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College Basketball's 15 National Championship Favorites For 2026

Originally posted on The Spun | By Kameron Duncan | Last updated Apr 8, 2025 10:07 AM ET

The Florida Gators won the NCAA Tournament on Monday night, cutting down the nets after a hard-fought victory over Houston in the national championship game. The sun may have set on the 2025 NCAA Tournament, but teams and players around the country are already thinking about next year's event.

The Final Four consisted of four No. 1 seeds, showing how difficult upsets were to come buy this year. Teams in top leagues around the country are loading up with talent through traditional recruiting and the transfer portal.

With an eye on next season, FanDuel Sportsbook has already set odds for next year's national title winner.

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2026 National Champion Odds.

Duke +1000
Houston +1200
Louisville +1400
Purdue +1400
Kansas +1600
BYU +1600
Arkansas +1800
Auburn +1800
UConn +1800
Alabama +1800
Kentucky +2000
Florida +2500
TTU +2500
Michigan +2500
St. John's +2500

Via @FDSportsbook.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) April 8, 2025

The national champion Florida Gators are on the list at +2500, joined by Texas Tech, Michigan and St. John's.

Kentucky is listed at +2000, while Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas and UConn sit at +1800.

Kansas and BYU are at +1600, with the latter being boosted by No. 1 recruit AJ Dybantsa's signing. The two schools from the Big 12 are surpassed by Purdue and a re-emerging Louisville at +1400.

Head coach Pat Kelsey has turned the Cardinals' program around after years near the bottom of the ACC standings. Louisville finished as runners-up in the ACC tournament to Duke, and could land one of the top recruits in the country in Nate Ament.

This season's runner-up Houston is at No. 2 on FanDuel's list at +1200. The Cougars came as close as a team can get to the national title on Monday night, as the game went down to the final possession.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - APRIL 07: (EDITORS NOTE: Image was captured using a remote camera.) L.J. Cryer #4 of the Houston Cougars reacts after the second half in the National Championship of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Florida Gators at the Alamodome on April 07, 2025 in San Antonio, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)Alex Slitz/Getty Images

They'll be back with head coach Kelvin Sampson and a top recruiting class next season, including potential additions in the transfer portal.

Duke currently has the top odds to win the national title next year at +1000. Cameron and Cayden Boozer - sons of Duke and NBA star Carlos - are set to debut for the Blue Devils next season. The twins have been touted as potential top-five NBA Draft picks, and they'll join a stacked roster with multiple four and five-star players.

The NCAA Tournament is traditionally one of the most difficult events to predict in sports, but this season showed that chalk may be the way to go. As the 2025 season ends with Florida cutting down the nets, these teams could be worth keeping an eye on next season.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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