Top 2025 NCAA Men’s College Basketball Champion Sleeper Picks
It may still be April, but it's never too early to look ahead to the next college basketball season. Connecticut, Kansas and Duke are among the favorites for the 2025 National Championship in men's college hoops. But which teams are the sleepers and longshots who can win the title? Let's take a deep dive into my four favorite college basketball sleeper picks to bet on now. Keep in mind there are still plenty of roster changes and player movements to monitor with the transfer portal, NBA Draft announcements and some top high school commits still left.
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2025 Men's College Basketball Sleepers and Longshot Picks
(All odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook)
Baylor (+2000)
After Baylor cut down the nets as the 2021 National Champion, it's since suffered three straight second-round exits in the NCAA tournament. That's despite being a No. 3 seed or better in each of the past three brackets. Even so, the Bears should be nationally relevant once again in 2025 with a roster that's been re-shaped and re-tooled this offseason.
On the surface, Baylor has to replace a ton of production from last year's squad. Ja’Kobe Walter, Yves Missi and Jalen Bridges are all entering the NBA Draft while senior point guard RayJ Dennis has exhausted his eligibility. Not an ideal situation. Yet, head coach Scott Drew is no stranger to building a contender via the transfer portal and high school ranks - with a few key names returning as well.
Jeremy Roach transfers in from Duke to be a much-needed veteran ball-handler and three-point threat in the backcourt. Roach is an ideal fit in Drew's system and brings valuable Final Four experience. Then there's five-star freshman V.J. Edgecombe, an athletic and playmaking wing scorer projected to be an NBA lottery pick next year. Led by Edgecombe, the Bears have one of the top incoming freshmen classes with point guard Robert Wright and small forward Jason Asemota both among the top 50 of most recruiting rankings.
Baylor returns vet guards Jayden Nunn, an excellent on-ball defender, and Langston Love, who should step into a bigger offensive role. The Bears are also a favorite to land Tennessee transfer Jonas Aidoo, one of the best defensive bigs in the country. Whether it's Aidoo or not, we'll likely see Drew add one or two more names from the portal before the summer ends.
Gonzaga (+2500)
Another college basketball season means another year of the "can Gonzaga win it all?" debate. The Zags have been in the title contender conversation for a decade now but have yet to get the job done, finishing as the national runners-up in both 2021 and 2017. Still, Gonzaga has reached the Sweet 16 in nine straight NCAA tournaments and should have a good enough team to make another deep run in 2025.
Losing Anton Watson to graduation is notable but the Zags will bring back the rest of last year's team that eventually fell to Purdue in the Sweet 16. Point guard Ryan Nembhard and big man Graham Ike will anchor the high-scoring offense poised to be a top-tier unit once again. Plus, the Zags will add in former Eastern Washington transfer Steele Venters, a 6-foot-7 playmaker who was injured all of last season.
Nolan Hickman and Ben Gregg grew into their bigger roles last year and will be valuable seniors for the Zags. Dusty Stromer and Braden Huff both showed flashes as freshmen and they'll take another step in their development.
Head coach Mark Few hit the transfer portal for Pepperdine wing Michael Ajayi, a spot-up three-point shooter who brings more length to help ease the loss of Watson. We may see Gonzaga add another big name from the portal this offseason.
We can count on Gonzaga for two things this year. Few's squad will again boast one of the most efficient offenses, as is a common occurrence now. The Zags will also roll through the West Coast Conference to bolster their record and NCAA tournament seeding. The only unknown is whether or not Gonzaga can get over the hump in March and April.
Indiana (+5000)
Indiana is coming off an 18-13 overall disappointing season. They went 10-10 in Big Ten play while missing out on the NCAA tournament. That's not ideal for a blue blood program that last made a Sweet 16 in 2016. Even so, the arrow is pointing up for the Hoosiers with some notable additions coming to town.
Head coach Mike Woodson has hit the transfer portal hard with three key newcomers locked in so far. Myles Rice (Washington State) and Kanaan Carlyle (Stanford) are versatile combo guards who can make up one of the better backcourts in the Big Ten. Center Oumar Ballo comes over from Arizona to immediately be one of the conference's best big men. All three transfer adds will help make up for the offseason losses of Xavier Johnson (graduation) and Kel'el Ware (NBA Draft).
Indiana also brings back Malik Reneau and Mackenzie Mgbako, who both showed flashes of top-end potential last year. Plus, the Hoosiers welcome McDonald's All-American Bryson Tucker as another wing scorer. Put it all together and Indiana boasts plenty of talent, size and playmaking ability on the wings and in the frontcourt. Combine that with the Rice/Carlyle backcourt and this roster looks immediately more promising than last season's.
The one thing Indiana does lack is legit three-point threats and spot-up shooters. Rice and Carlyle can help a bit in that area and both should take another step in their development. But the Hoosiers will likely need to add another transfer or two to address the need.
If Woodson can mesh all of this talent together, the sky's the limit for a team loaded on paper. The big question is if it can come to fruition on the court. At these odds, it's worth taking a chance on the ceiling.
UCLA (+5000)
It was a forgettable 2023-24 season for UCLA, to say the least. The Bruins finished with a losing record and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in Mick Cronin's tenure. Don't forget, though, that Cronin took UCLA to three straight Sweet 16 appearances before last year's disappointment - including a Final Four run in 2021. This program can get back in the thick of it with better pieces.
On that note, Cronin has been very busy in the transfer portal this offseason. The Bruins will add five impact transfers, including four from the power conference level. Skyy Clark (Louisville) and Kobe Johnson (USC) will join holdover Dylan Andrews to form an experienced backcourt with complementing skillsets. Tyler Bilodeau (Oregon State), Eric Dailey Jr. (Oklahoma State) and William Kyle (South Dakota State) combine to bolster the frontcourt with Adem Bona gone. Bilodeau, specifically, is an underrated signing as a versatile scorer who averaged nearly 15 points per game on a bad team last season.
UCLA also brings back Lazar Stefanovic, Sebastian Mack, Brandon Williams and Berke Buyuktuncel from last year's squad. Though the group underperformed a season ago, each may be better utilized in bench roles. Either way, it gives the Bruins much more depth combined with those aforementioned transfers.
As with any team adding this many new faces, there will be some growing pains for UCLA early on. Still, there's a ton of talent in this 2025 version of the Bruins. If, or when, Cronin gets his team on the same page with everyone accepting their new roles, don't overlook UCLA as a national title contender.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday: