The UConn Huskies took care of business with an emphatic 76-59 victory of San Diego State Monday night to win the 2023 men’s college basketball national title.
Dan Hurley’s squad ran roughshod over the competition winning their six games by an average of north of 20 points. Adama Sanogo did his thing with 17 points while Tristen Newton scored a team-high 19 points.
For the Huskies, this is a return to national prominance after the program struggled to remain relevant over the previous several years. It could also lead to the Huskies being seen as a powerhouse heading into the 2023-24 college basketball season.
Speaking of powerhouses, the Duke Blue Devils lost in the Round of 32 to Tennessee in head coach Jon Scheyer’s first season replacing the legendary Mike Krzyzewski on the bench. According to FanDuel, these two teams are now the early favorites to come away with the national championship next April. They are joined by Arizona, Alabama and Kentucky in rounding out the top five.
- UConn: +1100
- Duke: +1300
- Arizona: +1500
- Alabama: +1500
- Kentucky: +1500
- Purdue: +1600
Duke and UConn looking stacked for 2023-24 college basketball season
Duke has several top-end recruits set to head to Durham for the 2023-24 season. That includes five-star recruit, forward Mackenzie Mgbako. The Devils also boast the 13th-best recruit in that of fellow forward Sean Stewart from Florida and guard Jared McCain from California. All three are five-star recruits.
The same thing can be said about 6-foot-6 guard Caleb Foster, also from California. Meanwhile, TJ Power is the 20th-ranked recruit nationally.
UConn will be welcoming in the 10th-best recruit of the class in that of guard Stephon Castle. Though, there’s darn good chance that leading scorers Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins will return to the Huskies in 2023-24.
As for the other four teams with the best odds to win the 2024 college basketball championship, star Alabama guard Brandon Miller has already announced he’ll go pro. Per 247 Sports, the Crimson Tide do not have a top-50 recruit. Though, it should welcome back top 2022 recruit Jaden Bradley.