation’s average. They’re also Top 7 in both Field Goals allowed and made, along with being 7^th in defensive rebounds.

But, don’t let this defensive mastery fool you. They do have a solid offense as well. In fact, we’ve been saying since the beginning of the tournament that Houston has their best offense under head coach Kelvin Sampson.

The Cougars are led by L.J. Cryer who’s averaging 15.6 ppg on the year. Yet. The guard put up 26 points against Duke in the Final Four including hitting clutch free throws in the final moments of the game.

However, Houston is not a one-man-band. The Cougars have more balance offensively than it might seem at first glance. They also have players like Emanuel Sharp, J’Wan Roberts and Milos Uzan. Sharp and Roberts combined for 27 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists against Duke in the Final Four.

NCAAM Basketball Championship Predictions

I’m not ashamed to admit that I was on the Duke bandwagon since Cooper Flagg committed to the Blue Devils. And, for 95% of the Final Four game, I looked like a genius. Then, Duke collapsed, my NCAA Men’s bracket was thrown into the fire pit, and now I’m going with Houston.

Sure, I took Florida to lose to Duke in the NCAA Men’s Championship game as I loved what I saw from them heading into the Big Dance. But, did you see what Houston did against Duke?

Florida is a very talented team, but I believe Houston will force the Gators into a half-court offense like Auburn did. The only difference is, the Cougars are a step above the Tigers in defensive play.

I expect Houston to clamp down on Walter Clayton Jr. and force other Gators’ players to step up to beat them. I just don’t see that happening. The only way Florida wins, is a superhuman effort by Clayton, which he’s done the last two rounds.

I’m taking Houston to win this physical battle as they will slow the game down to a pedestrian pace, force Clayton to pass the ball, and outrebound the Gators on the defensive glass.

Offensively, I expect Houston to do enough to win this game as we see a balanced effort from Cryer, Robers, and Uzan.

Take the Cougars to win their first ever National Championship.

Bet: Houston Cougars (-105), Cougars +1 (-110), Under 141.5 points (-110)

Who won the Men’s College Basketball Championship?

The following is a list of the most recent Men’s College Basketball Championship winners: