2025-26 College Basketball Best Bets from the VSiN Staff:
MATT YOUMANS
Connecticut To Reach Final Four (+360)
This is bad news for the Dan Hurley haters, but the UConn coach has another title contender. After winning back-to-back NCAA championships in 2023 and 2024, while going 12-0 straight up and ATS, the eighth-seeded Huskies pushed eventual champ Florida to the limit in March before falling 77-75 in the second round. UConn’s roster has plenty of size and skill plus a combination of veterans and newcomers. Senior forward Alex Karaban, 6-10 senior Tarris Reed and 7-foot German freshman Eric Reibe form a strong front line. The point guard position is in good hands with transfers Silas Demary Jr. (Georgia) and Malachi Smith (Dayton), and Solo Ball returns as one of the nation’s top 3-point shooters. Highly-touted freshman Braylon Mullins and junior Jaylin Stewart help in the backcourt. With the Huskies’ coaching, talent and track record in the tournament, they are a good bet to reach the Final Four in Indianapolis.
Duke To Win ACC Regular Season (+160)
Despite losing No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, No. 4 pick Kon Knueppel and three other players to the NBA Draft, the Blue Devils are loaded again. The new star attraction is Cameron Boozer, a 6-9 freshman who could immediately become the top player in the ACC. Four important returnees — senior forward Maliq Brown, junior point guard Caleb Foster, sophomore wing Isaiah Evans and 6-11 sophomore Patrick Ngongba — will be joined by freshmen Cayden Boozer, Nikolas Khamenia, Dame Sarr and Sebastian Wilkins. Duke coach Jon Scheyer definitely has more talent than Louisville, which is the main contender as the consensus No. 2 team in the conference. North Carolina State, North Carolina and Notre Dame will be in the running too, but it’s the Blue Devils and Cardinals in a two-horse race for first place.
San Diego State To Win Mountain West Regular Season (+140)
Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher reached the NCAA championship game in 2023 and the team he will put on the floor this season has Sweet 16 potential. San Diego State boasts two of the top five players in the conference in 7-foot Magoon Gwath and junior guard Miles Byrd. Gwath was voted the Mountain West’s best freshman and top defensive player. Senior guard Reese Waters also returns, and Dutcher adds transfers Sean Newman (Louisiana Tech) and Latrell Davis (San Jose State) to a deep backcourt. The Aztecs are No. 23 in my preseason power rankings, much higher than league rivals Boise State (44) and Utah State (47).
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AARON MOORE
Purdue To Win NCAA Championship (+900)
Sure this sounds chalky but the goal of a futures bet is to wager on the team you think will win a title. To me, that’s the squad with the experienced core of Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn and Fletcher Loyer. Any lingering concerns regarding Matt Painter are gone. Too often bettors get ultra-focused on teams with high odds they were able to get in the futures market. However, CLV isn’t the end game, a winning ticket is, and that is why I am backing Purdue. There is likely going to be a time around early February when the Boilermakers’ national championship odds are around 3/1 and some bettors will regret not acting when they were much higher.
Yale To Win Ivy League Regular Season (-120)
A futures bet can come in at a minus number and still have value and that is the case here with the Bulldogs, far and away the Ivy League’s best team. KenPom has Yale ranked 102 nationally, with Harvard next at 163. The end of the Ivy League regular season also works in Yale’s favor as its final four games don’t include Harvard or Brown.
Darryn Peterson To Win Wayman Tisdale Award (+500)
This board for the top freshman is available at DraftKings. The prevailing wisdom is that one of the top three names — Cameron Boozer (+425), AJ Dybantsa (+450) and Peterson — will win the award. So my handicap is focused entirely on this subset with a wager on Peterson because Kansas needs him from the start to be its focal piece. Bill Self has already called him the most complete freshman he has ever coached. Boozer will have the difficulty of constantly being compared to his father Carlos, and Cooper Flagg. The younger Boozer will likely fall short of Flagg’s tremendous numbers and stature from a year ago. Even though those who can drive to Las Vegas in only a couple of hours might not want to hear this, an East Coast bias for voters exists. Many of those voters might not stay up late enough to fully analyze Dybantsa.
Tucker DeVries Made 3-Pointers Leader In Regular Season (25/1)
This small lottery ticket wager I made is available at Caesars. This is a numbers play based on a great shooter who missed most of last season. The Indiana senior is playing out his long college career for his father on a team that probably will be trailing for many of its regular-season conference games. DeVries will put up plenty of shot attempts and he’s worth a shot at 25/1 odds.
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JENSEN LEWIS
UConn To Win National Championship (14/1)
After a “disappointing” 2024-25 season by their recent standards, the UConn Huskies are poised for a rebound under Dan Hurley, ranked among the top teams in preseason polls and analytics, signaling a return to national championship contention. As one of the Big East’s powerhouses alongside St. John’s, UConn’s roster addresses last year’s weaknesses in point guard play and defense, making them a favorite to win the conference and potentially the NCAA title.
The Huskies return key veterans like senior forward Alex Karaban and guard Solo Ball, providing leadership and continuity. Transfers bolster the lineup, including Silas Demary (Georgia) at point guard. Freshman Braylon Mullins adds elite 3-point shooting to the mix. The projected starting lineup could feature Demary at point, Ball on the wing, Karaban at forward and Tarris Reed in the paint.
Hurley’s intense, defense-first system — focusing on physicality, rebounding and efficient half-court offense — has proven championship-caliber, as evidenced by back-to-back titles before last year. This season, expect an emphasis on fixing perimeter defense and ball-handling to avoid the turnovers that plagued them last year. Their path in returning to glory hinges on health and backcourt stability, but they could easily reach the Elite Eight or beyond.
Kentucky To Win National Championship (17/1 at FanDuel)
The Kentucky Wildcats enter the 2025-26 season under second-year head coach Mark Pope, who has assembled a deep and versatile roster through a mix of high-profile transfers, returning talent, and five-star freshmen, positioning them as a top contender in the SEC and nationally. With a projected roster value around $22 million under the new revenue-sharing model, Kentucky boasts one of the most expensive and talented groups in college basketball, emphasizing connectivity, offensive firepower and defensive versatility.
Kentucky’s backcourt is loaded, including Otega Oweh and transfers Jaland Lowe (Pitt) and Denzel Aberdeen (Florida), forming a dynamic trio capable of high-volume scoring and perimeter defense. In the frontcourt, Mo Dioubate is expected to anchor the starting lineup as a versatile forward, while big man Brandon Garrison provides depth and rim protection off the bench, though he’s not projected as a major scorer. Freshmen standouts include five-stars Jasper Johnson (a sharpshooting guard) and Malachi Moreno (a 7-foot center with shot-blocking upside), adding elite recruiting pedigree.
Preseason KenPom ratings rank Kentucky highly, projecting them as a top-10 team overall due to their balance. The Wildcats are potentially a 25+ win regular season team, with a deep NCAA Tournament run as a realistic goal, aiming for the program’s ninth national title.
Arkansas To Win National Championship (25/1 at DraftKings)
In Year 2 under John Calipari, the Arkansas Razorbacks are building momentum with a star-studded recruiting class and key returners, aiming to return to the Sweet 16 or deeper after a transitional first season. With about 45% of last year’s minutes returning and fresh talent, Arkansas is a legitimate SEC contender, blending athleticism and depth.
DJ Wagner, Karter Knox and Trevon Brazile anchor a starting lineup that will receive an influx from the No. 4-ranked 2025 recruiting class, featuring headliner Darius Acuff Jr. The Razorbacks will feature elite athleticism in the frontcourt, strong guard play and depth that could wear down opponents. They’re projected as SEC dark horses with upset potential. Weaknesses include integration challenges with new faces and potential inconsistencies in shooting if the freshmen adjust slowly.
Arkansas is a viable 20+ win candidate, with dark horse Final Four upside in the loaded SEC. At 25/1, they’re worth a play, banking on Calipari’s knack for overachieving.
Michigan State To Win National Championship (50/1 at DraftKings)
Coming off a dominant 30-7 season where they won the Big Ten by three games, earning a No. 2 NCAA seed, the Michigan State Spartans face skepticism this year on following up last year’s incredible run. However, Tom Izzo’s track record makes them a perennial threat.
The focus is on an encore performance with breakout talent. Those candidates include Trey Fort, Jeremy Fears Jr. (point guard recovering from injury) and Coen Carr. The roster features a mix of veterans and youth, with improvements expected in three-point shooting from players like Fort. Better depth in the backcourt and frontcourt rebounding will bolster Izzo’s hallmarks of tough, defensive-minded basketball with emphasis on rebounding, physical play, perimeter defense and transition offense.
Questions abound on three-point consistency and handling doubters after last year’s success, but Sparty is a top Big Ten team with deep tourney potential. At 50/1, they’re a classic Izzo dark horse.
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ZACHARY COHEN
In addition to my three championship futures (NC State 60/1, Wisconsin 75/1, Oregon 100/1), I’m also playing the following:
Yaxel Lendeborg To Win Wooden Award (12/1)
Last year, Lendeborg finished tied for third nationally in Bart Torvik’s Box Plus-Minus (11.1) rankings. The only players who finished above him were Cooper Flagg and Johni Broome, while Ryan Kalkbrenner and Collin Murray-Boyles matched his mark. That company is as elite as it gets.
Lendeborg averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game for UAB last season — stuffing the stat sheet in ways that are hard to comprehend. Now, the 6-foot-9 forward will get to do it on a national stage, playing for Dusty May at Michigan.
Lendeborg is already turning heads with his dominance in practices and scrimmages, and there’s little reason to believe his production will slow down — even as he makes the leap from the American to the Big Ten. He’s also been expanding his range to make himself more appealing to NBA scouts. All of it points toward a Wooden-worthy season.
Louisville To Win ACC Regular Season (+230)
Duke has a chance to be special once again, but it might take some time for the guards to settle into expanded roles. Meanwhile, Louisville should hit the ground running. The Cardinals have some excellent wings, with Pat Kelsey bringing back J’Vonne Hadley and Kasean Pryor. Both were productive last season, though Pryor appeared in only seven games before a torn ACL cut his year short — an injury that’s nearly fully healed. Still, the real reason to love Louisville is the backcourt.
Kelsey landed an absolute stud in Ryan Conwell, who averaged 16.5 points per game on 45.0/41.2/82.8 shooting splits for Xavier last season. He and freshman Mikel Brown could form the best guard duo in the country. There might not be a cleaner recruit-to-system fit than Brown stepping into Kelsey’s three-happy offense. Brown can score in a variety of ways, but he’s especially smooth drilling pull-up triples.
The Cardinals also have a pick-and-pop big in Aly Khalifa, which means they’ll shoot opponents off the floor more often than not.
Realistically, Louisville’s only potential concern is toughness — but that shouldn’t become an issue until the postseason.
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WES REYNOLDS
Houston To Win Big 12 Regular Season (+155 at DraftKings)
The Cougars had a 12-point lead in the second half over Florida in the National Championship Game and still maintained a lead in the final two minutes. Then, it all came apart with Houston uncharacteristically turning the ball over on four straight possessions and ending up with a heartbreaking defeat. Now the Cougars have the redemption factor from last season, plus the return of three starters — Milos Uzan and Emanuel Sharp (both 40% 3P% shooters), and rebounder/shot blocker extraordinaire Joseph Tugler.
Houston had only landed one five-star commitment in Kelvin Sampson’s decade-long tenure, Jarace Walker in 2022. This year he landed two with big man Chris Cenac and wing Isiah Hartwell, who are both McDonald’s All-Americans. Sampson has always had very good players here, but now they are starting to recruit at a different level.
A program will land elite talent when you win over 30 games each of the last four years and make two Final Fours in the last five. However, Houston has become a ‘culture’ program that puts defense first (No. 1 in KenPom adjusted DE last year).
BYU has put its NIL to use with elite talent, Texas Tech and Iowa State will also be very good, and you can never forget about Kansas, but Houston is now the program to beat in the Big 12.
Purdue To Reach Final Four (+205 at DraftKings)
A chalky pick for sure, but how many Power 4 teams return a starting backcourt of seniors beginning a fourth season together? This just does not happen in the NIL and transfer portal era but it is reality in West Lafayette as reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Braden Smith, who is on pace to break Bobby Hurley’s all-time D1 assists record, and Fletcher Loyer are back for one more round.
Trey Kaufman-Renn (20.1 PPG last season) also returns and will be able to play a more prototypical power forward position this year. TKR had to play out of position at center in 2024-25 in replacing Zach Edey largely due to an early-season injury to 7-foot-4 Daniel Jacobsen. Jacobsen will not have to do it alone down low though as Matt Painter, who prefers developing his own recruits as opposed to being a haven for transfers, went into the portal to get 6-foot-11 Oscar Cluff (17.6 PPG, 12.3 RPG) from South Dakota State.
Purdue should certainly be tournament ready with not only its usual Big Ten slate, but arguably the most difficult non-conference schedule in the country that includes Memphis, a potential matchup with Texas Tech in the Bahamas Championship, Alabama, Iowa State, Marquette, and Auburn, plus matchups with good mid-majors Akron and Kent State.
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ADAM BURKE
UTSA To Win American Conference (75/1)
It would obviously take a monumental amount of improvement for the Roadrunners to be in this mix, but second-year head coach Austin Claunch has a roster that looks a lot more like what he wants. He has depth in the frontcourt to be able to keep up the pace that he wants to run without losing offensive or defensive production. That was a big issue last season, as the Roadrunners shot just 46.1% on 2s and allowed opponents to shoot 53.2% on their 2-pointers.
Claunch also has a pretty similar set of shot-makers, as his team was 60th in the nation in 3P% at 36.1%. Despite big improvements in 3P% and TO%, UTSA went 5-12 in games decided by six or fewer points. He has a bigger, deeper, more talented roster this season when a lot of American teams are dealing with transition and don’t have as much positive momentum to build on.
If nothing else, I think this team can take a really big leap for a good, up-and-coming coach who was an assistant at Alabama for two seasons before this job and also was the head coach at Nicholls at just 29 years old in 2018-19.
Darius Acuff Jr. (Arkansas) Wayman Tisdale Award Winner (14/1)
This is the award for the nation’s best freshman and Acuff is walking into a great situation at Arkansas. As the ESPN and 247Sports highest-rated freshman point guard, the pedigree and the expectations are already there. John Calipari had the winner of this award as the point guard in his first season at Kentucky, a player by the name of John Wall. Reed Sheppard also won this award as a combo guard two seasons ago before Coach Cal went to Arkansas.
Acuff has a lot of veterans to rely on with this team, so he has guys that will convert his passes into points and also should help him get his own clean looks. The Razorbacks play in the best conference in the country and the Wayman Tisdale Award has gone to an SEC player in three of the last four years. Cooper Flagg ended a three-year run last season. Obviously there are a lot of really good freshmen this season, including Darryn Peterson (+400), Cameron Boozer (+425), and AJ Dybantsa (+450), but Acuff’s price is worth taking a shot because of the conference (second to Nate Ament (+900) at Tennessee among SEC candidates) and because of how Calipari’s teams play.
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JAKE LETARSKI, ROTOWIRE
BYU To Win Big 12 (+450 at DraftKings)
Kevin Young moved from the NBA to take BYU to the Sweet 16 in his first year at the helm, and now he’s used one of the nation’s largest NIL budgets to build an even better roster, including projected No. 1 overall NBA pick AJ Dybantsa. The 6-foot-9 forward may be a little raw, but he gets help from leading returning scorer Richie Saunders (16.5 PPG), center Keba Keita (7.9 RPG) and sixth-year senior Dawson Baker. Young also worked the portal to bring in Baylor transfer Rob Wright — who would have been a first-round pick had he declared — to run the offense, as well as 3-point sharpshooters Kennard Davis and Nate Pickens. Houston, the odds-on favorite, may be better suited for a postseason run due to its defensive capabilities, but the Cougars may need some time to find their identity after losing leading scorer LJ Cryer (15.7 PPG) and emotional leader J’Wan Roberts (10.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG). Plus, JoJo Tugler managed a foot injury for much of the offseason.
UConn To Win Big East (+125 at DraftKings)
Some books have Rick Pitino and St. John’s atop the standings, but it would be unwise to count out Danny Hurley. His Huskies are ranked 11 spots higher on KenPom’s preseason rankings and bring back their second, third and fourth-leading scorers in Solo Ball (14.4 PPG), Alex Karaban (14.3 PPG) and Tarris Reed (9.6 PPG, 7.3 RPG), respectively. Malachi Smith (10.4 PPG, 5.3 APG) comes in to run the point after four years at Dayton, and Silas Demary also projects for a starting role after putting up 13.5 PPG, 3.9 RPG and 3.1 APG last season with Georgia. Plus, five-star guard Braylon Mullins will have a role as well in what will be one of the top offenses in the country. St. John’s will compete, but it will have to do so with an entirely new backcourt following the losses of RJ Luis (18.2 PPG), Kadary Richmond (12.4 PPG) and Deivon Smith (9.3 PPG).
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RYAN ANDRADE, ROTOWIRE
Alabama to Reach Final Four (+650 at DraftKings)
Nate Oats has directed the most high-octane offense in college basketball for the Crimson Tide over the last seven seasons. They want to push the pace and get as many shots up as possible. While this year’s team will lose an extremely dynamic guard in Mark Sears, there’s a case to be made that the next man up could be even better. Labaron Philon averaged 10.6 PPG, 3.8 APG, 3.3 RPG and 1.4 SPG in just 24.6 MPG as a true freshman. He will now get the keys to this super car of an offense and is a dark horse candidate for the Wooden Award. His supporting cast in the backcourt features two other elite shooters in Aden Holloway and Latrell Wrightsell, along with former five-star recruit and Miami transfer Jalil Bethea. The interior has been rebuilt with transfers Taylor Bol Bowen and Noah Williamson, while sophomore Aiden Sherrell is one of the biggest breakout candidates in the SEC. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Alabama struggle a bit early on as they try to get healthy from some nagging offseason injuries and establish chemistry, but this team is perfectly built to succeed in today’s college basketball and they are going to be a scary sight for any team come March.
Florida to Win NCAA Tournament (15/1 at DraftKings)
Florida is no stranger to going back-to-back in college basketball, just go back to the 2006-07 NCAA Tournaments where Billy Donovan led the Gators to two straight titles. While there are some pieces that will have to be replaced, the frontcourt will be basically exactly the same. Alex Condon, Rueben Chinyelu, Thomas Haugh and Micah Handlogten are all back after being one of the most feared interior groups in recent memory. All four of them could start for pretty much any other team in the country. That depth gives coach Todd Golden such a major weapon on both ends of the court to take advantage of that no other team in college basketball can match up with. The backcourt will be a new cast of characters, but I’m not sure you could have come up with a better replacement for Walter Clayton Jr. than Boogie Fland. The Arkansas transfer is another tough shot maker who has tremendous feel for the game at a young age. He’s the perfect player to take the keys to this offense and lead them on another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee was one of the most productive non-power conference players in the country last season and will be a nice piece to complement Fland. The rest of the wings include Ohio transfer AJ Brown who is a terrific shooter, along with a pair of top-50 recruits in CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd. The makeup of this roster with all these elite returning players along with an influx of extremely high upside talent from the outside makes 15/1 feel like a steal.
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ADAM ZDROIK, ROTOWIRE
Memphis To Win AAC (+220 at Caesars)
The AAC seems to lose value every season since its best players often get poached in the transfer portal and most have to rebuild to have a shot to compete at the top of the standings. Fortunately for Memphis, Penny Hardaway’s name still brings players to the team and once again he brought in a variety of players from the portal. This season, the Tigers are built on a lot of mediocre players from bigger teams. Point guard Dug McDaniel probably saw the most time of any of them coming from Kansas State and Michigan before that. Aaron Bradshaw was supposed to be a high-end recruit, but he didn’t really work for Kentucky or Ohio State. Sincere Parker, Zachary Davis and Curtis Givens also fit the bill of somewhat recognizable transfers. Even if it’s a mixed bag of players, that’s probably enough to win this conference, similar to last season. This Memphis team may not make the Sweet 16, but it should have the talent and depth to win another AAC title, especially if you’re getting above +200 odds.
