The Duke Blue Devils spent most of the 2024-25 men’s basketball season as a heavyweight contender for the national championship, getting all the way to the Final Four before losing to fellow No. 1 seed Houston.
While head coach Jon Scheyer’s team will look plenty different next season, the oddsmakers know that didn’t stop him last offseason, and based on the early betting odds for the 2025-26 NCAA Tournament, they don’t expect it to stop him this summer, either.
The Blue Devils opened as the second-leading favorite for the 2026 national championship on Tuesday at +1000, giving them an implied 9.1% chance to add their long-awaited sixth banner to Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Duke almost certainly won’t bring back AP Player of the Year Cooper Flagg or fellow lottery picks Kon Knueppel or Khaman Maluach. In fact, if three-year starter Tyrese Proctor opts for the transfer portal or NBA draft, the Blue Devils would lose their entire starting lineup from this past season. But first-year sharpshooter Isaiah Evans and promising center Patrick Ngongba II both seem likely to spend a sophomore season with the Cameron Crazies, and with five-star forward Cameron Boozer leading an incoming freshman class of four top-25 signees, there will always be talent in Durham.
The Cougars, who lost to the Florida Gators in the championship game after eliminating Duke, opened as the lead favorite at +900. Here’s a look at the early favorites for the 2026 edition of March Madness.
2025-26 men’s basketball national championship favorites:
All college basketball odds via BetMGM
| Team | Odds |
| Houston Cougars | +900 |
| Duke Blue Devils | +1000 |
| Connecticut Huskies | +1400 |
| Auburn Tigers | +1800 |
| Purdue Boilermakers | +1800 |
| Louisville Cardinals | +1800 |
| BYU Cougars | +2000 |
| Kentucky Wildcats | +2000 |
| Arkansas Razorbacks | +2000 |
| Kansas Jayhawks | +2000 |
| Alabama Crimson Tide | +2000 |
| Florida Gators | +2000 |
Outside of the Blue Devils and Louisville, the oddsmakers don’t see many national championship contenders in next year’s ACC. The North Carolina Tar Heels sit all the way down at +4000 after their disappointing 23-14 season and first-round NCAA Tournament exit, and no other member of the conference is below +12500.
The 2026 Final Four will take place at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, from April 4-6.
