Virginia Cavaliers are Early Favorite to Repeat as College Basketball National Champions

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After making history as the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Virginia Cavaliers followed that up with more history, winning the school's first college basketball national championship.

With the 2020 college basketball season still months away, Virginia is the early favorite (+700) to repeat as champs, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

The Cavaliers have lost a number of key players to the NBA Draft, including Kyle Guy, De'Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome and Jack Salt. However, they return Mamadi Diakite for his senior season, and Marquette forward Sam Hauser will be transferring to Virginia. The Cavaliers also have two four-star recruits in guard Casey Morsell and center Kadin Shedrick. This, combined with the system head coach Tony Bennett has implemented, is likely why the Cavaliers will be contenders again in 2020.

Close behind Virginia are the Duke Blue Devils and Kentucky Wildcats, tied at +800 odds to win the 2020 title. Duke has five top-100 recruits, including five-star recruits in center Vernon Carey Jr. and forwards Matthew Hurt and Wendell Moore, while Kentucky has three top-100 recruits, including five-star recruits in Kahlil Whitney and Tyrese Maxey.

So while the defending champs lost a surplus of talent to the NBA, there looks to be plenty coming back in 2020, making them the way-too-early favorites to win the national title again this coming season.

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