What are futures odds saying about the revamped Villanova men’s basketball roster?

There was never any doubt how this Villanova offseason was going to have to go. Kyle Neptune’s first season coaching the Wildcats ended on a Wednesday night in Lynchburg, Va., with his two best players not playing on the eve of the tournament they’d rather be playing in.

NIT and Villanova hadn’t been close to synonyms in recent years, and so there was work to do.

Villanova needed to see if Justin Moore was coming back, going pro, or going elsewhere. It needed to find three to four players in the transfer portal, and if the Wildcats had any intent on getting back to the NCAA Tournament and competing for a Big East title, at least two of those players were going to need to be starters.

Check. Check.

On Wednesday, Villanova landed a commitment from 6-foot-7 wing Tyler Burton, a fifth-year Richmond transfer who was twice an All-Atlantic 10 selection and posted 19 points and more than seven rebounds per game last season. He joins Maryland’s (and Roman Catholic’s) Hakim Hart, Washington State’s TJ Bamba, and Kentucky’s (and Camden’s) Lance Ware as Villanova’s portal additions.

» READ MORE: The NCAA transfer portal gave and took away locally in men’s hoops

The Wildcats are likely to be a Top 25 team when the season starts, and, at least on paper, they have a roster that easily could contend with the best in the Big East.

Can they win a national title? The odds have improved in varying degrees at sportsbooks.

In April, on the eve of Hart’s commitment and when Hunter Dickinson set a visit for Villanova, Villanova’s 2024 national championship odds were on the move. Caesars had the Wildcats at 60/1, BetMGM was at 50/1, and FanDuel was all the way to 34/1.

Things have changed, though only slightly, since then.

Here’s a look at some of Villanova’s futures odds for the 2023-24 season.

Villanova is still available at a pretty big number (50/1) at Caesars.

At DraftKings and FanDuel, only 16 and 13 teams, respectively, have shorter odds than Villanova to win the 2023-24 national championship.

Duke and Kansas are the favorites at most major sportsbooks, and Purdue getting big man Zach Edey back has the Boilermakers right near the top of the odds board.

Only Connecticut, Creighton, and Marquette have shorter title odds coming from the Big East than Villanova.

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DraftKings and FanDuel both have this market open. The Wildcats are +1000 (10/1) at DraftKings to reach the tournament’s final weekend and just +800 at FanDuel, right there with Gonzaga, Florida Atlantic, Alabama, and Southern Cal.