Not only did all of the top four seeds advance to the round of 32 in the men’s tournament for the second year in a row, but they did so in spectacular fashion: The first round’s average margin of victory was 17.4 points, the highest since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985, according to ESPN Research. All betting favorites won their games outright Friday, only the second time that has happened on a single opening-round day in tournament history.

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Men’s tournament: How to bet the Duke, Michigan St. games and more

This is all to say that the national championship favorites stayed the favorites, but there was some minor infighting near the top of the odds board. Arizona (+350) and Michigan (+370) maintained favorite status after surpassing Duke, which fell from top favorite status on Thursday and lengthened further from +425 to +450 since Friday. Florida’s remarkable blowout win in the round of 64 moved the Gators up from +800 to +750.

Purdue, one of the betting public’s main future preferences, continues to climb the board, moving from 25-1 to 22-1 to be the seventh favorite. To make room, Iowa State lengthened from 18-1 to 25-1 since Friday, tying the Cyclones with another sportsbook liability, UConn (25-1). Other notable movers include Arkansas (50-1 to 40-1) and St. John’s, which shortened the most of any team since Friday from 70-1 to 40-1.

MORE: Spreads, money lines, totals and BPI projections for every matchup

Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook, subject to change.

2026 Men’s College Basketball Championship(Seed) SchoolRecordTo WinFinalsSemisRd. of EightNext Game(1) Arizona Wildcats

32-2
+350
+150
-120
-320
-800
(1) Michigan Wolverines
31-2
+370
+175
-135
-360
-900
(1) Duke Blue Devils
32-2
+450
+200
-120
-230
-750
(1) Florida Gators
26-7
+750
+380
+180
-160
-600
(2) Houston Cougars
28-6
+950
+450
+225
-115
-535
(3) Illinois Fighting Illini
24-8
18-1
+800
+350
+120
-575
(2) Purdue Boilermakers
26-8
22-1
+900
+350
-115
-325
(2) Iowa State Cyclones
27-7
25-1
11-1
+425
+135
-218
(2) UConn Huskies
29-5
25-1
12-1
+650
+175
-185
(4) Arkansas Razorbacks
25-8
40-1
17-1
+750
+280
-700
(5) St. John’s Red Storm
28-6
40-1
20-1
+800
+425
-162
(3) Michigan State Spartans
25-7
50-1
20-1
+750
+200
-192
(3) Gonzaga Bulldogs
30-3
55-1
20-1
+600
+150
-250
(5) Vanderbilt Commodores
26-7
65-1
30-1
13-1
+400
-125
(4) Kansas Jayhawks
23-10
70-1
35-1
15-1
+650
+136
(6) Tennessee Volunteers
22-11
75-1
25-1
10-1
+270
-118
(4) Nebraska Cornhuskers
26-6
75-1
25-1
11-1
+380
+114
(3) Virginia Cavaliers
29-5
80-1
30-1
11-1
+300
-102
(5) Texas Tech Red Raiders
22-10
120-1
35-1
15-1
+600
-108
(7) UCLA Bruins
23-11
130-1
35-1
22-1
+450
+154
(6) Louisville Cardinals
23-10
180-1
45-1
17-1
+330
+160
(4) Alabama Crimson Tide
23-9
180-1
65-1
20-1
+750
-112
(7) Kentucky Wildcats
21-13
200-1
90-1
30-1
+650
+180
(9) Iowa Hawkeyes
21-12
400-1
100-1
45-1
10-1
+440
(10) Texas A&M Aggies
21-11
400-1
200-1
80-1
19-1
+400
(9) Saint Louis Billikens
28-5
450-1
200-1
65-1
20-1
+600
(9) TCU Horned Frogs
22-11
500-1
100-1
75-1
22-1
+525
(7) Miami Hurricanes
25-8
500-1
120-1
45-1
10-1
+260
(11) Texas Longhorns
18-14
600-1
150-1
50-1
10-1
+205
(9) Utah State Aggies
28-6
600-1
200-1
60-1
16-1
+550
(11) VCU Rams
26-7
600-1
200-1
75-1
17-1
+425
(12) High Point Panthers
30-4
800-1
400-1
400-1
75-1
+500

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