FanDuel has Duke installed as a +1000 (or 10/1) ‘chalk’ to win the 2026 NCAA Tournament. The next-shortest odds belong to Houston (12/1), BYU (14/1), Purdue (14/1), Louisville (15/1) and UConn (16/1).
Jon Scheyer’s program has the nation’s #1 recruiting class, including a pair of five-star prospects and two four-star players. According to 247Sports, Cameron Boozer is the country’s #3 overall player and Shelton Henderson is ranked #14.
The Blue Devils’ class also includes Cayden Boozer (#24) and Nikolas Khamenia (#15). The Boozer Brothers are the sons of Carlos Boozer, the former Duke star in the early 2000s.
The big question for Duke is whether or not Tyrese Proctor and Isaiah Evans will return to school. Both are in ESPN’s Top 50 players, but neither are projected as first-round picks. The Blue Devils will have Caleb Foster (5.1 points per game) and Maliq Brown back in the mix.
Houston has six incoming players, including two five-star prospects and Creighton transfer guard Pop Isaacs. Chris Cenac Jr. (#7), Isiah Harwell (#16) and Kingston Flemings (#23) headline a quartet of freshmen coming to play for Kelvin Sampson.
Isaacs played in only eight games for the Bluejays in 2024-25 before going down with a season-ending injury. He averaged 16.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
The Cougars expect to have Emanuel Sharp (12.7 PPG) and Joseph Tugler (5.5 PPG) back, but they’re in wait-and-see mode with Milos Uzan.
BYU is off a run to the Sweet 16 in its first season under head coach Kevin Young, who is bringing in the nation’s #1 recruit. A.J. Dybantsa is a 6-foot-9 forward who is projected as the #1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
The Cougars return a strong nucleus around Richie Saunders (16.5 PPG), Keba Keita (7.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 1.2 BPG) and Dawson Baker (7.5 PPG).
Purdue has first-team All-American Braden Smith back to lead a team that lost a heartbreaker to Houston in the Sweet 16. The Boilermakers will also have Fletcher Loyer (13.8 PPG), Trey Kaufman-Renn (20.1 PPG) and C.J. Cox (6.0 PPG) returning. They’ve added Oscar Cluff, who averaged 17.6 PPG at South Dakota St., from the portal already.
Louisville currently has the #1 transfer-specific recruiting class at 247Sports. Pat Kelsey has garnered commitments from five-star Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw St.), four-star Ryan Conwell (Xavier) and Isaac McKneely (Virginia).
The Cardinals are also welcoming in Mikel Brown, a point guard who is the nation’s #6 incoming freshman. Sananda Fru is another incoming four-star freshman who is a 6-foot-11 prospect from Germany.
Kelsey’s team will also feature J’Vonne Hadley (12.2 PPG) and Kasean Pryor, who was averaging 12.0 PPG before sustaining a season-ending injury. Conwell averaged 16.5 PPG for the Musketeers, while McKneely scored at a 14.4 PPG clip for UVA.
Dan Hurley’s team is returning Solo Ball (14.4 PPG), Jaylin Stewart (5.4 PPG) and Tarris Reed Jr. (9.6 PPG). The Huskies have added Silas Demary Jr., a Georgia transfer point guard who keyed a late-season push that helped the Bulldogs make the NCAA Tournament, and they’ll welcome five-star prospect Braylon Mullins.
Kentucky, Texas Tech and St. John’s each have 18/1 odds, while Arkansas, Kansas, Auburn and Alabama share 20/1 odds. Florida and Michigan are both sporting 25/1 numbers.
Tennessee, UCLA, Arizona, Gonzaga and Iowa St. are next at 30/1.