Purdue And Houston Early Favorites In Future Betting

There are still just about five months until the 2025-26 college basketball season! Teams are getting ready for summer vacation. On the bright side, the betting public wants their futures and wants them updated. Who can blame them? At Online Sports Betting, we examine different betting angles across the US, including Purdue and Houston. So, naturally, we look at 2026 College Basketball Future Bets featuring the Boilermakers and Cougars as current co-favorites. Can they win or will someone else cut down the nets next April?

• WHAT: 2025-26 NCAA Basketball Future Bets
• WHEN: Monday, November 3rd, 2025 until Monday, April 6th, 2026
• WHERE: College teams nationwide trying to get to Indianapolis, Indiana
• WHY: The race for the national title is on once more. 

The bettors love speculating early but the last major deadline (NBA Draft Withdrawal Day) has come and gone. The future betting market gives us a good deal to ponder and some perplexing picks too. As always, Bovada Online Sportsbook.

2026 College Basketball Future Bets Divided By Purdue And Houston

2026 College Basketball Future Bets get divided between Purdue and Houston. So, it is easy to see why. Purdue carries the highest floor at this time with Wooden Award favorite Braden Smith and several top-notch blue chip recruits, Matt Painter and company have quite the stacked roster heading into the 2025-26 season. They likely have the best chances of being ranked number one when the polls get going in November.

Despite what happened with Purdue in last year's tournament, that was last season. Honestly, the Boilermakers are stacked with Trey-Kaufman-Renn, and a host of players who can add depth and even take games over. Purdue will be a consensus Big 10 favorite and a team worthy of their co-favorite status. Most sportsbooks carry them around +1000.

So, the other team in the mix for the prestigious favorite slot would be the Houston Cougars. No one can imagine what it is like for Kelvin Sampson and company. The Cougars were so close to winning the National Championship in April. It was all snatched away in a moment. That one moment was anything but shining. Houston will be motivated and getting back Milos Uzan is huge. Sampson recruited three Top 25 players from the ESPN Top 100 as well.

At Online Sports Betting, we emphasize do not get too caught up by teams. These co-favorites could crash and burn once more.  The key is to look and find areas to strike while using a good deal of common sense. Restraint is important and Purdue probably has the better err less volatile roster heading into the 2025-26 campaign.

2026 College Basketball Future Picks Yield Familiar Contenders

The 2026 College Basketball Future Picks yield some familiar contenders. Sometimes, there is change and while a few schools have shifted some, most have not right now. Currently, the defending National Champions, the Florida Gators, are lurking at +1600. That is sixth on the list but not too far from the co-favorites. Teams like UConn, Duke, and even Michigan have considerable potential. Do not sleep on BYU and St. John's as well. Those are teams who could win 30 games this year given their respective conferences and talent.

With that in mind, sizing up some of these teams can be a challenge. Some believe Florida is a potential top team in the nation again. Boogie Fland and Alex Conlon are now in the mix for the Gators. That was far from expected. However, this was a huge boost and some experts had pegged Florida as the top pre-season team. Florida surfs in at +1600 pretty much across the board and has to be considered a reasonably strong choice.

Even St. John's at +1800 on BetOnline and BetUS is intriguing. Now, the Red Storm offer a big draw, won 30 games, and had a real chance to go deep in the tournament last year. St. John's was the best team in the Big East, won the conference tournament, and could do the same again this season.

Again, Connecticut flopped in a big way last season. They found a way to get out of sorts and never truly recovered. Sometimes, a little humble pie is on the menu.  Could a team like Michigan find success again? That answer is yes. Dusty May is going to have a team worth watching all season. Michigan rolls in at +1600 on BetOnline surprisingly enough. That could be a sneaky wager too.

Other Potential 2026 College Basketball Future Bets?

So, are there other potential 2026 College Basketball Future Bets? We talked about several teams but what about the ladies side of things? UConn won the National Championship last season in a big way. The Huskies routed the South Carolina Gamecocks on their way to glory Can they repeat or will South Carolina gain back their throne?

There are several ways to look at this but South Carolina is a very slight +250 to +275 favorite while UConn stands at +300 to repeat. Now, that is about as close to co-favorites as one can get. However, they will have a stacked roster and be favorites to repeat in the Big East. While some believe in UCLA and Texas, how C at +1200? There is JuJu and then there is JuJu. She is going to be beyond motivated when the player returns for the Fighting Trojans.

Finally, there is LSU (+1000 on Bovada) who figures to turn some heads with the top recruiting class in the nation. It is expected that this team will challenge South Carolina once again. If the Lady Tigers get hot then look out!

Online Sportsbook Reviews And Futures

Do not forget these online sportsbook reviews where futures are in abundance: