ARLINGTON, TX – APRIL 4: The Final Four logo and a Wilson basketball are seen as the Connecticut Huskies practice before the 2014 NCAA Men’s Final Four at AT&T Stadium on April 4, 2014 in Arlington, Texas (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
With one month to go until the NCAA Tournament, Final Four contestants are beginning to differentiate themselves from impersonators.
ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index computer model (BPI) recently recalculated all teams’ national title hope odds, but there are some interesting changes to say the least. A new poll released today shows Purdue maintains its status as the nation’s number one team, but the odds of making the Final Four were slim.
At the time of writing, Houston (56.6%), Tennessee (52.6%), Alabama (26.5%) and UCLA (25.3%) have the highest odds of reaching the Final Four. Purdue was not the first team with his 19.6% odds of reaching the Final Four, but surprisingly he trailed Texas with 20.7%.
Interestingly, the ESPN BPI improved UCLA’s odds of reaching the championship game and winning the national title, even though Alabama had slightly better odds of reaching the NCAA Tournament Final Four than UCLA.
For a team with only one loss left in the Power Five conference, it’s mind-boggling to see Purdue drop the odds like this.
Perhaps there is a belief that Purdue will hit a wall in a series of matches against their biggest rivals.
But boilermakers haven’t hit a wall yet. And if the odds don’t improve and they beat a team like Indiana or Northwestern, things could start to get shady.
Who do you think are the four teams most likely to make it to the Final Four?
