At this point in college basketball’s regular season, with Selection Sunday for the 2025 NCAA Tournament less than a month away, the result of one big game on the schedule often just creates another game with elevated stakes. Michigan State‘s fate in the Big Ten serves as the latest reminder of what conference play in February can bring for contenders and bubble teams alike.
The Spartans’ win over Purdue Tuesday set up an even more significant showdown against in-state rival Michigan Friday night, with first place in the Big Ten on the line. The Wolverines, by the way, currently sit in first place by virtue of their wins over Purdue and Ohio State over the past week. It’s among the most exciting league races in the country, but it’s not the only one.
Though a regular-season champion is closer to being crowned with each game, no team is running away with first place in any of the major conferences. Here’s a look at the current regular-season championship odds for the top contenders in the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, SEC, Mountain West, American and West Coast conferences, according to BetMGM.
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NCAA basketball conference winner odds by league
*Regular season conference winner odds from BetMGM as of Thursday, Feb. 20
The situation: Duke has a one-game lead on Clemson and Louisville in the loss column with four conference games to go. Clemson holds the tiebreaker over Duke and Louisville holds the tiebreaker over Clemson, which means a Duke loss would put a complicated three-way tie in play.
The situation: The winner of Friday’s clash between Michigan and Michigan State in Ann Arbor will grab hold of first place in the Big Ten for the time being. If the Wolverines win, they’ll be at least 1.5 games up on the rest of the league with two weeks left in the regular season. But Michigan and Michigan State play again in East Lansing in their regular-season finale. Wisconsin also has one game remaining against the Spartans.
The situation: St. John’s holds a 2.5-game lead on Marquette in the league standings heading into this weekend’s game against UConn. By this time next week, the Red Storm could have clinched their first Big East regular-season title since 1992.
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The situation: Houston is two games up on Arizona after beating the Wildcats last week, and three up on Iowa State and Texas Tech. Wins over Iowa State and Texas Tech over the next two games would all but clinch first place in the Big 12 for the Cougars.
The situation: Auburn is in the driver’s seat after beating Alabama, but Florida still lurks as a threat since it’s the only SEC team with a win over the Tigers thus far. The Gators and Auburn don’t have many gimmes in the SEC this year.
The situation: New Mexico’s regular-season sweep of Utah State means the Lobos’ one-game lead in the league standings is really two games at the moment. New Mexico’s road game at San Diego State next week looms large.
The situation: This is coming down to Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s again, but this time the Gaels have the advantage entering the final weeks of the regular season. Gonzaga hosts Saint Mary’s Saturday in its best shot to overcome the Gaels’ current two-game lead in the standings.
The situation: The Tigers’ loss at Wichita State last Sunday left the door slightly more ajar for North Texas and UAB, who each sit one game back of Memphis. UAB has a home game against the Tigers on March 2. Memphis holds the tiebreaker over North Texas.
The situation: Jacksonville State is one game up on Liberty for first place in the league standings, but must travel to Liberty on Feb. 27 to potentially secure its first C-USA regular-season title.
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