2026 Faculty Basketball Odds: Greatest Bets for Michigan-Duke, Iowa State-BYU

[ad_1] Saturday’s faculty basketball slate is fantastically fabulous.

Fantabulous, for those who're feeling frisky.

No. 1 Michigan faces No. 3 Duke within the nation’s capital, No. 2 Houston hosts No. 4 Arizona, and No. 6 Iowa State travels to No. 23 BYU. In totality, 20 of America’s high 25 groups are in motion on the penultimate Saturday in February.

March Insanity, right here we come.

Let's try my finest bets for the weekend.

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(All occasions ET)

Saturday

No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 Duke (6:30 p.m., ESPN)

I don’t usually love selecting the sport of the weekend, however right here we're. One Las Vegas oddsmaker advised me he has Michigan 40 factors higher than a median group. Forty. That’s really rarified air, and it speaks volumes about what Wolverines head coach Dusty Might has in 12 months two on the wheel.

Each these defenses are elite, and given the sport is being performed at Capital One Enviornment with tighter rims, I do lean Beneath 149. On the finish of the day, I belief Michigan just a bit bit extra proper now. It's a extra full basketball group and I’ll lay the small chalk.

That stated, if Duke does lose this one, I’ll be seeking to purchase some Blue Devils’ nationwide title inventory at 7-1 or greater.

PICK: Michigan (-2.5) to win by greater than 2.5 factors

Windfall @ DePaul (8 p.m., FS1)

Let’s take a look at Chicago. The Blue Demons are actually constructing one thing beneath head coach Chris Holtmann. DePaul went 3-29 two seasons in the past, 14-20 in Holtmann’s first marketing campaign final season and are 14-12 this 12 months.

That’s the definition of progress.

Holtmann’s bunch is much-improved defensively, and it begins with its size and dimension across the rim. It’s not straightforward to attain on the basket on DePaul after years of revolving-door D.

I anticipate the Demons to win a coin-flip recreation in entrance of a very nice residence crowd Saturday night time.

PICK: DePaul (+1) to lose by fewer than a degree or win outright

No. 6 Iowa State @ No. 23 BYU (10:30 p.m., ESPN)

Life on the highway is not any joke within the Large XII.

Simply ask Iowa State, a group that’s already slipped up at Kansas, Cincinnati and TCU in 2026. Most of us could make peace with a loss at Allen Fieldhouse, however the others are video games you’re presupposed to win.

BYU’s two finest gamers are gifted kids, and AJ Dybantsa and Robert Wright are nonetheless maturing on the faculty stage. If they convey their A-game, although, look out.