2024 Final Four Odds: Purdue Among Title Favorites With Zach Edey Back

We’re exactly five months away from the start of the 2023-24 college basketball season and no team will be more rarin’ to get back on track after their season was derailed in dramatic upsetting fashion three months ago, than the Purdue Boilermakers men’s team.

As almost all of you who filled out a March Madness bracket earlier this year will no doubt recall, Purdue became just the second No. 1 seed in tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed.

Farleigh Dickinson’s victory was all kinds of shocking, especially since Purdue had the consensus National Player of the Year in center Zach Edey.

Well, there’s good news for Boilermakers fans: Edey has decided to withdraw from this year’s NBA Draft and return for his senior season in West Lafayette, Indiana.

It’s a huge deal.

Almost as big as Edey’s frame: 7-foot-4, 300 pounds.

Now, the Boilermakers get a chance to do what Virginia did in 2019 after the Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed ever to lose in the opening round the year before (in 2018 to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County): And that is, return with a vengeance the following year and win the whole damn thing to become national champions.

So it’s possible and has been done.

And you know the Boilermakers will come out steamed after what happened that fateful night last March 17. Meanwhile, Edey will again be the favorite to win his second straight Wooden Award while trying to improve his Draft status among scouts who are concerned that his old-school, back-to-the-basket style won’t play well in today’s fast-paced NBA.

For now, though, he’s back in college and he’ll no doubt be dominant again in the Big 10. Plus, Purdue returns six of its top seven scorers from last season’s squad which should be motivated and laser-focused.

Purdue is the second betting choice to cut down the nets as champs in Glendale, Arizona on April 8, 2024.

Let’s take a look at next year’s Final Four that you can make now FanDuel Sportsbook, one of our favorite gambling sites in the country, including PointsBet, BetMGM, and more.

To Reach 2024 Final Four

Kansas +350

Purdue +400

Duke  +400

Houston +450

Michigan State +450

Marquette +550

Connecticut +550

Tennessee +550

Creighton +550

Texas +600

Arkansas +600

Arizona +600

Kentucky +600

Villanova +750

North Carolina +750

Gonzaga +750

USC +750

Alabama +850

Miami +850

Florida Atlantic +1000

UCLA +1000

Texas A&M +1000

West Virginia +1200

Saint Mary's +1200

TCU +1300

Illinois +1300

Auburn +1300

Baylor +1300

Indiana +1500

Xavier +1500

Florida +1500

Virginia +2000

Kansas State +2000

Mississippi State +2000

Colorado +2000

Wisconsin +2000

Oregon +2000

Ohio State +2200

San Diego State +2200

St. John's +2200

Iowa State +2200

Memphis +2200

Maryland +2200

Texas Tech +2500

NC State +2500

Iowa +2500

Michigan +2500

Clemson +2500

Ole Miss +2500

Boise State +2500

Providence +2500

LSU +2500

Northwestern +2500

Wake Forest +2500

Oklahoma State +4000

Georgia +4000

Cincinnati +4000

Penn State +4000

New Mexico +4000

California +4000

Stanford +4000

Oklahoma +4000

Charleston +5000

Syracuse +5000

Arizona State +5000

Virginia Tech +5000

Missouri +7500

Louisville +7500

Georgetown +7500

Pittsburgh +7500

Utah +7500

South Carolina +10000

DePaul +10000

Butler +10000

Minnesota +10000

Saint Louis +10000

UAB +10000

North Texas +10000

Notre Dame +10000

Nevada +10000

Dayton +10000

Utah State +10000

Oregon State +10000

BYU +10000

Drake +10000

Boston College +10000

Florida State +10000

UCF +10000

VCU +10000

Nebraska +10000

Vanderbilt +10000

Wichita State +10000

Bradley +10000

Washington +10000

Washington State +10000

Georgia Tech +10000

Of those teams, I think you’ll see two true blueblood programs return to the Final Four: Kansas and Duke. Because both teams are loaded, brought in a ton of new talent (transfers and freshmen) and both had ultimately unsatisfying 2023 seasons. They’ll be among the most equipped to handle the madness by next March.

As far as which other two teams make it, it’s anyone’s guess.

But I am staying away from Purdue.

Why?

The biggest reason is that the Boilermakers haven’t advanced to a Final Four since 1980 when another 7-foot center, Joe Barry Carroll, led them there.

Maybe Edey can be the guy to do it in 2024, but I’m not sure Purdue head coach Matt Painter, who’s about to start his 18th season guiding the Boilermakers, can get them to the top of the Final Four hill or over it.

I wouldn’t bet on it.