At the beginning of the week, the Michigan Wolverines, Purdue Boilermakers, Duke Blue Devils, UConn Huskies, and Gonzaga Bulldogs took the point on the College Basketball Betting future market board. Next came the Houston Cougars, Louisville Cardinals, and Arizona Wildcats. Meanwhile, further down the board than usual are programs such as the Kansas Jayhawks, Michigan State Spartans, Arkansas Razorbacks, Texas Tech Red Raiders, and North Carolina Tar Heels. Bigger disappointments are the Baylor Bears, UCLA Bruins, and Kansas State Wildcats.
Meanwhile, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Indiana Hoosiers, and Iowa Hawkeyes are operating under the radar as sleepers. So, too, are the Missouri Tigers, Vanderbilt Commodores, LSU Tigers, and Georgia Bulldogs.
College Basketball Futures
| 2025-26 Odds to Win National Championship: | Click Here |
|---|
Michigan Wolverines
Last year, it was immediately obvious that Dusty May was the perfect online betting choice to take over an underachieving program. May knows Big Ten basketball like few other coaches, as an Indiana alum. While at Indiana, he served as the student manager for legendary coach Bob Knight. As a coach, May made his name with the FAU Owls, where he reached the 2023 Final Four.
Overall, Michigan is off to a strong start with the College Basketball Odds. The Wolverines are 7-0 straight up, 4-3 against the spread, and 3-4 under the total. Dusty May has engineered a balanced full-court team.
Out of 365 Division 1 teams, Michigan ranks 49th for scoring offense and 43rd for fewest points allowed.
Yaxel Lendeborg leads Michigan with 16.0 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. The New Jersey native is a senior forward who transferred to Michigan this season after playing at UA B from 2003 through 2025. He was the 2024 American Athletic Conference Tournament MVP.
Another forward, sophomore Morez Johnson Jr, is averaging 13.1 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In like manner to Lendeborg, Johnson is a transfer in his first season with Michigan. He arrived from Illinois, where he played from 2024-25.
Purdue Boilermakers
It is no surprise that the Purdue Boilermakers are a favorite in the future market. Since taking over in 2005-06, head coach Matt Panter has transformed his alma mater into a national power that missed the Big Dance only three times. Of course, Painter’s ultimate goal is the national championship. The closest he came was when the Boilermakers lost the 2024 national championship game.
Purdue has become one of the most public teams on the board. Thus, their popularity is drawing too much attention from the casual sector. Purdue won its first seven games straight up, yet covered the spread only three times. Purdue ranks 94th for scoring offense but 6th for 3-point shooting percentage. They covered the spread in their two most recent games.
Senior guard Fletcher Loyer leads the Boilermakers with 16.1 points per game. In this age of the portal, Loyer stands out for playing his entire career at Purdue. He has averaged double-digits in scoring all four of his seasons under Painter.
Senior forward Trey Kaufman-Renn is a key player to keep an eye on. He is averaging 14.8 points and 10.6 rebounds per contest. Kaufman-Renn has played his entire career at Purdue and averaged 20.1 points last year. Hence, he was First-Team All-Big Ten last year.
Duke Blue Devils
It is hard to ignore the profound success that head coach Jon Scheyer has had as the replacement for GOAT Mike Krzyzewski. Now in his fourth year, Scheyer has two ACC Tournament championships and an ACC regular season title. Last year, Scheyer took the Blue Devils to the Final Four after producing an Elite Eight run the season before that.
At the onset of the season, Duke was 8-0 straight up, 6-2 against the spread, and 1-7 under the total. But after covering its first six games, the Blue Devils failed to cover their most recent two outings. Duke ranks 69th for scoring offense and 2nd for fewest points allowed.
First among Duke scorers is forward Cameron Boozer with 22.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per contest. The freshman from Miami, FL, is the latest superstar newcomer to take the lead for the Blue Devils. Previously, Cooper Flagg and Zion Williamson had memorable contributions in that role.