The 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket is set, with 68 college basketball teams ready to compete in a gauntlet unlike any other to win the championship this year.
Last year's defending champion Florida, Duke, Michigan, and Arizona earned the No. 1 seeds – all are favored to advance to the national semifinals in Indianapolis.
UConn, which won the national title in 2023 and 2024, is a No. 2 seed, along with Houston, which lost in last year's national championship game. Rounding out the two-seeds are Iowa State and Big Ten Tournament champion Purdue.
Whether you're filling out your bracket or looking to let it rip on a championship future, we're here to give you our best NCAA Tournament picks and long shot teams for the 2026 NCAA Tournament Championship on PrizePicks Team Picks.
You can make your tournament picks on PrizePicks and earn real money if you’re right, including on game winners, spreads, and totals!
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2026 NCAA Tournament Payouts To Win the National Championship
On 2025, all No. 1 seeds advanced to the national semifinals for only the second time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 — 2008 was the other year.
Will chalk run the bracket happen again? Or will a Cinderella come to the ball?
Each of the last ten national champions has come from a group of teams within the top-10 shortest payouts, with UConn’s run in 2014 the last long shot to win the event.
Before that, it was Florida in 2006. Twice in the last 20 tournaments has a team outside the ten shortest odds been the last one standing.
Will an NCAA Tournament cinderella teamtake down the top teams in the nation? Here are the top 10 favorites to win the 2026 NCAA Tournament Championship, via PrizePicks Team Picks, including their payouts if they win the tournament.
A lower payout indicates a greater implied probability, based on user picks.
- Duke - 4x Payout ($100 pays out $400)
- Michigan - 4.76x
- Arizona - 5.26x
- Florida - 6.66x
- Houston - 11.11x
- UConn - 14.28x
- Illinois - 16.66x
- Iowa State - 16.66x
- Purdue - 22.22x
- Michigan St - 22.22x
2026 NCAA Tournament National Championship futures payouts are live as of publishing, but are subject to change.
2026 NCAA Tournament Picks, Long Shots To Win the Bracket
Here are three college basketball teams to consider for your 2026 NCAA Tournament National Championship pick for your brackets and on PrizePicks Team Picks.
Also listed are payouts for each team to advance to the NCAA National Semifinals — or the round of four.
Florida Gators – South No. 1 Seed
Florida National Championship Winner Payout: Yes 6.66 | 1.11 no
To Reach National Semifinals: Yes 2.12x | No 1.66x
- Defending champion Florida has won 12 of their last 13 games, winning nine of the 12 games by double-digit points.
- Per KenPom, Florida is rated fourth in the country, with an offensive rating of 125.6 (ninth) and a defensive rating of 91.7 (sixth).
- 22 of the last 23 national champions finished in the top 25 of both offensive and defensive ratings at KenPom.
- The SEC regular-season champions are battle-tested, with a 6-point loss in Las Vegas to Arizona (No. 1 seed in West), a one-point loss at current top-ranked Duke (No. 1 seed in East), and a four-point loss to UConn (No. 2 seed in East)
- In those three losses, all in November and December, Florida shot a combined 25% from beyond the arc.
- In Florida’s first 20 games of the season, the Gators shot 29% for three, in the bottom third of the country, and lost six games.
- Since Feb. 1, Florida shot 37% from beyond the arc, good for No. 78 in the country, with the lone loss being on Saturday in the SEC semifinals (made 5-of-17).
- The Gators lead the country in rebounds per game (45.4) and margin (14.5), second in offensive rebounds (16.0), and fourth in defensive rebounds (29.7).
- Florida’s Rueben Chinyelu, the SEC defensive player of the year, leads the country in rebounds per game (11.5).
🏀 It's Bracket SZN. Find a 2026 NCAA Tournament Printable Bracket (PDF) here!
Iowa State Cyclones – Midwest No. 2 Seed
Iowa State National Championship Winner Payout: Yes 16.66x | 1,01x
To Reach National Semifinals: Yes 4.54x | No 1.17x
- Iowa State finished third in the Big 12, behind two of the top-five ranked teams in the nation in Arizona and Houston.
- The Cyclones completed non-conference play undefeated, and five of the Cyclones' seven losses were to ranked teams.
- The Cyclones have wins over St. John’s (a No. 5 seed), Purdue (a No. 2 seed), which was the top-ranked team in the country before the game, Houston (a No. 2 seed), and Kansas (a No. 4 seed).
- Per KenPom, Iowa State is rated sixth in the country, with an offensive rating of 123.8 (21st) and a defensive rating of 91.5 (fourth).
- The Cyclones are the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, with Michigan as the No. 1 seed.
- Michigan F Yaxel Lendeborg, the Big Ten Player of the Year, sprained his ankle late in the Big Ten title game loss to Purdue, which could be a big hit to their region's top seed.
- The trio of Milan Momcilovic (17.0 PPG, 50% 3P), Tamin Lipsey (13.3 PPG, 5.0 APG), and Joshua Jefferson (16.6 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 5.0 APG) combine for 46.9 PPG.
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St. John’s Red Storm (East No. 5 seed)
St. John's National Championship Winner Payout: Yes 33.3x
To Reach National Semifinals: Yes 10x | No 1.5x
- St. John's may be the most under-seeded team in the tournament after winning the Big East regular season and Tournament titles, beating No. 2 seed UConn by 20.
- The Johnnies won 16 of their final 17 regular-season games before sweeping the Big East Tournament for the second straight year. The lone loss? To UConn.
- Per KenPom, St. John's is rated 17th in the country, with an offensive rating of 120.1 (45th) and a defensive rating of 94.2 (12th).
- St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino has taken three different schools to the national semifinals, making seven appearances, with two national titles.
Make NCAA Tournament Championship Futures, Picks on PrizePicks
Can Florida go back-to-back like they did in 2006 and 2007? Will top overall seed Duke live up to expectations and win the school’s sixth title?
Or will a Cinderella come to the ball and cut down the nets next month in Indianapolis at the National Championship?
You can make your 2026 NCAA Tournament Championship future picks on PrizePicks and PrizePicks Team Picks to earn real money.
Just pick players, predict More or Less on their projected stats, and cash in if you’re correct. With Team Picks, make predictions on winners, spreads, and over/unders, now available in 35 states.
Keep tabs on the Playbook for continued college basketball predictions, picks, and news.
