The 2025 edition of men’s March Madness just wrapped up with Florida winning the national championship, but it’s never to early to start thinking about who is next to have the one shining moment.
Odds for the national champion of the 2026 NCAA Tournament are already out, allowing a sneak preview of who could be playing in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Several factors such as coaching changes, recruiting and the transfer portal determine the way-too-early look at next year’s March Madness. Of course, things could drastically be different comes next March, but the early predictions could end up coming true.
There’s 363 days until the 2026 men’s basketball national championship game, but here are the betting favorites to cut down the nets next season.
Favorite to win 2026 men’s basketball national championship
It’s the team that finished this season’s runner-up. Houston is the betting favorite to win the 2026 national championship, according to BetMGM. The Cougars have the best odds at +900. It currently has the second best recruiting class, according to 247 Sports, behind Duke, which has the second-best odds at +100.
Betting odds for 2026 men’s March Madness national champion
According to betMGM, as of Tuesday morning
Houston: +900
Duke: +1000
Connecticut: +1400
Louisville: +1700
Auburn: +1800
Purdue: +1900
Brigham Young: +2000
Kentucky: +2000
Arkansas: +2000
Kansas: +2000
Alabama: +2000
Texas Tech: +2000
Michigan: +2500
St. John’s: +2500
Tennessee: +2500
Michigan State: +3000
Gonzaga: +3000
Iowa State: +3000
Arizona: +4000
Baylor: +4000
UCLA: +4000
North Carolina: +4000
