Schools that dominate the American College Basketball Scene in 2025
Written By
The United States is not shy of sporting greatness. LeBron James has ruled the NBA for some time now, and his recent shocking link-up with Luka Doncic in Los Angeles has made headlines not just stateside but all over the planet.
Then there is the NFL, a realm in which Patrick Mahomes and his Kansas City Chiefs were the dominant force until February.
On the hunt for the three-peat, the bookies made KC a 1.5-point betting favourite for their championship clash against the Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans.
The reigning champions were unceremoniously ransacked, however, with Jalen Hurts and Philly romping to a 40-22 victory to claim their second-ever Lombardi, and now the betting odds for next year's Super Bowl make them the favourites to retain their crown.
But it is not just the professional game in which America has a sporting obsession. The Land of the Free is also infatuated with college sports. Both college football and college basketball garner huge audiences to watch young stars test themselves across the country in a bid to be crowned national champions. But which schools have dominated on the court specifically over the years?
Duke Blue Devils
When it comes to college basketball royalty, the Duke Blue Devils wear their crown proudly. Over the years, the likes of Zion Williamson and Kyrie Irving have come through the famous Durham doors, both going on to have stellar careers in the upper echelons of the NBA.
The North Carolina-based outfit boasts five national championships to its name, as well as a whopping 17 final-four appearances, and the bookies think that they have a great chance of adding to that impressive legacy in 2025.
Led by sensational freshman Cooper Flagg, the Blue Devils are a +330 second favourite to win the National Championship this season, narrowly behind the +320 frontrunner, Auburn. But if they are to punch their tickets to the Alamodome-hosted Finals in April, then they will have to navigate the minefield known as March Madness.
Throughout the month of March, the 128 best schools in the country will battle it out in a single-elimination tournament. Chaos lies around the corner at every turn, as demonstrated last year by NC State.
In 2024, the unfancied 11th-seed Wolfpack made it to the Final Four, becoming the joint-lowest seed in history to make it that far after picking up victories against some heavy hitters along the way, including the Blue Devils.
With upsets happening with regular occurrences, predicting the perfect March Madness Bracket - basically plotting your own picks as to who will make it to Texas in April - is almost impossible.
If you think you are up to the task, though, Bovada's March Madness Bracket game is offering a mighty $80,000 to the player who makes the most correct predictions between now and Finals weekend.
In the game, more points are awarded for victories that come later in the tournament. As such, Duke could be a great selection to pick for a deep run. Led by Coach Jon Scheyer and the instrumental Flagg, they have managed to carve themselves a high seeding heading into the end-of-season showdown.
Their Cameron Indoor Stadium home may be quiet as the Blue Devils travel to neutral sites for March Madness, but the energy from the “Cameron Crazies” follows them everywhere, and it may well lead them to a sixth championship this season.
Kansas Jayhawks
Another program etched into college basketball folklore is the Kansas Jayhawks. They have four national titles to their name, one fewer than the aforementioned Duke, but they will be aiming to tie things up at five apiece in 2025.
Their most recent triumph came back in 2022 when a stellar cast led by NBA first-rounders Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun masterminded finals victories against Villanova and North Carolina.
That triumph was Kansas' first in over a decade, but it does not take away their status as a college basket-balling superpower. When you consider just how deep their lineage runs, perhaps that fact is somewhat unsurprising. James Naismith, the man who invented the game of basketball, served as the Jayhawks' first-ever coach, providing them with a head start over the rest of the competition.
In modern times, current head coach Bill Self has managed to restore the school to its former glories and carry on its legacy. Allen Fieldhouse, affectionately called “the Phog,” serves as one of the most intimidating venues in all of college sports and is a place where opponents rarely escape with a win.
Heading into the 2025 postseason, the team is coming to the end of an era with senior stars such as Hunter Dickinson and Zeke Mayo both set to graduate this year. They have been priced as a +6500 outsider to end their collegiate year with a bang, but don't be surprised to see them do exactly that, despite what the betting odds may predict.