Let’s look at the way-too-early predictions for the 2025-26 season.
The 2024-25 college basketball season just ended, but it’s never too early to look ahead to the upcoming season, which will be a whole new era of college basketball with the number of incoming and outgoing players for teams.
The Wisconsin Badgers have been one of the early teams active in the transfer portal, having the No. 1 transfer class in the country according to On3 Sports, as they look to retool their roster ahead of next season.
That has placed them, alongside a few other teams, as a top contender in the Big Ten for next season. However, rosters aren’t close to finalizing yet, as over a thousand players are in the transfer portal, with many teams still looking to add key pieces to their roster.
Early in the offseason, who are some of the top contenders for the National Championship in 2026?
Interestingly enough, in our latest national reacts poll, Purdue currently holds the top spot to win the 2026 National Championship, ranking first at 15 percent.
Duke came behind them at 15 percent, while Houston was a close third at 14 percent.
Looking at the odds, FanDuel Sportsbook has Duke atop the board at +1000 odds followed by Houston at +1200 odds and a surprise riser with BYU at +1400 odds.
The Cougars, who beat the Badgers in the Round of 32 last month, are adding No. 1 recruit A.J. Dybantsa, fellow five-star Xavion Staton, and four-star Chamberlain Burgess from the high school ranks and former five-star Rob Wright from the transfer portal.
Wisconsin currently has the 25th-best odds to win the national title at +6000 odds alongside Iowa, Oregon, Indiana, Villanova, and Texas.
They’ve gotten off to a quick start this offseason, landing three four-star transfers with San Diego State point guard Nick Boyd, Virginia wing Andrew Rohde, and Portland forward Austin Rapp.
The Badgers aren’t done yet either, as they still are looking for a center, with another transfer being a possibility as well.