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With only two weeks remaining in the college basketball regular season, the 2024 men’s national title picture is steadily gaining clarity.

So are the favorites to cut down the nets April 8 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz.?

Below we take a look the current men’s hoops national title futures odds as posted by the leading online sportsbooks and highlight the championship credentials of the top five teams. Topping the list are defending national champion Connecticut and current No. 2-ranked Purdue.

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Men’s basketball national championship odds: UConn (best: +500)

Coach Dan Hurley’s squad just had its 14-game win streak snapped Tuesday night on the road at No. 15 Creighton, but the reigning champs remain the oddsmakers’ team to beat.

The Huskies (24-3) certainly are the team to beat in the formidable Big East with a three-game lead atop the conference as of mid-week.

Nationally, they are ranked fourth in the NCAA’s NET rankings and third in respected analyst Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings.

Three of UConn’s top four scorers — guard Tristen Newton, forward Alex Karaban center Donovan Clignan — were major contributors on last year’s 31-8 champions, and this year’s squad currently ranks in the top 14 nationally in average point (plus-16.9), rebound (plus-8.5) and field goal percentage (plus-9.4) differential.

Men’s basketball national championship odds: Purdue (best: +800)

The Big Ten-leading Boilermakers (23-3) are back, looking to make amends after last March becoming only the second No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament history to lose to a No. 16 seed.

Seven-foot-4 center Zach Edey is the runaway favorite to collect his second straight Wooden Award as he ranks third nationally in both scoring (23.2 points per game) and rebounding (11.9). The senior big man is complemented rather nicely by the Boilermakers’ 40.1 percent accuracy rate from 3-point range, which ranks third nationally.

Overall, coach Matt Painter’s team stands No. 2 in both the NET and KenPom.com rankings and has earned it, too, with a nation-leading 15 wins (against three losses) against NET Quad 1/2 teams while playing Division I’s toughest schedule, according to Pomeroy.

Men’s basketball national championship odds: Houston (best: +900)

Checking in at No. 1 in both the NET and KenPom.com rankings, Houston (23-3) is setting the pace in its first season in the stacked Big 12.

As usual, coach Kelvin Sampson’s crew is playing brutally tough defense, ranking No. 1 in Pomeroy’s defensive efficiency ratings, while allowing a Division I-low 55.3 points per outing on 37.4 percent shooting, also tops in the nation.

The Cougars will be accorded a top-six NCAA tourney seed for the sixth time in the last seven seasons, but will the Jamal Shead/L.J. Cryer-led attack be enough to help the program punch its second Final Four ticket in the last 40 seasons?

Men’s basketball national championship odds: Arizona (best: +1200)

Coach Tommy Lloyd’s Wildcats (20-5) are the only other team ranked in the top five of both the NET (third) and KenPom.com (fourth) rankings, and they’re the lone squad nationally ranked among Pomeroy’s top 11 in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

However, on the downside, Arizona is the only team of the top four to suffer a Quad 2 or Quad 3 defeat this season with one apiece in each category.

Some of the Cats’ key numbers are highly impressive, though, particularly offensively and on the glass where they rank first nationally in scoring (90.7 ppg), fourth in assists (19.0) and third in rebound margin (plus-11.2). All five starters, led by North Carolina-transfer guard Caleb Love (18.8), boast double-digit scoring averages.

And like Purdue, Lloyd and Arizona will be looking for some Big Dance redemption after getting unceremoniously ousted in the first round as a No. 2 seed last season.

Men’s basketball national championship odds: Tennessee (best: +1500)

Coach Rick Barnes’ fifth-ranked Volunteers (20-6) are holding their own in the rugged SEC as they pursue the program’s first-ever Final Four berth in 26 all-time NCAA tourney appearances.

Tennessee ranks among the top 19 in efficiency on both ends of the floor, and its led by the fifth-most-efficient defense, which is limiting opponents to only 38.4 percent shooting (fourth best nationally).

Guard Dalton Knecht, a Wooden Award candidate averaging a team-leading 20 points and shooting 40 percent from 3-point range, has been one of the nation’s top transfer portal finds, but will the Vols be able to muster enough offense to make a run to Glendale?

There are doubts as Tennessee is 5-5 against Quad 1 foes so far this season and has underperformed as a top-five seed in four of its five NCAA tourneys under Barnes.