Tag Archives: Kentucky Basketball

NCAAB Best Betting Values for College Basketball Futures in 2026

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Watching Ohio State get upset on a national stage on New Year’s Eve reminded me to keep an eye on the best current college basketball future values nationwide. Betters who had a futures ticket on any team other than the Buckeyes felt pretty good waking up on New Year’s Day with the odds-on favorite having gone down the night before. It might not solve that hang-over, but that ticket likely shot up 15-25% in value.

BY MATTY D.

For example, I had a ticket for Oregon to win a national football title at 8-1 before the night began. After the Miami Hurricanes beat the odds-on favorite for a national title, the Ohio State Buckeyes, that same ticket became 6-1 (theoretically increasing in value 25%).

Best College Basketball Future Values to Start the New Year

Across college basketball, this is a time of year when many important trends and storylines are overlooked. Between the NFL season reaching a peak, the holidays, and the college football championships coming into focus, some great bargains are live on Sportsbooks.

For example, the return of Kentucky big man Jayden Quaintance and solid play of another injured returner, Jailand Lowe, has not yet corrected Kentucky’s odds to consider them a favorite. The Wildcats are still listed today as 9-1 odds to even reach a Final Four on FanDuel SportBook.

Looking for even longer odds chances to snag a crazy underdog pick for March Madness 2026?
Click here to see more of my favorite futures values and underdogs for a NCAAB Championship.

Odds for Big 10 Teams to Win a Title Still Show Long-shot Potential

Despite having the odds-on favorite to win the national title at this point, Michigan, The Big 10 surprisingly has a lot of upside value for teams that are at least 15-1 to reach the Final Four itself.

Iowa sits around 25-1 to reach a Final Four as 2026 begins.

Meantime, Nebraska remains around 20-1 to reach a Final Four. These generous odds are given, despite the fact that the Cornhuskers haven’t lost a game in 2025 during its fall or early winter stretch of games.

People who are actually investing in physical tickets for national championships should hold off on this idea for now, but consider a Big 10 Conference championship bundled future. You can bet on a particular conference to win a championship. The odds for the Big 10 are going to be skewed towards Michigan, who by itself is a 4-1 favorite to win a title. However, if the Wolverines were to lose, the Big 10 Conference might suddenly become a bargain, loaded with low-cost but realistic teams to make a surprise Final 4 run.

Nebraska Cornhuskers Harvesting the Best Tourney Resume No one is Talking About

Even as Nebraska knocked off top 10 ranked Michigan State in dramatic fashion in a January 2nd home game, the oddsmakers kept disrespecting the Huskers. Nebraska stood as a 20-1 long-shot to make a Final Four on FanDuel, despite having one of America’s best (and still undefeated) records. Joe Lunardi’s December 30th bracketology had them as a 4 seed in the West Region, but Monday’s AP Top 25 voting might have them as the 4th best ranked team in the nation.

It’s hard to believe that head coach Fred Hoiberg is already in his seventh season as head man at Nebraska, after his “mayoral” status at the Hilton Coliseum with Iowa State. However, his family legacy is continuing in Lincoln this season in legendary fashion. He is coaching his son to a prestine record, overseeing a program that his grandfather coached for 9 seasons starting in the 1950s. This team is loaded with storylines that any TV producer at CBS Sports would salivate over during March Madness. It could be time that you put a shekel on the huskers.

LSU Basketball Worth Watching at 150-1 to Win a Title

I am not saying that you need to rush out there and bet the house on the Tigers, but this is a team worth watching at this point of the season. As of this moment, the Tigers are predicted by Joe Lunardi to be a 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. They have a solid crop of sophomores led by a head coach, Matt McMahon, perhaps best known for coaching Ja Morant to some tournament wins with the upstart Murray State Racers in 2019. LSU has four scorers averaging anywhere between 13 and 16 per game, which is always a good recipe for a balanced offense. Point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. (7.1 assists to 1.8 turnover ratio) has done a good job navigating the Tigers to a 12-1 record before the conference schedule really kicks in.

Click here to follow LSU basketball on Twitter

Arizona and Iowa are also two teams whose odds I am watching closely. Listed below is a simple chart comparing NCAAB Futures on two major Sportsbooks.

Was that the best game you ever saw?

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It’s up there for me.

Notre Dame challenged Kentucky throughout the entire game.

It had all of the components of the perfect college basketball game.

It had freshmen.  Kentucky played portions with a team full of them.  Bonzie Colston pitched great relief innings for the Irish off the bench.

Pat Connaughton may go on to have a solid pro baseball career, but I’ll remember him for the two handed dunk to go up two possessions with fourteen minutes left to play.  The Irish 5-0 run felt like 15-0.

Yes, there were runs.  But not many.  The game rarely left the comfort zone of a one or two possession game.  Six was the largest lead.

It had seniors.  23-year-old Jerian Grant’s father Harvey looked on proudly from the sidelines.  Jerian had nothing to hang his head about as his air-ball sealed the loss with no time remaining.

The game had NBA pros.  Not only are guys like Cauley-Stein, Towns and Lyles locks for Kentucky, but a star was born nationally for Notre Dame.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Zach Auguste play in the league someday.  He finished with 20 points, 9 rebounds, but showed top tier athleticism when throwing down some missed shots for dunks.

It had story-lines; real-life story-lines, as all players and coaches provide.  We all know about how much class Mike Brey carried himself with in paying tribute to his late mother with this magical run.  If you didn’t know, Betty Brey passed away as the tournament began.  She was 84 years old and a former olympic swimmer.

Watching this game felt like watching the desperate blows exchanged between heavyweight fighters.  The last time I felt this way watching a college hoops game was in 2010 when Butler outlasted K-State before its national title game run.

It had: elation.  Kentucky is the team that “forgot” to cut down the nets after capping its undefeated season with an SEC crown.  That’s a direct quote from Coach Calipari during the selection show.  His team was so anxious to move forward to the bracket, it got onto the bus, plane, etc. without cutting the nets.  However, that was not the case in Cleveland. Carl Anthony-Towns couldn’t even answer the post-game question about preparing for Wisconsin, because his mind was still processing that amazing win.  Players hugged, danced, raced up the ladder and took selflies at the top.  This team savored the moment.  It was great to watch.

The championship games of 1998 (UCONN, Duke) and 2005 (UNC Illinois) maybe the best games I’ve ever witnessed when it comes to the highest stakes of college basketball.

In most recent memory, Arizona Wisconsin 2014 was the next-best contest.  And we were served to a rematch also on Saturday night, but it was not as competitive.

I cannot wait to see Kentucky Wisconsin and, then, hopefully, Kentucky Duke.