UNC's 2027 National Championship Odds After Reported Mike Malone Hire

North Carolina's search for its next head coach is over. The Tar Heels reportedly have brought in former NBA head coach Michael Malone to lead their program forward.

Sources: North Carolina intends to hire longtime NBA coach Michael Malone as the school’s next basketball coach. He’s an NBA Championship coach with the Denver Nuggets from the 2022-23 season and has won 510 games as an NBA head coach. pic.twitter.com/JwJmUNRLQT
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 6, 2026

Malone most recently served as the Denver Nuggets' head coach from 2015-2025, including leading them to an NBA Championship in 2023. He's not completely unfamiliar with the college ranks, serving as an assistant coach at Oakland, Providence, and Manhattan in the 90s before moving to the NBA ranks in 2001.

Malone will replace Hubert Davis, who had back-to-back disappointing seasons as head coach of the Tar Heels. Davis took over from longtime legendary head coach Roy Williams at the start of the 2021-22 season. He began his run with UNC with an NCAA Tournament runner-up finish in 2022, but after that, UNC failed to make the NCAA Tournament in 2023, lost in the Sweet 16 in 2023, and then lost in the Round of 64 in both 2025 and 2026.

Since the hiring, we have seen some positive movement for UNC's National Championship odds next season. Let's take a look.

UNC 2027 National Championship Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Duke +800
Michigan +1200
Florida +1400
Arizona +1500
Michigan State +1600
Kansas +1600
Illinois +1800
Houston +1800
Arkansas +1800
UConn +2000
Texas Tech +2200
Alabama +2200
UNC +2500

After the news of the hiring, UNC moved to +2500 to win next year's National Championship. That's good for the 13th-best odds in the country and an implied probability of 3.85%.

The Tar Heels last won the National Championship in the 2016-2017 season.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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