As the Purdue Boilermakers reached the No. 1 ranking in men's basketball for the first time in school history, sportsbooks are grimacing at the thought of a title run.
The Boilermakers, once as long as +2500 to win the national title at PointsBet and +1600 at others, are now +700 at BetMGM and the sports book's largest liability to win the title (real-time odds here.)
According to data released by BetMGM on Tuesday, Purdue is the only school with double-digit handle percentage to win the title. Over 14% of dollars bet on title odds are on Purdue, along with 13% of bets. That makes the Big Ten team an enemy of the book.
Matt Painter's team is off to a perfect 8-0 start with notable wins over ranked opponents North Carolina and Villanova. Led by Jaden Ivey (15.9 ppg) and Zach Edey (15.5 ppg), Purdue figures to be one of the best teams in the nation all year. In total, four players average double-figures in points per game.
Two other popular choices are off to sluggish starts. Michigan moved from +1000 to +2500 but are still the second-largest liability. Three losses, including blowouts against Arizona and North Carolina, have lowered expectations in the betting market for Juwan Howard's team.
Penny Hardaway's Memphis Tigers are in a rut, losing three consecutive games and seeing title odds lengthen from +1500 to +3300. Memphis is the third-most bet team at BetMGM.
The third-biggest liability is Arizona, down to +3300 from +5000. The Wildcats are 7-0 with an impressive 80-62 win over Michigan.
Gonzaga is still the betting favorite to win it all, down to +500 from +600. However, the Bulldogs have been vulnerable at times, losing to Duke and Alabama.
