NCAA Basketball Picks & Predictions

In this guide, we’ll go over some of the information and strategies that you need to know so that you can maximize your chances of success throughout the season and into the March Madness tournament. 

2025/26 College Basketball: Overview and NCAA Basketball Picks

When you’re betting on college basketball, most states allow you to only bet on outcomes and team-based props. Individual props are usually not permitted in college athletics, so in several states, you can’t bet on a player to get a certain number of rebounds, assists, points or anything else. You can bet on a team to go over or under its point totals, but that’s about it as far as prop wagers go.

You can also make bets on futures plays, and you’ll get some of the best possible odds the earlier you place them. However, you’re going to have to tie up your bankroll for several months to lock in a futures play in November, so make sure that you have the funds available if you want to go this route.

Filling out a bracket is great, but betting on the individual games and the tournament winner is the best way to make the excitement last through every game of the event. Get ready to rock this year with our basketball predictions.

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2026 College Basketball Title Contenders: Who Are the Favorites?

With nearly a full season's worth of work, the top teams in the country have made themselves known on the field. This includes the likes of Auburn, Houston, Alabama, Duke, Michigan State, Tennessee, Florida, and many more.

When evaluating these teams, consider their distinct strengths and weaknesses. Firstly, look at how these different teams score. Do they consistently score in the 70s or 80s? Or do they average in the low to high 60s?

On the other hand, you will likely want to back a team that is also solid defensively. Backing a team that regularly allows 75 to 85 points could be a recipe for disaster, as that team simply cannot make stops. For instance, if a team has a bad shooting night, you want to be able to rely on their defense to make stops in the crucial moments and survive to the next round. 

Another factor to consider is how consistent each of these teams is when it comes to actually winning games. If a team you are considering making a bet on is the type of team that wins three, loses two, wins four, etc, they may not be worth betting to win the tournament. You want to find a team that has consistently put together long win streaks throughout the season. More specifically, check if the team in question has won six games in a row at some point this season (the number of games it takes to win a National Championship). 

By no means are any of these factors binding but they do give you a basic idea of which teams are legitimate contenders and which teams are likely to be eliminated early in the tournament.

Even though we are early in the College Basketball season, plenty of teams have begun to set themselves apart from the rest of the country. With that, we have listed some of the favorites, the middle-tier teams, and a long shot that could contend for a National Championship below.

2025/26 College Basketball Futures

• Duke Blue Devils +950
• Houston Cougars +1000
• Purdue Boilermakers +1100
• UConn Huskies +1200
• Arizona Wildcats +1500
• Florida Gators +2200
• BYU Cougars +2200
• Alabama Crimson Tide +3000
• Michigan State Spartans +3500
• Kansas Jayhawks +3500
• Auburn Tigers +10000

Odds provided by DraftKings.

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NCAAB Picks: Who will win the 2026 College Basketball tournament?

The College Basketball season only recently started, meaning that predicting a winner is almost impossible given the sample size so far. That being said, we can look at some of the factors that will set teams apart from the rest of the pack.

One of these factors is the age of the team. Teams like Duke or Kentucky generally have a younger team, especially considering they often have the top recruiting classes in the country. This means that they have several freshmen who have not played at the collegiate level. Of course, by the time the tournament rolls around, this may not be much of a factor; however, in the tournament, the stakes are raised exponentially, which can lead to these freshmen players making mistakes. 

On the flip side, teams that have an older roster could also make a deep run in the tournament as they have played with each other for several years.

Another factor to consider is the experience of the head coach. Having a head coach who has been in college basketball for a long time is typically better than having a head coach who has only been around for a handful of years. Experienced head coaches are likely to have better decision-making and game plans compared to inexperienced head coaches. 

The best advice is to monitor these factors to see how teams that have a young roster play throughout the season compared to how teams with an experienced roster play throughout the season. Further, keep an eye on injuries throughout the season and how they could affect teams that look to be title contenders.

Ultimately, only a handful of teams should be considered true title contenders, and therefore, it is just a matter of figuring out which ones stand out amongst the rest as the season rolls along.

Our prediction for the 2026 College Basketball National Championship is: The Duke Blue Devils

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NCAA Basketball: 2026 Final Four Predictions

Betting a team to make the Final Four usually comes down to where that team is placed in the bracket. For instance, Auburn and Michigan State could be in the same region and while both of these teams look good enough to make a Final Four run this season, both of them could not make the Final Four in this case. 

It is also worth considering how much success a program has had in recent seasons when it comes to the NCAA tournament. Of course, there easily could be a team that makes their maiden Final Four appearance but with the pressure in the NCAA tournament, the best teams and those that have done it before usually rise to the occasion. So an example of this would be Auburn. The Tigers have not made it past the second round since their Final Four run in 2019 so even though they are clearly one of the best teams in the country, you have to ask yourself, “Can Auburn get over the hump and string together multiple wins on the biggest stage?”

To go along with the success of a program, you also need to look at how the team you want to bet on finished the season. If the team in question is a two-seed in the tournament but lost in the quarterfinals of their conference tournament, you may to dig deeper to find out what happened and ultimately may want to reconsider making that bet.

Before making a Final Four bet, you should also consider where the games are being played for the team you want to bet on. Note that teams will not be placed in a region if the first couple of rounds of that region are being played in their city. An easy example of this would be Kentucky. They would not be placed in the top quarter of the South Region or the bottom quarter of the East Region because the first two rounds are being played in Lexington. Obviously, having a fan base is important in college basketball as the fans love to feed off this energy. With that, it may be beneficial to target a team that will be playing close to home throughout the tournament, as it would likely mean more fans will travel to the games.

Our 2026 Final Four Prediction: UCONN, Houston, Duke, Florida.

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March Madness Predictions: How to Make Reliable NCAA Basketball Picks

If you’re looking to place bets on March Madness, you need to know what you’re betting. In some states, that’s tricky, because college sports come with restrictions that don’t exist in professional sports.

For example, in the pros, if you want to bet on the Indiana Pacers, you’ll see every starter’s points, rebounds, assists, blocks and more stats as options for prop betting. If you want to bet on Purdue, none of that will be there. Many states do not allow any prop bets on college games. Your only prop betting option is team totals, because that’s not an individual play. Some states also don’t allow you to bet on teams in that state. In New Jersey, for example, no bets are allowed on in-state college teams. When Princeton, Saint Peter’s and Fairleigh Dickinson captured the imagination of the nation in 2022 and 2023, bettors in their home states were out of luck because no bets were offered on any of their games.

However, outside of that, the standard basketball bets of spreads, totals, and betting by half (college basketball is played by halves, not quarters, so quarters betting isn’t a thing) will be available. You can place bets on futures before or after the field is announced on March 17th. The first games will take place on March 19th, and the national championship game will take place on April 8th. You’ll have 67 games available to bet over three weeks, so you’ll want to know the teams as well as possible.

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How to Bet on College Basketball

If you’re looking to place bets on college basketball this season, you need to know what you’re betting. Over the past few years, some states have moved to add restrictions to college sports that don’t exist in professional sports. These are designed to prevent the possibility of players being influenced by nefarious bettors.

For example, in the pros, there aren’t any restrictions on your bets. If you want to bet on the Memphis Grizzlies, you’ll see each player’s stats and information to bet on just about any statistic happening. When betting on the Tennessee Volunteers, you won’t see prop plays in most states. You can bet on the Vols to score a certain number of points in the first half, or for the entire game, but individual stats won’t be available to you.  

In other states, you can’t bet on a college game that involves an in-state team. New Jersey is infamous for this: it doesn’t allow any bets on teams that call the Garden State home. Any other college game is fair game in New Jersey, but you’ll never be able to bet on Rutgers, Seton Hall or Saint Peter’s in the state. 

Outside of that, the standard basketball bets of spreads, totals and betting by half are available. In men’s college basketball, the game is divided into halves, while women’s games are divided into quarters. If women’s college basketball betting is offered, you’ll be able to bet on individual quarter spreads and totals.

Those located in a state where legal betting is allowed will be able to take advantage of amazing opportunities to bet on NCAA basketball. Once a trusted betting site has been selected, the process of placing a wager is pretty simple.

Our Top 3 NCAA Betting Tips

1. Access the account and head to the basketball section.

Here, the NCAA match will be listed, along with the many options for bets during the season. Given the enormous popularity of college basketball, most sportsbooks will even have a giant banner on the home page which you can click to quickly access during the season.

Open an account now

2. Shop around (Shop!)

If you see a betting line you'd like to take, we strongly advise doing a little research to make sure you're getting the best deal on odds. Once you've found a bet that has good odds, select a bet amount, and add the bet to the bet slip. Once all selections have been made, the bets will become live. Once games come to an end, every bet will be settled and payouts will be automatically credited to the account.

3. Rinse and Repeat

Now that you've (hopefully) cashed in on that underdog pick, get ready to repeat the process and do a little odds-shopping for your next bet! Be sure to check out some of the great NCAA basketball bets that can be enjoyed online.

What else should you know about College Basketball betting?

Even those who have never placed an bet with an online sportsbook have heard of the famous March Madness bracket. Can you place a bet on your March Madness bracket? How does the bracket work? In which states can you place a college basketball or bracket bet? Let's have a look: 

NCAA basketball Bracket Betting

Placing a bet on an NCAA basketball bracket contest is one of the most common ways to bet on this college basketball tournament. With bracket betting, just fill out the bracket, choosing a winner for each game that will be played. Once selections are made, enter the bracket bets into a paid contest. A top-rated NCAA basketball betting site will offer great payouts. Big contests will typically offer payouts to the top 15% and the best bracket will receive the largest share.

A NCAA basketball bracket will begin with 64 college teams, so there are 63 games to place a bet on. For every correct selection, points will be earned. For each tourney round played, the points that can be earned will increase. With 7 rounds of betting in the NCAA tournament, there are some super chances to rack up points. The bettors with the most accumulated points at the end of the tournament will receive payouts from the prize pool. Using listed betting odds at a betting site is a good way to make NCAA basketball bracket decisions.

It is all about who can predict the most results of games that are played during the NCAAB tournament.

An important note before continuing this online NCAA basketball betting guide- many states have restrictions on college sports betting which unfortunately keeps thousands of bettors from participating in one of the most thrilling betting events of the year. Be sure to check your state's legal sports betting rules before gearing up to place your NCAAB tournament bets. 

NCAA Live Betting

Get the most excitement from online betting by choosing betting sites that feature Live Betting. With this, a bet can be placed in real time and there are different betting options offered. With live bets, the betting odds are always being updated and a bet can be placed right up until the end of a game. The best profits can be earned by placing a bet later in a basketball game, especially if one team is showing a clear advantage. 

Live betting will become even more exhilarating as the tournament progresses. Betting on the Final Four is very common and the odds for these games can be among the best in sports. Be sure to check the odds at various sports betting apps or compare top NCAA basketball betting sites online. Live bets on Elite 8 and Final Four tournament games will provide the best betting experience.

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College Basketball Betting Tips for Beginner Bettors

Now’s a great time to bet on college basketball and get yourself prepared for later in the year. If you start betting on college basketball in December and January, you’ll give yourself a much better base of information for when the games really matter most in March. If you're a basketball guru, you'll find lots of info on our page dedicated to NBA picks and predictions!

Tip #1: Bet the Teams You Know Well

With 364 men’s teams and 362 women’s teams, there are a ton of options for betting each day during the college basketball season. That means it’s easy for the sportsbooks to get overwhelmed, and it’s even easier for you to get overwhelmed. The best strategy is to find teams you watch regularly and learn what they do well. Betting the same teams over and over will help you learn how to best bet their games.

Tip #2: Know The Trends

If a team isn’t playing well at the moment, now might not be the time to back them. Trends can be a sign that something is wrong with the team’s chemistry at the moment, or that there’s an issue with a star player. Remember, college basketball is played by 18 to 22-year-olds, and players at that age can have mental ebbs and flows that can’t be explained by numbers alone. Knowing the trends can help you spot these areas.

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Tip #3: Check Strengths And Weaknesses

Knowing how a team likes to play can give you a sense of how it will play. For example, a team like Connecticut loves to swarm its opponents with stiff defense and force them to use the entire shot clock when they have the ball. That, in turn, keeps their scores down and puts unders in play...unless they face a team that can shoot from outside. Knowing each team’s strengths and potential counters makes a big difference.

Tip #4: Watch Smaller Schools

These days, every game is televised somewhere. Small schools can be tough for sportsbooks because they aren’t going to invest a lot of time or money in games that won’t get attention. But you can get an advantage by getting to know the teams in a small league well. If you live in a league’s geographical footprint, you might see a lot of those teams. That gives you an advantage, because you can learn exactly how they play better than the sportsbooks do.

Tip #5: Look At the Coaches

Coaches make a big difference in how they manage games. Knowing how a coach is likely to play out the endgame and what he’ll emphasize gives you the best chance to make the right selection.

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What not to do for College Basketball Predictions

The worst thing you can do is overlook key information. Giving yourself as much knowledge as possible gives you the best chance to win your bet, so make sure to take a hard look at relevant information. Here are a few things you really don’t want to do.

• Bet heavily without looking at injuries: Injuries change how a team plays. If a key player is missing, think twice before you bet on that team to do anything.
• Forget the crowd: Teams playing at home get the crowd on their side. Some teams are much better at home and pull off key wins on their home floor. If you hear the phrase “home-court hero”, be careful betting against them on their home floor.
• Blindly bet favorites: Favorites don’t always win. Top-ranked teams go down to lesser ones all the time. Don’t just back the team ranked higher without thinking about it.
• Betting teams you don’t know: Uninformed decisions can come back to burn you. Make sure you know what a team likes to do and what its weaknesses are before you bet.
• Packing a parlay: Parlay bets are hard. Don’t chase your losses by going big on a parlay; you’ll usually only make things worse.
• Not comparing odds: Comparing sportsbooks makes a big difference. -120 vs. -110 might not seem like a big change, but it really adds up over time. Make sure to get the right number whenever you play a bet.

Stats to Consider for College Basketball Predictions

Most sports betting experts agree that betting on sports requires knowledge of statistics. Here are some of the numbers to keep in mind, as recorded during the 2024-2025 College Basketball season:

• Home Winning Percentage: ~67.31%
• Away Winning Percentage: ~36.23%
• Average Points Scored by a Team: 73.8 Points per Game
• Average Points Allowed by a Team: 72.2 Points per Game
• Average Field Goal Percentage by a Team: 44.66% 
• Average 3-Point Percentage by a Team: 33.96%
• Average Free Throw Percentage by a Team: 71.98%
• Average Rebounds by a Team: 35.22 Rebounds per Game
• Average Offensive Rebounds by a Team: 10.52 Offensive Rebounds per Game
• Average Defensive Rebounds by a Team: 24.69 Defensive Rebounds per Game
• Average Assists by a Team: 13.66 Assists per Game
• Average Steals by a Team: 6.83 Steals per Game
• Average Blocks by a Team: 3.35 Blocks per Game
• Average Turnovers by a Team: 11.80 Turnovers per Game
• Average Fouls by a Team: 16.84 Fouls per Game

When betting on College Basketball, some of these statistics will be more important than others, such as the ‘home team winning percentage’ or ‘average points scored/allowed by a team per game’. 

However, these numbers will vary wildly depending on the teams involved in the game you are betting on. In that case, be sure to research both teams extensively to give yourself the best chance to cash your ticket!

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Conclusion: How to Get Your College Basketball Predictions Right?

Trusting your process and information is by far the smartest thing that you can do when betting on college basketball. Not every bet will go your way, but knowing the teams well and making smart wagers will give you the best chance to maximize your wins. 

Make sure to stay calm and stick to your strategies, regardless of your results. You don’t want to bet too big on any one game, and you don’t want to change things up drastically after one bad night. Consistency is the key to winning at sports betting and finding those lesser-known winners.

If you need information, we’ve got you covered with some of the deepest information in the industry. Our experts use analytics, statistics, and their own insights to provide you with free picks for each game in the tournament. We know where to find next-gen statistics that tell you things about how fast a team likes to play, what its strengths and weaknesses are, and what it’s most likely to do against a given opponent. When you check out our free website, you can trust that you’re getting the best possible information, which will give you the best chance to nail your college basketball bets. 

With the right information, you’ll be ready to make smart plays and set yourself up to really enjoy the college basketball season leading up to March Madness.

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