BetMGM Lists Duke and Florida as Even Co-Favorites for 2026 NCAA Title

The 2026-27 college basketball season begins Sunday in Rome, Italy, when Notre Dame and Villanova face each other. The rest of the nation’s games start the following day, with tip-offs scheduled between 3 a.m. and midnight.

Duke and Florida are the co-favorites to win the national championship, according to odds from BetMGM. Both teams carry odds of +600. Connecticut follows at 11/1, and Illinois is listed at 12/1. These four programs lead the betting market for the title.

Tom Izzo’s Michigan State team and Texas round out the top five at 18/1 each. Louisville and Arizona sit in sixth and seventh place at 20/1. Houston and Tennessee complete the top ten at 25/1.

Connecticut, the preseason No. 4 team, enters the season with a strong record in exhibition play. The Huskies won three straight non-conference games, including victories over Michigan State and Purdue. Dan Hurley’s squad returns key players Braylon Mullins and Silas Demary Jr. They also add transfer Nikolas Khamenia from Duke and Na’jai Hines from Seton Hall.

Kansas, listed at 30/1 on BetMGM, has reloaded its roster under Bill Self. The Jayhawks landed Tyran Stokes, a consensus favorite for the first overall pick in next year’s NBA Draft, and Taylen Kinney. Kansas also added portal recruits Trey Kaufman-Renn, Leroy Blyden Jr., and Keanu Dawes.

Vanderbilt is a long shot at 45/1 on FanDuel, but the Commodores finished last season with a 16-0 start and a top-10 ranking in the AP Poll. Head coach Mark Byington retained Tyler Tanner, one of the conference’s best point guards. The team also added Bangot Dak from Colorado and Ace Glass from Washington State.

The AP preseason top 25 reflects the current power structure in college basketball. The top four teams in that poll correspond directly to the top four teams on the odds board for the national title. The season’s early results in Europe and across the United States will determine whether these projections hold or shift.