March Madness 2026: Biggest college basketball futures wagers still alive
March Madness 2026: Biggest college basketball futures wagers still alive
Ben Fawkes Wed, February 25, 2026 at 5:20 PM UTC
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The calendar is about to flip to March, which means that college basketball conference tournaments and March Madness are right around the corner. Last year, all four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four, culminating in the Florida Gators winning the title 65-63 over the Houston Cougars.
Both of those teams will be back in the tournament again this year, but it's the No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines (+375 at BetMGM) that are the current favorites to cut down the nets. The Wolverines, 26-2, had been ranked No. 1 before losing 68-63 to the Duke Blue Devils. Duke is now the nation's top-ranked team, and second favorite at BetMGM at +425. The second-ranked Arizona Wildcats (+450) and fifth-ranked Houston Cougars (+950) are the only other teams with single-digit odds.
Houston is the biggest liability to win the NCAA championship at BetMGM, thanks in large part to a $50,000 wager on the Cougars at +900 odds.
There will be plenty of large wagers between now and Selection Sunday, but here are the biggest reported futures wagers at legal sportbooks:
Biggest NCAA championship futures bets (by liability)
1. $1,000 on Miami (OH) Red Hawks to win NCAA title at 500-1 odds (Caesars)
Bet wins $500,000
2. $50,000 on Houston Cougars to win NCAA title at +900 odds (BetMGM)
Bet wins $450,000
3. ~$59,025 on Duke Blue Devils to win NCAA title at +700 odds (DraftKings)
Bet wins ~$413,175
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Bet was $80,740 Canadian Dollars on Duke
4. $25,000 on Houston to win NCAA title at 11-1 odds (BetMGM)
Bet wins $275,000
T-5. $50,000 on Arizona Wildcats to win NCAA title at +450 odds (BetMGM)
Bet wins $225,000
T-5. $25,000 on UConn Huskies to win NCAA title at +900 odds (BetMGM)
Bet wins $225,000
7. $10,000 on Houston to win NCAA title at 14-1 odds (DraftKings)
Bet wins $140,000
8. $10,000 on UConn to win NCAA title at 10-1 odds (DraftKings)
Bet wins $100,000
Source: “AOL Sports”
