West Virginia Basketball National Title Odds
West Virginia's game at Baylor for Tuesday night was canceled Monday afternoon, so we thought it wouldn't be a bad time to check in with the oddsmakers in Las Vegas to see what their thoughts are on the Mountaineers through 13 games.
As of Tuesday morning, West Virginia has 20/1 odds to win the national championship or +2000, according to VegasInsider.com. This means that if you were to place a wager on West Virginia to win the national title and it comes to fruition, you would win $200 for every $10 that you bet. For a team that has the talent and the coach to get it going in March, it seems to have good value.
READ MORE: More Postponed Games for WVU
Below are the favorites listed ahead of West Virginia.
Gonzaga +350
Villanova +700
Baylor +800
Wisconsin, Creighton +900
Houston, Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan +1000
Tennessee +1300
Kansas +1400
Florida State +1500
Michigan State +1800
UConn, Rutgers, Missouri, West Virginia +2000
Over the last couple of weeks, a lot has changed for West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins and his team. First, they lost talented freshman big Isaiah Cottrell for the season due to an Achilles injury. Then just days later, sophomore starting big Oscar Tshiebwe decided to leave the program due to "personal reasons" and entered the transfer portal.
READ MORE: Bob Huggins Provides Update on Isaiah Cottrell
Since Tshiebwe's departure, West Virginia is 1-2 with close losses to Oklahoma and No. 4 Texas and an 87-84 win on the road at Oklahoma State. In those three games, the Mountaineers could have easily gone 3-0 or 0-3 in that stretch. They trailed Oklahoma by 18 at the half but climbed all the way back in the 2nd half before falling 75-71 in the end. Two days later, West Virginia trailed by 19 points at the midway point of the 2nd half, yet made a massive surge to not only come back to take the lead but to win the game 87-84. This past Saturday, WVU led for 33 minutes vs No. 4 Texas and led by as many as nine points in the 2nd half. Unfortunately, they were unable to knock down free-throws late and gave up an open three in the corner in the final seconds of the game.
READ MORE: Tshiebwe Chooses Kentucky
Not only are the Mountaineers banged up physically (Derek Culver and Sean McNeil in particular), but for the first time this season, they're dealing with COVID-19 issues within the program. Coach Huggins has constantly stated how proud he is of his guys being responsible and following all of the protocols, but that doesn't mean everyone in the program is 100% safe from the virus. With four games now being postponed, the Mountaineers will have an opportunity to get back to full strength.
READ MORE: Bracketology Update 1/12
In the first three games without Tshiebwe, you can tell that this team and even the coaching staff is learning to adjust on the fly and learn how to play a different style. Strangely enough, this new look lineup could end up benefiting West Virginia and their hopes for a deep run come March. They will likely have four guys that can be effective from the perimeter and stretch the floor, opening things up for Derek Culver underneath. If they start to gel relatively soon, this could be a team that a lot of bettors will start to look at as a sleeper to win the national championship.
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