With Selection Sunday less than two weeks away, the college basketball futures market is in its waning days.
Michigan has joined Gonzaga and Baylor in the short-odds penthouse. The Wolverines (18-1) were granted admission last weekend after Baylor lost its first game of the season to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. That means the days of finding value for a Michigan Big Ten title and a national championship are likely over. Michigan futures tickets now come at Gonzaga-like prices.
The Wolverines clearly look like the best team in the Big Ten and can be had at a plus price of + 130 to win the conference tournament. But that is too low against three other top contenders in Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa and live dogs in the middle of the pack such as Purdue, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Maryland, Michigan State and Indiana. Getting past this field seems like it should come with a better return than USC + 185 gets for winning the Pac-12.