The best conference futures bets for the 2020-21 college basketball season

Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo gestures during game against Ohio State

Andrew Ortenberg

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I'm an NFL handicapper here at Pickswise who was raised in a household full of sports fanatics. Since I unfortunately never had LeBron James' jumping ability I wasn't able to make it to the NBA, and chose writing about sports as the next best thing. An avid sports bettor myself, I'm excited to get to write about the industry as it gets set to take off across the country. Buckle up. For Andrew Ortenberg media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.

Big Ten

Iowa +265
Wisconsin +350
Illinois +355
Michigan State +360
Ohio State +1000
Michigan +1100
Indiana +2000
Purdue +3000
Maryland +5000
Minnesota +30000
Penn State +30000
Northwestern +50000
Nebraska +50000

This is the most intriguing conference on paper. With four teams all between +265-+360, there might as well be four co-favorites. Unfortunately, Rutgers’ odds are off due to the uncertainty surrounding the team as they haven’t even finalized their schedule yet. Among the top cluster, I think you’d have to look at Michigan State at +360. With COVID-19 throwing everything off, teams that have the strongest cultures and histories of success will be rewarded. Tom Izzo runs a tight ship, and you don’t have to worry about his team being prepared for this unusual season. The Spartans already tied for the conference lead last year, and they added a couple of four-star recruits in addition to returning some key guys. Death, taxes, and Michigan State basketball finishing toward the top of the Big Ten.

As for the long-shots, I’d consider taking a nibble on Purdue at 30/1. The Boilermakers had an uncharacteristically down year last season, which has caused oddsmakers to overreact and create some value. Purdue will be experienced as they return each of their top three scorers from last year, a rarity in this conference, and they should be in for a bounce-back. They also added 7’4 freshman Zach Edey, giving them yet another towering big man.

AAC

Houston +125
SMU +375
Memphis +400
Cincinnati +900
South Florida +1100
Tulsa +1500
Wichita State +1500
UCF +3000
East Carolina +4000
Temple +5000
Tulane +10000

The AAC won’t get quite as much attention as the top few conferences, but it’s really solid, especially at the top. You’re not getting steep odds by any means, but I think you have to take Houston at +125 here. Barring devastating injuries, I don’t see how they don’t win the conference. They already finished atop the conference last year, and now they return five of their top six scorers from that team. Their lead scorer Caleb Mills was also a freshman, so he should be much improved his second time around. They’re starting off ranked 17th, and I think they could move much higher.

Pac-12

UCLA +260
Arizona State +265
Oregon +435
Stanford +600
Arizona +700
USC +1000
Colorado +1500
Utah +3000
Washington +3000
Oregon State +8000
California +10000
Washington State +30000

Expectations are high for Mick Cronin’s UCLA team, but I’m not sold. Arizona lost way too many guys to the NBA draft for me to feel decent about them at +700, and it looks like they won’t have top European prospect Kerr Kriisa as he still hasn’t been ruled eligible and just returned home to Estonia. The team I think is being overlooked and has some value is USC at +1000. The Trojans lost Onyeka Okongwu and Jonah Matthews which is huge, but big man Evan Mobley could solve that and then some. Mobley is literally the highest-rated recruit USC has ever gotten, and the five-star prospect is universally regarded as the top freshman center in the nation. His brother Isaiah, 6’10, is also on the team, giving them a frontcourt that will be impossible to slow down. They’re also adding sharpshooting transfer Noah Baumann, who shot 46 percent from three in his first two college seasons at San Jose State. This offense has the potential to be really good.

Pickswise is the home of free NCAA basketball picks and predictions. We will provide predictions on both the side and totals for all of the power-conference and Top 25 games during the 2020-21 season.