Betting on Kentucky basketball? A look at the options now that mobile wagering is legal.

With Big Blue Madness just two weeks away and the start of another college basketball season right around the corner, there’s a new wrinkle to the annual anticipation of seeing the Kentucky Wildcats on the court for the first time.

Legalized sports betting arrived at locations across the commonwealth this month, and Kentuckians can welcome it into their homes starting Thursday.

Wagering on the Wildcats is likely to be a popular endeavor.

Mobile betting is legal inside Kentucky beginning Thursday, and several sports betting apps are expected to be up and running on the launch date. Bet365, BetMGM, Caesars, Circa, DraftKings, ESPN Bet, Fanatics and FanDuel are in the first wave of online sportsbooks approved to operate in Kentucky. All of those apps also have sign-up bonuses — some ranging into the hundreds of dollars — for new customers who create an account by Thursday. (Don’t worry if you miss those. Additional promotions to entice new bettors are expected.)

And each of those betting outlets have various ways to wager on the Wildcats.

Here’s a look at some early odds related to Kentucky’s 2023-24 basketball season. And, as always, gamble responsibly.

National champion: Kentucky

John Calipari’s Cats have typically been ranked in the 15-20 range by the national outlets this preseason, but you’re not going to get corresponding odds on this young bunch in the betting apps.

UK, which has won exactly one game over the past three NCAA Tournaments, is among the biggest betting favorites to cut down the nets in 2024.

The Cats are at 14-1 to win the national championship at Bet365, BetMGM, Circa and DraftKings, with Caesars placing 12-1 odds on Kentucky to take home the title. Depending on which sportsbook you’re looking at, Duke or Kansas is the current championship favorite. KU has odds of 10-1 at BetMGM and Caesars, and 11-1 at Circa, while Duke is listed at 11-1 at both Bet365 and DraftKings.

Kentucky is no lower than the fourth betting choice at any of the major sportsbooks, despite returning only one player — senior guard Antonio Reeves — that played major minutes at UK last season. The bulk of the roster will be newcomers, expected to be led by star freshmen Justin Edwards and D.J. Wagner, along with a few other five-star prospects and veteran transfer forward Tre Mitchell.

Aside from UK, Duke and Kansas, the teams with the shortest odds to win the NCAA title include Michigan State, Purdue and defending national champion UConn.

Cats to make the Final Four

Bet365 and DraftKings both offer odds for teams to advance to the Final Four, and Kentucky is near the top of those lists, too.

The Wildcats are fourth at DraftKings at +475 odds (close to 5-1). The top choices there are Duke (+380), Purdue (+400) and Kansas (+450).

Bet365 actually has nine teams in front of the Cats on its Final Four odds list. Those nine teams: Duke (+320), Kansas (+350), Houston (+400), Michigan State (+400), UConn (+400), Arkansas (+425), Marquette (+450), Purdue (+450) and Tennessee (+450), with UK next at +475.

Kentucky hasn’t made the Final Four since 2015, ending a run of four trips to the national semifinals in five seasons at that time. UK was a preseason betting favorite last preseason, too — and started the 2022-23 campaign at No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll — before stumbling to a 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and losing in the second round.

Another player of the year at UK?

Oscar Tshiebwe earned consensus national player of the year honors following the 2021-22 season, but he fell short of becoming the first repeat winner in 40 years last season, ending up with second-team All-America honors instead.

Instead of Tshiebwe, it was Purdue center Zach Edey sweeping the national player of the year awards after the 2022-23 season. Edey decided to return to college for another run, and he’s the overwhelming preseason favorite to earn those honors again.

Both Bet365 and Caesars have odds on the John Wooden Award winner, and Edey is listed at +160 and +240 odds, respectively.

Duke sophomore Kyle Filipowski is next on both lists at +750 and +800, respectively. Kansas big man Hunter Dickinson, who flirted with a transfer to Kentucky during the offseason, is also +800 on the Caesars list, and he’s third at Bet365 with +1000 odds. North Carolina center Armando Bacot is the fourth choice at Bet365 (+1800) and Caesars (+1200).

What about the Wildcats?

Caesars lists only one Kentucky player: freshman wing Justin Edwards at 60-1 odds. Nineteen other players have shorter odds than Edwards, who is being projected as a possible No. 1 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Bet365 offers odds on five Wildcats, and, surprisingly, UK freshman guard and reigning Kentucky Mr. Basketball Reed Sheppard is the first one listed (at 50-1). The other Cats on that list are Edwards (70-1), Antonio Reeves (100-1), D.J. Wagner (125-1) and Tre Mitchell (300-1).

SEC basketball odds

Despite the national outlets listing other SEC teams ahead of Kentucky — the early CBS Sports rankings have Arkansas as the league’s top squad, while the ESPN Top 25 puts Tennessee first in the conference — it’s the Cats dominating the SEC betting markets.

Bet365 and Caesars offer SEC regular-season title odds, and UK is No. 1 on both lists (at +300 and +325, respectively).

Both betting sites have the same top three, in order: Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, with Bet365 placing Alabama fourth (+500) and Texas A&M fifth (+600). Caesars has A&M fourth (+500), followed by Florida (+600), Auburn (+1000) and Alabama (+1500).

UK last won the SEC regular-season title in 2020, with Alabama winning in 2021 and 2023, and Auburn taking the conference championship in 2022.

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