Updated NCAA Tournament title odds are out as Michigan is installed as the frontrunner to win a national championship at the NCAA Tournament March madnesswhich would be the program’s first since 1989 under Steve Fisher.
Saturday NCAA March Madness Bracket Seeding Preview prior to the Wolverines’ showdown during Duke and Houston’s battle with Arizona, three of the four teams graced the No. 1 seeds. After wins over Kansas and Houston, Iowa State was the most surprising team to earn top billing, but is not considered among the favorites to cut down the nets at Lucas Oil Stadium on April 6, according to oddsmakers.
Winners of 11 straight games, Michigan’s 25-1 overall this season with the only loss coming on Jan. 10 against Wisconsin. The only competitive game since then for the Wolverines was a 75-72 win over Nebraska a few weeks later, after holding the Huskers scoreless for the final 3:20 for their first loss of the campaign.
Updated odds to win the 2026 NCAA Tournament
See the full field of 68 on the CBS Sports Bracketology hub. The odds below are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
Michigan (+320)
Michigan coach Dusty May is ranked No. 1 in the AP poll heading into Saturday’s game against the Blue Devils continued to downplay his team’s place in the poll and has his sights set on something much more important: a deep run in March. Courtesy of a selection UCLA coach Mick Cronin called college basketball’s best, Michigan’s five starters all averaged double figures in scoring, and no team is better defensively in the Big Ten than the Wolverines. May knows this is the most complete team he has coached, including a Final Four appearance at FAU to conclude the 2022-2023 season.
Duke (+600)
Duke’s chances at the national championship will be boosted with a win over the Wolverines; However, the top priority for the Blue Devils right now is maintaining their position as the top seed in the East and finishing the regular season with a conference championship. Duke’s only ACC loss came at North Carolina. The rematch with the Tar Heels will be played on March 7 before the ACC tournament begins. Freshman Cameron Boozer will be a featured player in March Madness as one of the top freshmen in the country (22.8 points per game, 10 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.7 blocks per game).
Bracketology: 2026 NCAA tournament committee faces challenges with Michigan, Houston, Florida in same region
David Cobb
Houston (+600)
Being independent of future roster concerns with the CougarsKelvin Sampson’s success this season once again revolves around his guard play. Kingston Flemings and Emanuel Sharp both provide Houston with 16.5 points per game, and they are defensive on defense. Sampson’s led Houston to the Final Four twice in the past five seasons, but the Cougars are trying to avoid a late stumble in Big 12 play after losing Monday night’s trip to Iowa State with Saturday’s affair with Arizona. A road matchup with Kansas looms later this week and the Jayhawks and Cougars will battle for a second-place finish.
Arizona (+600)
The Wildcats started the season with 23 straight wins before losses to Kansas and Texas Tech this month knocked Arizona from its spot as the nation’s most popular team. The non-conference resume includes wins over Florida, UCLA, UConn, Auburn and Alabama, truly impressive stuff that reveals a battle-tested squad. Arizona currently has the same national title odds as Duke and Houston. The Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA tournament in each of Tommy Lloyd’s first four seasons, but have not advanced beyond the second weekend.
Florida (+1000)
Florida maintained its 2.5-game lead in the SEC with its seventh straight victory Saturday, a 94-75 thrashing of Ole Miss behind Alex Condon’s 24 points. It took some time for the Gators to thrive with three new players in the starting lineup this season, following a culture reset of sorts following last season’s league title. After early non-conference losses to Arizona, TCU, Duke and UConn, Florida has made progress with four games remaining before the conference tournament. The red-hot Gators, flawless in February with six convincing SEC wins, would need to emerge as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest to reach the Final Four if the season were to end today. Florida is at +190 to reach Indianapolis in hopes of retaining its crown.
Illinois (+1100)
Two of the Fighting Illini’s three conference losses in the Big Ten starting Saturday at UCLA have come in one-possession overtime against Michigan State and Wisconsin, so there’s a lot to like about a team that has experience in situations that decide the outcome late in the game. Freshman Keaton Wagner (18.1 points per game) is a hitman and had his coming-out party last month with a 46-point outburst in a win over Purdue.
Iowa State (+1300)
In the thick of the battle atop the Big 12, the Cyclones’ recent wins over Kansas and Houston, coming off a disappointing loss at TCU, means they’ll have a chance to win the conference down the road. The frontcourt presence of Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson gives Iowa State a pair of scoring Twin Towers that have been matchup nightmares for the opposition throughout the campaign. Coach TJ. Otzelberger had a pair of Sweet 16 appearances at Iowa State leading up to last season’s disappointing loss to No. 3 seed Ole Miss in the second round.
UConn (+2200)
It’s no surprise that Dan Hurley’s team is one of eight FanDuel Sportsbook players with a title contender rating of +2200 or better. His NCAA tournament success with two national championships speaks for itself and few coaches get more out of their players nationally than he does. The Huskies’ first home conference loss of the season to Creighton earlier this week was forgivable and a bit of a blowout, after which Hurley said his team’s defensive effort was a “joke” and needed to be corrected immediately.
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