Odds for Each Major College Basketball Conference Champ to Repeat in 2015-16

Though not the ultimate goal of most programs, winning a college basketball regular-season conference title is pretty high up on the list. To be able to say, after a long, arduous schedule traveling all over the league and playing everyone at least once, that your team was better than all the rest is one of the most significant achievements in the game.

More than just banner- and trophy-worthy, it's a sign that the season has been a successful one, regardless of what might happen during the conference and NCAA tournaments.

There aren't often repeat champions among the major conferences, though the nine teams that won regular-season titles in the ACC, American, Atlantic 10, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Mountain West, Pac-12 and SEC in 2014-15 included four that claimed the crown the year before.

How many of this year's winners will finish on top at the end of the 2015-16 regular season? Take a look at our odds for each to do so, factoring in how their teams have changed as well as what potential league contenders have done to improve their lineup for next year.

NOTE: All roster information, including transfers and NBA draft declarations, as well as all signees and commitments from the 2015 recruiting class, are as of Tuesday, April 21.

ACC: Virginia

Bob Jordan/Associated Press

2014-15 conference record: 16-2 (won by one game)

Starters returning: 3

Impact transfers: G Darius Thompson (Tennessee)

2015 recruiting class rank: 103rd

Virginia's two-year run as ACC regular-season champs defied all projections, but in order for the Cavaliers to three-peat they'll need to do so without a key weapon that has moved on to the NBA.

The early departure of Justin Anderson takes away a major outside weapon, as he shot 46.9 percent from three-point range and was draining threes at a 48.4 percent clip before missing eight games with a hand injury and then appendicitis. When he was out of the lineup, Virginia struggled with its offense, and there wasn't enough coming off the bench to fill the void.

Even if Anderson were back, though, Virginia would be hard pressed to hold off a long list of contenders in the ACC. Duke, Florida State, Louisville and Syracuse all have top-flight recruiting classes coming in, while North Carolina brings back nearly its entire lineup and could be the preseason favorite in the conference.
 

Odds: 12-1

American: SMU

David Stephenson/Associated Press

2014-15 conference record: 15-3 (won by one game)

Starters returning: 1

Impact transfers: F Semi Ojeleye (Duke), F Jordan Tolbert (Texas Tech)

2015 recruiting class rank: 41st

Even after Emmanuel Mudiay made the surprise choice to forego college and play in China this past season, SMU had enough of a team to claim the regular-season title in what was a very weak and underperforming American Athletic Conference. However, the Mustangs will lose most of their top players from that group, and the rest of the league has gotten much better.

Memphis has a strong recruiting class coming in, and that combined with the pieces that remain from this past underachieving team might make the Tigers the favorites. Connecticut will be strong as well, while Cincinnati and Temple will also contend.

Leading scorers Markus Kennedy and Nic Moore are back, and SMU brings in two good pieces who sat out last season after transferring. Still, the loss of several notable seniors, a looming NCAA investigation and a coach in Larry Brown who often doesn't stick around long all combine for a poor outlook for a second straight AAC title.

Odds: 20-1

Atlantic 10: Davidson

Mary Altaffer/Associated Press

2014-15 conference record: 14-4 (won by one game)

Starters returning: 4

Impact transfers: None

2015 recruiting class rank: 124th

To say Davidson winning the Atlantic 10 was a shocker is a major understatement, as the Wildcats were picked toward the bottom of the league and were pegged by Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller as the team least likely to repeat as conference champions. That was based on both Davidson's roster and its move from the Southern to the A-10, but an up-tempo attack led by senior Tyler Kalinoski came out of nowhere.

And while four starters are back from that team, Kalinoski is not. The A-10 Player of the Year takes his 17 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists with him, and though Jack Gibbs (16.3 points, 4.8 assists) is back, he won't be able to make up that production.

Davidson emerged from a crowded field to win the title last season, and those other contenders (Dayton, Richmond, Rhode Island and VCU) will all be in the mix again.

Odds: 12-1

Big 12: Kansas

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

2014-15 conference record: 13-5 (won by one game)

Starters returning: 4

Impact transfers: None

2015 recruiting class rank: 69th

Don't ever doubt Bill Self.

This should be rule No. 1 when projecting the Big 12, but every year experts declare it will be the end of Kansas' run of regular-season conference titles. That run now stands at 11, and while this most recent one wasn't pretty, they still had enough to keep the streak alive.

It helped that the conference was so deep and balanced that no other team was able to win enough games to surpass the Jayhawks, but you go with the hand you're dealt.

The Big 12 could be in the same place again in 2015-16, which makes the loss of Cliff Alexander and Kelly Oubre to the NBA draft less impactful. The league didn't recruit particularly well, as Kansas signee Carlton Bragg is the only 5-star prospect headed that way at this point.

Odds: 6-1

Big East: Villanova

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

2014-15 conference record: 16-2 (won by four games)

Starters returning: 2

Impact transfers: None

2015 recruiting class rank: 23rd

Villanova graduated two starters (guard Darrun Hilliard and forward JayVaughn Pinkston) and saw guard Dylan Ennis opt to transfer for his final season of college. But the Wildcats still have enough pieces in place to be able to win a third straight Big East title, especially with many of their main contenders also losing a lot.

"Losing Hilliard and Pinkston is really going to hurt, but there are two things that make [me] feel really good about this Villanova team," Rob Dauster of NBC Sports wrote. "(Josh) Hart is going to be an all-Big East player this season, and (freshman Jalen) Brunson is the real deal."

Brunson, a 5-star point guard from Illinois, will team up with Hart and Ryan Arcidiacono for a potent backcourt that might be better than what the Wildcats had this past year.

As far as competition goes, Butler and Xavier will still be good, and Marquette has the potential to make a huge leap thanks to 5-star forward Henry Ellenson. But Georgetown will lose a lot, and St. John's is an absolute mess and has a coach (Chris Mullin) who has never been in charge of a college program.

Odds: 6-1

Big Ten: Wisconsin

Nati Harnik/Associated Press

2014-15 conference record: 16-2 (won by two games)

Starters returning: 2

Impact transfers: None

2015 recruiting class rank: 37th

Two straight years of veteran-laden Wisconsin teams had to lead to some attrition, and the Badgers got more than expected as Sam Dekker's postseason rise led him to declare for the NBA draft. He joins fellow starters Frank Kaminsky and Josh Gasser on their way out of Madison. Throw in the losses of two graduating seniors, reserve Duje Dukan and former starter Traevon Jackson, and Wisconsin is in for a bit of a rebuild.

It won't be a complete one, as Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig are some darn good pieces to build around, but the Badgers don't have enough to compete with the holdovers and reinforcements that Maryland and Michigan State have.

Both teams are bringing in premier big men, with Maryland landing Diamond Stone and Michigan State getting the services of Caleb Swanigan. Those guys are added to already-loaded rosters, with each team also having a transfer become eligible (former West Virginia guard Eron Harris to MSU, Georgia Tech forward Robert Carter to Maryland).

Odds: 15-1

Mountain West: Boise State

Ben Margot/Associated Press

2014-15 conference records: 14-4 (tied with San Diego State)

Starters returning: 3

Impact transfers: None

2015 recruiting class rank: 75th

When Boise State lost its best player after just seven games, there wasn't much hope for the 2014-15 season. But then senior Derrick Marks took over and made the absence of Anthony Drmic a non-issue, and the Broncos won the conference title by tiebreaker over San Diego State by virtue of two head-to-head wins.

Marks was one of the hottest players in the country over the last three months of the season, and his loss will be hard to overcome. Getting Drmic back for a fifth year after the Mountain West gave him a medical redshirt because of ankle surgery will help. But it probably won't be enough to hold off another solid San Diego State team and a UNLV squad that once again brings in a star-studded recruiting class.

UNLV just landed 5-star Las Vegas center Stephen Zimmerman, part of a class that is ranked ninth-best in the country, and assuming the Runnin' Rebels don't lose anyone else to the NBA besides Rashad Vaughn, they'll be the favorites.

Odds: 12-1

Pac-12: Arizona

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

2014-15 conference record: 16-2 (won by three games)

Starters returning: 2

Impact transfers: F Ryan Anderson (Boston College)

2015 recruiting class rank: 3rd

Of all of the defending champions on this list, none has a future more in flux than Arizona. The Wildcats already know they're losing three starters from a second straight Pac-12 regular-season title team (including Brandon Ashley and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson to the NBA draft), and two others are still in limbo about their futures.

Junior center Kaleb Tarczewski and freshman forward Stanley Johnson, a projected lottery pick, have yet to announce their plans with the deadline to declare for the draft looming on Sunday.

"He's only 18 and an extra year of college basketball can put him in the top echelon," Johnson's high school coach, Gary McKnight, told Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star.

The Wildcats planned with the assumption they could lose all five starters from this team, which is why coach Sean Miller picked up Boston College's Ryan Anderson off the transfer wire last offseason and redshirted junior college shooter Kadeem Allen this year. Miller also has another strong recruiting class coming in, and Arizona is among the top contenders to land Drexel graduate transfer wing Damion Lee.

Whether Johnson and Tarczewski stay or go and whether Lee picks the Wildcats or not, what Arizona still has in place and what it's bringing on board will still be more than enough to finish ahead of a league lineup that will suffer plenty of losses of its own.

Odds: 4-1

SEC: Kentucky

David Stephenson/Associated Press

2014-15 conference record: 18-0 (won by five games)

Starters returning: 5

Impact transfers: None

2015 recruiting class rank: 4th

With seven of its top 10 players headed to the NBA as early entrants and only three returners with notable experience—one of whom missed most of last season because of knee surgery—there's no doubt that the 2015-16 Kentucky team won't be anywhere near as dominant as the one that made it to the Final Four last year.

But to assume the Wildcats will just fall off the map is to ignore another great crop of incoming players, a group that's likely not complete yet.

Coach John Calipari has two 5-star prospects signed in center Skal Labissiere and guard Isaiah Briscoe, each of whom will make an instant impact, and he's still hot on the trail of several other uncommitted stars. He might even go the junior college or graduate transfer route to add to his lineup, which includes returners Tyler Ulis, Marcus Lee and a hopefully healed Alex Poythress as Kentucky's first senior contributor in years.

LSU and Texas A&M will be much improved, as both bring in monster recruiting classes, and they'll provide the main challenges for the top spot. Throw in improved coaching at Alabama, Mississippi State and Tennessee and the SEC won't be nearly as easy to run over as this past season.

Kentucky should still have enough to get it done, just not at 18-0.

Odds: 3-1

All recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.