SentinelOne Classic: Illinois v Duke
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The 2024-25 college basketball season is officially in the books, so it's time to turn the page to the next season. Florida defeated seed Houston 65-63 on Monday night in San Antonio to capture the program's first national title since 2007. Florida (25-1) holds the 12th-best odds to win next year's title.

Duke is the early favorite to win the 2026 national title (10-1) after falling short of reaching this year's national championship game. The Blue Devils are expected to lose superstar freshman Cooper Flagg to the NBA Draft this summer but will bring in five-star forward Cameron Boozer, a projected top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. 

March Madness 2025 winners and losers: SEC lives up to the hype, Duke chokes in NCAA Tournament Final Four
Cameron Salerno
March Madness 2025 winners and losers: SEC lives up to the hype, Duke chokes in NCAA Tournament Final Four

Duke is followed by Houston (12-1), Louisville (14-1), Purdue (14-1) and Kansas (16-1) with the best odds to win the national title.

Heading into Year 2 of the John Calipari era, Arkansas has the seventh-best betting odds (18-1) to win the national championship. Kentucky isn't far behind in the pecking order with the 11th-best odds (20-1) to capture the title. North Carolina is notably 50-1 to win the title heading into the most important season of Hubert Davis' tenure with the program.

You can find the full opening futures odds below:

2026 NCAA Tournament championship odds

Duke+1000
Houston +1200
Louisville+1400
Purdue+1400
Kansas+1600
BYU+1600
Arkansas+1800
Auburn+1800
Connecticut+1800
Alabama+1800
Kentucky+2000
Florida+2500
Texas Tech+2500
Michigan+2500
St. John's+2500
UCLA+3000
Tennessee+3000
Iowa State+3000
Gonzaga+3000
Arizona+3500
Michigan State+3500
Indiana+5000
North Carolina+5000
Creighton+5000
Baylor+5000
Iowa+6000
Wisconsin+6000
Oregon+6000
Villanova+6000
Texas+6000
Ohio State+8000
LSU+8000
Illinois+8000
Kansas State+10000
Miami+10000
Missouri+10000
Ole Miss+10000
Mississippi State+10000
NC State+10000
USC+10000
Maryland+10000
Virginia+10000
Marquette+10000
Syracuse+15000
SMU+15000
Washington+15000
West Virginia+15000
Cincinnati+15000
Xavier+15000
Butler+20000
Georgetown+20000
Providence+20000
Clemson+20000
Memphis+20000
Notre Dame+20000
Nebraska+20000
Vanderbilt+20000
San Diego State+20000
Saint Mary's+20000
Texas A&M+20000
Utah+20000
Virginia Tech+20000
Minnesota+20000
Utah State+20000
South Carolina+20000
Wake Forest+20000
TCU+30000
Pittsburgh+30000
California+30000
DePaul+30000
Northwestern+30000
Stanford+30000
Penn State+30000
Georgia+30000
Oklahoma+30000
UCF+30000
Florida State+30000
Colorado+30000
Oklahoma State+30000
Dayton+30000
VCU+30000
Georgia Tech+30000
New Mexico+30000
Arizona State+30000
McNeese+50000
Boise State+50000
High Point+50000
North Texas+50000
Drake+50000
Bradley+50000
UNLV+50000
Nevada+50000
Colorado State+50000
Yale+50000
George Mason+50000
Santa Clara+50000
Grand Canyon+50000
Boston College+50000
UC San Diego+50000
San Francisco+50000
UAB+50000
Liberty+50000
UC Irvine+50000