Though the Kentucky Wildcats lost a good share of talent to the NBA Draft they are still ranked ahead of defending champion Duke in most early season odds and predictions. This is in large part due to their incoming recruiting class being game ready.
The Kentucky Wildcats (+700) are ahead of the pack but only by a slim margin. Right behind them are the Maryland Terrapins (+750) and then the defending champion Blue Devils (+800).
Kentucky Wildcats
UK has a very strong mix of young and veteran talent, but two new players have really come into the spotlight lately – Haitian forward Skal Labissiere and Canadian guard Jamal Murray.
Labissiere has drawn comparisons this offseason to Anthony Davis while Murray had a busy offseason playing for Canada in the Pan American Games in Toronto, ON. The two freshmen will likely join Tyler Ullis, Isaiah Briscoe and Alex Poythress to form the Kentucky nucleus. With all of their talent it shouldn’t be hard to grab another SEC title, although another miraculous 38-1 season may be a stretch.
Maryland Terrapins
College basketball betting site TopBet.eu lists Kentucky first in NCAA Futures to win it all, but right behind them is Maryland. The Terps lost six players from last year’s roster, including Dez Wells, but they have a strong batch of youth, experience and transfers to make them nationally relevant.
Fourth year guard Rasheed Sulaimon transferred over from Duke this past offseason and should fit nicely into the starting five. Third year forward Robert Carter also transferred to the Terps program this past summer from Georgia Tech. After losing Wells and Evan Smotrycz this past summer, Carter’s 7.4 RPG will be a nice addition.
Maryland moved from the ACC to the Big Ten last season and finished second to Wisconsin. After losing five of their most talented players, Wisconsin will experience some growing pains this season. Watch for Maryland to likely take the conference title this season.
Duke Blue Devils
Duke has lost a lot of their top talent since winning the NCAA title last year. They will still be extremely competitive, but the team lost the pieces that defined them. Five Blue Devils have departed, three of which were selected in the NBA Draft. The most marquee name undoubtedly was Jahlil Okafor who went third overall to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Replacing his 6’11″ frame won’t be easy but 5-star freshman Chase Jeter is certainly up to the task. Jeter will likely replace the All-American up front and while he won’t be an instant threat, he does have a lot of upside. He is very strong in the post and can put quite a few points on the board down low.
Although they won it all last year, Duke finished second in the ACC standings to Virginia who are also replacing quite a bit of their nucleus. Duke doesn’t look like the same conference contender of old, but they still should make a heavy push. Then once March Madness starts, as we’ve seen time and time again, anything goes.