Odds to Win 2025-2026 College Basketball Championship

2025-2026 College Basketball Championship Odds

The 2024-25 college basketball season ended in dramatic fashion with the Florida Gators winning the national championship with a 65-63 win over Houston in the title game. Florida came up with a defensive top in the closing seconds against a Cougars team that played the best defense all season. And it was fitting that a squad from the SEC claimed the title with a record 14 conference schools competing in the Big Dance. Houston experienced the highs and lows of the Final Four rallying to beat favorite Duke, 70-67, in the semifinal round.

Duke was arguably the best team all season going 28-3 during the regular year while being ranked No. 1 in the national polls for the final two weeks. Losing national player of the year Cooper Flagg in the ACC tournament didn’t affect them and with Flagg back for the NCAA Tournament, the Dookies breezed to the Final Four winning their first four Tournament games by an average of 23.5 points. They were stymied by Houston in the semis, though. The Cougars outscored Duke 9-0 in the final 33 seconds and held one of the nation’s most efficient offense teams to 37.5 percent shooting in the second half.

Basketball Betting Lines

College Basketball Championship Odds

*Odds as of Friday, September 19, 1:00 PM ET

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Houston led the championship game for a little less than 39 minutes, but not when it mattered most. The Cougs were up by as many as 12 points in the second half and didn’t allow Walter Clayton Jr. to beat them, holding Florida’s leading scorer without a point in the first half and to 11 points total on 3 of 10 shooting. However, Clayton came up with a big defensive play preventing the Cougars from attempting a potential game-winning three pointer in the closing seconds.

College basketball treated fans to one of the most exciting Final Fours ever with all three games going down to the wire and none decided by more than six points. Behind 34 points from Clayton, the Gators beat SEC rival Auburn, 79-73, in the semifinals overcoming an eight-point halftime deficit. The Tigers entered the Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed but had the longest odds of any Final Four squad.

The champagne was still cold, at least for the people who were of age to legally drink, when championship odds for the 2025-26 college basketball season surfaced. And there are plenty of familiar faces at the top of the odds board, headlined by Duke. After averaging 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists, Cooper Flagg is the likely No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. Several other players, including Kon Knueppel, are also NBA bound. Don’t worry about the Blue Devils, though, who opened as the favorite behind the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class. Duke went 37-5 overall with a trip to the Final Four starting multiple freshmen and they’ll do it again next season with ESPN’s No. 3 ranked prospect Cameron Boozer.

The anticipated return of Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler, along with one of the top recruiting classes, has Houston back as one of the top favorites. How far the Cougars go and in what direction their odds trend will depend on Milos Uzan. Projected by ESPN to be among the top 40 in NBA draft rankings, a return makes the Cougs that much stronger.

A quick turnaround in Louisville has the Cardinals poised for a stronger run next season. In 2023-24 the Cards won eight games, doubling their win total from the season before. In their first year under Pat Kelsey, the Cards went 27-8 finishing second to Duke in the ACC with a record of 18-2. A first-round loss in the NCAA Tournament only has them hungrier for bigger things. Already landing some impact transfers to go along with top-10 recruit Mikel Brown Jr., the Cards have their sights on a deeper run in 2025-26.

Rounding out the top 5 on the odds board are Purdue and BYU. The Marriott Center in Provo will be rocking with the arrival of No. 1 ranked recruit A.J. Dybantsa. The question is do the Cougars have enough to support the uber-talented post player? The defending champion Gators will likely be without three starters and possibly more for the start of next season. That has impacted their odds and without any transfers as of this writing, Florida sits well off the pack on the odds board.

With seven months to go before the season tips off there will be plenty of changes to teams and rosters. The transfer portal and NIL money will play a significant role in shaping programs. And a number of players who could make a difference if they return have yet to announce their future plans. So, stay tuned.

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