Alabama Basketball Among the Title Favorites

The college basketball season is right around the corner, with under three weeks until the regular season begins. With nearly six months until March Madness begins, the journey to the national championship has a long way to go, but the preseason narratives are still rumbling.

The A.P. Poll released its first rankings on Monday along with the inaugural KenPom rankings , and now the BetMGM sports book has released its odds for each program to win the national championship.

Sitting at No. 4 is the Alabama Crimson Tide, who have +1200 odds and own higher odds than the football team did before the season.

This shows the development head coach Nate Oats has made with his program. From just making the tournament to Final Four expectations, Oats has changed this program forever.

No. 4 might even be too low for Oats' sixth team at the helm of the Alabama basketball program, a roster he has praised as the most talented he's had.

It's not just about the No. 7 transfer portal class that Oats compiled or the No. 2 high school recruiting class that was brought in, but it's also the continuity among the roster between guards Mark Sears and Latrell Wrigthsell Jr. and forwards Grant Nelson, Jarin Stevenson and Mouhamed Dioubate that bodes well.

Oats' squad will be tested with one of the most difficult schedules in the country, including 15 games scheduled against teams ranked in the top 25 of the first A.P. Poll. The non-conference slate is highlighted by matchups with No. 4 Houston and No. 9 North Carolina.

Related: Nate Oats Claims Alabama Has 'Best' Roster Since His Arrival