Is Duke the favorite to win March Madness? Odds and predictions for how far can Cooper Flagg and Co. go in the NCAA tournament

About two weeks before the 2024-25 college basketball season started, the Duke Blue Devils, made mostly of Class of 2024 top recruits led by five-star freshmen Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach, hold the third-best odds of winning the national championship at +900.

They were slightly behind preseason favorites UConn and Kansas, which had +850 each. The AP preseason poll had them No. 7 before tipoff, but they fell to as low as 12th in Week 2. The low ranking probably awakened the young players, especially Flagg and Knueppel, who realized that they must play harder to help Duke win its sixth title and first since 2015.

Several games and weeks later, the Jon Scheyer-coached squad is ranked No. 2 in the AP poll with a 19-2 mark, of which 11-0 is in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The relentless all-around play by the Blue Devils has made the oddsmakers give them second place behind No. 1 Auburn (20-1, 8-0 in SEC).

Duke has a +390 chance of taking home the national title, just +10 behind Auburn's +380 (per ESPN). Both teams have turned it into a two-team race with the Houston Cougars leading the chase at 10-1 odds. Alabama (12-1), Iowa State (12-1), Tennessee (18-1) and Florida (18-1) are also in striking distance.

With a little over 10 games remaining in the regular season and the conference tournaments, Duke has the inside chance of claiming the No. 1 seed in the four regional tournaments that would determine the competitors for the Final Four and possibly the national final.

Barring any injuries, Cooper Flagg and Duke are expected to go deep into the tournament, even battling with Southeastern Conference representatives Auburn in the national championship final.

Meanwhile, Fox Sports presented its odds for the most likely teams to capture a Final Four slot. Duke topped the list with -110 odds.

The Blue Devils are the only program with a (-) odds among the other teams, proving the impression of various betting sites asked by Fox Sports in its report. Auburn has a +100 chance of reaching the Final Four followed by Houston (+175), Iowa State (+220), Alabama (+240), Florida (+350), Tennessee (+475), Kentucky (+500), Kansas (+600) and Michigan State (+700).

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Cooper Flagg bags fourth ACC Player, Rookie of the Week honor this season

The recognition keeps piling up for Duke freshman Cooper Flagg as he was picked ACC Men's Basketball Player and Rookie of the Week for his excellent play against NC State and North Carolina.

Flagg copped his fourth ACC Player and Rookie of the Week double by averaging 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game in those victories, the ACC announced Monday.

The 6-foot-9 guard received his ninth ACC Rookie of the Week award, tying Kyle Filipowski and Austin Rivers for the second most by any Duke freshman. The four Player of the Week moved him to a tie for third with Nolan Smith and JJ Redick.

Duke will next meet Syracuse (10-12, 4-7) at the JMA Wireless Dome on Wednesday.