A diehard football fan’s guide to college basketball before the 2026 NCAA Tournament

Have you been so consumed by football for the last five months that you’re woefully behind on what’s been happening in the world of men’s college basketball? Does your body begin to tremble at the mere thought of entering a weekend with no football for the first time since August? Would you like to at least sound like you know what you’re talking about once March Madness rolls around in a month?

Once again, we here at SB Nation have you, the diehard football fan who is finally ready to start paying attention to college hoops now that your weekends are football free, covered.

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Let’s hear your questions.

Tell me who’s gonna win it all.

OK, not a question. Bad start, but we can still dive into this.

The No. 1 team in the country according to most predictive metrics and the betting favorite to win the national title according to most oddsmakers is Michigan. The Wolverines are 22-1, they’re the first Big Ten team ever to have seven wins by 40 points or more, and they’re the first team in college basketball history to beat three AP top 25 teams by 30 points or more. Their only loss was a surprising one — a 91-88 home loss to a not great Wisconsin team back on Jan. 10.

The current No. 1 team in both the human polls is Arizona. The Wildcats were a perfect 23-0 before losing at Kansas (82-78) Monday night. ‘Zona is elite despite taking the third fewest three-pointers of any team in college basketball.

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Duke, Houston, Illinois and UConn are also considered top-tier national title contenders at the moment. Teams like Florida, Iowa State, Purdue, Michigan State, Gonzaga and Kansas are also squads that appear to have the ability to win six games in three weeks.

Isn’t there a really good freshman that people think could win it all and be the No. 1 pick like Flagg last year?

Duke actually did not win the title last year.

That’s right. I actually meant like Zion a few years ago.

Zion also did—

There are actually a number of ridiculously high level…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/diehard-football-fan-guide-college-185746951.html

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Publish date : 2026-02-13 18:57:00

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