Expectations are excessive for the Purdue Boilermakers going into the season, ranked No. 1 within the preseason Related Press ballot for the primary time, and bookmakers are giving them the added strain of being preseason nationwide championship favorites.
Purdue is the consensus favourite to win the nationwide championship forward of the 2025-26 males’s faculty basketball season, displaying +850 odds at ESPN BET. Final season’s runners-up, the Houston Cougars, are the consensus second-favorites at +1000 at ESPN BET, with Duke (+1100), UConn (+1200) and Kentucky (+1500) rounding out the highest 5.
Purdue did not open as the favourite across the time of the 2025 nationwide championship recreation in April, however a productive offseason and hype round a proficient group, led by Wood Award preseason favourite Braden Smith (+400), has created a groundswell of assist: The Boilermakers have garnered the best share of nationwide championship deal with at each ESPN BET and BetMGM.
“There’s been loads of offseason buzz round Purdue with them bringing three gamers again and addressing some weaknesses within the portal,” Caesars faculty basketball dealer Patrick Berbert informed ESPN. “So, they have been the favored group it appears thus far.”
“In recent times, the switch portal has change into one of many greatest components in preseason odds, as we consider how groups are balancing including expertise with roster continuity and chemistry,” ESPN BET senior director Adrian Horton stated over electronic mail. “You possibly can have a group that did effectively final season fully re-tooled with new faces, which can appear like an improve on paper, however we have to see it in recreation motion.”
Duke, in contrast, opened as the favourite for the 2026 nationwide championship, however the Blue Devils noticed their odds lengthen after they misplaced all 5 of their 2024-25 starters, together with No. 1 total choose Cooper Flagg, to the NBA draft. A 3rd-best 8.1% of the bets are backing Duke at BetMGM, however they’ve taken solely 6.4% of the cash there.
In the meantime, Houston has merely maintained its standing as second finest on the percentages board and has acquired wholesome assist from the general public, attracting probably the most bets (13.6%) at ESPN BET. BetMGM considers the Cougars to be its third-largest legal responsibility after it took the second-most wagers and deal with there.
Final season’s nationwide champions, the Florida Gators, come into the 2025-26 marketing campaign with +1600 odds, sixth on ESPN BET’s odds board, which is a marked enchancment over the +6000 they’d going into final season. This season’s Gators have attracted solely average motion from bettors, however bookmakers will probably be looking out for an extended group on the board that would make a run to favourite standing with early spectacular play like Florida did final season.
“Most years, there’s a sleeper group on the market that wasn’t anticipated to do effectively they usually’ll play very well early on,” stated Berbert. “So it is actually necessary, simply on a day-to-day buying and selling foundation, to have the ability to spot these groups after they’re exceeding expectations and to not be sluggish to react, particularly within the futures market.”