NCAA Tournament Odds and Predictions 2026: Duke Is the Undisputed Team to Beat in March

The national championship for men’s college basketball is decided every year by a single-elimination tournament featuring the 68 best teams in the country during the regular season. On this page, we’ll keep you up to date with the odds for the top contenders, the best sportsbooks for betting on them, how to read those odds, and so much more.

For starters, let’s check the top candidates and their odds below.

NCAA Tournament Odds 2026

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Sign up for a FanDuel account today and claim your welcome offer: Get up to $300 back in Bonus Bets.

Rest of the teams listed at +10000 odds and higher.

NCAA Tournament Winner - My Pick

Duke Blue Devils (+380) at FanDuel Sportsbook

The Duke Blue Devils stand out as our favorite candidate to cut down the nets this April. Under head coach Jon Scheyer, Duke has mastered the modern college basketball formula by combining elite, top-tier freshman talent with crucial veteran acquisitions from the transfer portal, creating a roster that boasts both high-level NBA upside and battle-tested experience.

Their suffocating perimeter defense, versatile wings who can switch on every screen, and dynamic guard play give them the exact two-way efficiency historically required to navigate the grueling six-game gauntlet of March Madness. When you combine that sheer depth of talent with an offensive system capable of weathering the inevitable shooting slumps of the tournament, Duke possesses the most complete championship pedigree in the field.

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How to Bet on the NCAA Tournament Winner

Online sportsbooks will often have odds posted for the next NCAAM Tournament most of the year for fans to put money on. Placing a wager on your team is pretty easy to do:

You’ll need to open an account with a sportsbook, but I’d recommend opening a few to take advantage of the welcome promos and because, at this stage of the season, odds can vary significantly across books.

Once you’ve done that, find the book with the most advantageous odds for the team you want to bet on. Make sure you have money in your account. Click on the team, enter your desired wager on the betting slip, and place your bet.

How to Read NCAA Tournament Winner Odds

Futures odds will be expressed as a three-digit number with a + or – in front. If the odds have a minus number, that means you will need to risk whatever the odds are to win $100. So, if the odds are -1000, you’ll need to bet $1000 to win $100.

But if the odds have a + sign in front, the odds are what you’ll win if you bet $100. If the team has +1000 odds like Houston to start the season, you’ll win $1000 if you bet $100.

If a team has odds, it has a better than 50% chance of winning, and if it has + odds, it has a less than 50% chance of winning.

Where to Bet on the NCAA Tournament Winner

The following are my preferred online sportsbooks for betting on the NCAAM Tournament Winner:

• FanDuel Sportsbook: Not every sportsbook has both a mobile app and a desktop site, or if they do, they don’t function the same. FanDuel has both; what you can do on one, you can do on the other with ease. Navigating both is simple and easy to do, and when you are at a game, you’ll have no trouble using your FanDuel mobile app. Claim the FanDuel welcome bonus today: Get up to $300 back in Bonus Bets.

• Caesars Sportsbook: I am really high on Caesars because of their current welcome promo: Bet $1, Double Your Winnings 10x. I love betting on player props and occasionally live betting, but I tend to keep my wagers small so I can place more bets. Doubling my winnings will make it so much more fun. Use our promo code WSNDYW to claim this offer.

• BetMGM Sportsbook: I’m a big fan of betting on parlays and same game parlays, and BetMGM’s builder is the best in the business. Sign up for a BetMGM account with our promo code WSNSPORTS and claim: Get Up to $1,500 in Bonus Bets*.
  
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NCAA Tournament Winner History

Florida won the school’s third national championship last season, but the all-time record belongs to UCLA with 11, followed by Kentucky with 8, North Carolina and UConn with 6, and Duke and Indiana with 5.

The following table contains a list of the last 15 NCAAM Championship winners: