Duke is the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA tournament but is barely not the betting favorite to win it all.
The Blue Devils are +333 at BetMGM after the full 68-team field was revealed on Sunday. That’s second behind Michigan at +325 and ahead of fellow No. 1 seeds Arizona at +425 and Florida at +600.
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Duke beat Michigan 68-63 on Feb. 21 in Washington D.C. as the Blue Devils got an opportunity to play at Capital One Arena before the NCAA tournament. As the top seed in the East region, Duke will play in D.C. if they win its first and second-round games. Cameron Boozer had 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in that matchup.
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But there’s a strong case to be made that Michigan got a more favorable draw to the Final Four on Selection Sunday. Duke has UConn, Michigan State, Kansas and St. John’s in its region. Michigan drew Iowa State, Virginia, Arkansas and Texas Tech as the other four top seeds in the region.
Since Michigan is the No. 2 overall seed, the two teams would not meet until the national championship game.
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Arizona is the top seed in the West and has Big Ten tournament champion Purdue as its No. 2 seed and Gonzaga as the No. 3 seed. The Wildcats won both the Big 12 regular-season and tournament titles after taking down Houston in the conference championship game on Saturday.
The Cougars are the No. 5 favorite at 10-1 and could be favored if they play Florida in the Elite Eight. Houston is the No. 2 seed in the South region, but would have a significant home court advantage against the Gators if they met ahead of the Final Four. The South region’s final games are in Houston at the Toyota Center and just a few miles from the University of Houston campus.
Here’s a list of the favorites for the national title now that the bracket has been finalized.
2026 men’s NCAA tournament favorites
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