There are three certainties in life: death, taxes, and the Duke Blue Devils being hyped up before every college basketball season.
The most hated program in NCAA hoops gears up for the 2023-2024 campaign and with four starters returning from a lineup that won the ACC Tournament, they're getting plenty of love from oddsmakers.
The upcoming season is still months away but with the player movement cycle slowing to a crawl, college basketball odds have stabilized.
We take a look at the futures odds for March Madness, the Conference championship, and the Wooden Award with our Duke Blue Devils 2023-24 season preview.
Duke Blue Devils futures odds
Duke Blue Devils March Madness odds
The Duke Blue Devils struggled with chemistry and consistency at the beginning of last season which made sense since they were starting four freshmen with another acting as their sixth man. They began to gel as a unit over the course of the season and ended up winning the ACC Tournament before falling to Tennessee in the second round of March Madness.
Duke should be able to get off to a much better start this year with their Top-4 leading scorers from last season returning to the fold. Jon Scheyer will also be in his second season as head coach in Durham, another critical factor that shouldn't be overlooked.
The only team ahead of Duke on the National Championship odds board is Kansas which added star big man Hunter Dickenson in the transfer portal but also lost Big-12 Player of the Year Jalen Wilson and second-team All-Conference selection Gradey Dick.
Duke Blue Devils ACC odds
| Market |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Win conference | OTB | OTB | +140 |
The Blue Devils have easily the shortest odds to win the conference at +140 with Miami (+375) and rival North Carolina (+500) well behind. While the Blue Devils have a great shot of winning the ACC title once again, these odds look too short to play before the season has even started.
We've seen schools get hot at the right time, and the Canes and Tar Heels have plenty of talent. Sure, Miami lost Isiah Wong and Jordan Miller but they added Matthew Cleveland while retaining Nijel Pack and Norchard Omier.
Meanwhile, the Tar Heels said goodbye to point guard Caleb Love and several other rotation players but big man Armando Bacot and guard R.J. Davis return, and freshman point guard Elliot Cadeau could make a splash after reclassifying to the class of 2023.
Duke Blue Devils Wooden Award Candidate: Kyle Filipowski
Kyle Filipowski led the team with 15.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as a freshman last year and could be in line for even bigger things this year. The big man does need to shoot the ball more efficiently since he had a field goal percentage of just 44.1% while shooting 28.2% from long range.
Filipowski was the No. 4 prospect in the class of 2022 according to 247 Sports and while he was just behind Whitehead and Lively in the rankings, he was the more productive player from Day 1. Purdue's Zach Edey is the massive early favorite to repeat as the Wooden Award winner but Dickenson and Filpowski are next on the board and offer great value.
Scheyer has said that he wants the Blue Devils to play at a faster pace this season. With the team playing more of an up-tempo style, Filipowski should see his numbers rise and if he improves his efficiency, he could easily become the favorite.
Best college basketball bonuses
Looking to bet on some CBB futures? Here are two of the best bonuses* available:
A) New users at FanDuel can get 10x your first bet (up to $200) in bonus bets! Sign Up Now
B) New users at DraftKings can get bet $5 and get $150 in bonus bets! Sign Up Now
*Eligible USA locations only. Also, check out our full list of best sportsbook promotions for 2023.
21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER
Duke Blue Devils betting overview
Two of the top recruits from last year, Dariq Whitehead and Dereck Lively II, left early for the NBA. However, Whitehead didn't make a huge impact, and while Lively was a terrific rim protector, he was mostly a non-factor on the other end of the floor.
The other three freshman starters, Filipowski, Tyrese Proctor, and Mark Mitchell all returned to school and will likely show improvement as sophomores. Senior point guard Jeremy Roach is an experienced ball-handler and with Proctor being pegged as a potential lottery selection in next year's NBA Draft, Duke's backcourt should be one of the best in the nation.
Duke put together another fantastic recruiting class this season but unlike last year, these freshmen won't be expected to shoulder the load. Guard Jared McCain (the No. 12 recruit in the country according to ESPN and Rivals) is the only frosh that will likely start and his shooting ability will help space the floor.
Combo guard Caleb Foster and forwards Sean Stewart and T.J. Power are also five-star recruits and will be given time to develop while making an impact off the bench. With sophomore Jaden Schutt and senior center Ryan Young also on the second unit that gives Duke one of the deepest squads in the country.
That caliber of talent, size, and depth should make the Blue Devils one of the best teams in the country and while they might not be quite as strong on defense without Lively they should be better offensively, especially in the half-court.
Anything short of a Final Four appearance would be a complete disappointment for this squad, and being able to back them at 4/1 to advance to that stage is solid value.
Favorite futures lean: Duke to reach Final Four (+400 at FanDuel)
Duke Blue Devils notable early season matchups
| Date | Opponent | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, Nov. 10 | Arizona | OTB | OTB |
| Tuesday, Nov. 14 | Michigan State | OTB | OTB |
| Wednesday, Dec 20 | Baylor | OTB | OTB |
The Blue Devils will be tested early in the season with two of their first three games coming against stacked Arizona and Michigan State teams. The Wildcats are the favorites to win the Pac-12 and after their shaky backcourt play led to an early exit in March, they added Caleb Love and Jaden Bradley through the transfer portal.
The Blue Devils will at least benefit from hosting Arizona at Cameron Indoor Stadium while the Champions Classic showdown against the Spartans will take place on neutral ground.
Tom Izzo's squad is also a national title contender with +1,500 odds of winning it all. The Spartans return four of their top five scorers from a team that advanced to the Sweet 16 last season while also adding five-star center Xavier Booker.
Duke also has a neutral-site matchup scheduled against Baylor just before Christmas. The Bears said farewell to all three of their starting guards but Scott Drew typically does an excellent job of reloading in the backcourt and could play spoiler in this spot.
