Before the transfer portal and NIL era, college basketball was filled with dynasties. Let’s look back, starting with the Bruins of Westwood.

NCAAB GOAT Programs 

College basketball is in full swing, and it has certainly entered a different era. With the advent of the one-and-done, transfer portal, and NILs, players are changing teams faster than the fastest of fast breaks.

Even the ‘rabidest’ of fans, boosters, and bettors may be excused if he/she can’t comprehend how quickly rosters are changing.

What this has ultimately done has extinguished dynasties in college basketball. 

Each season, a case could be made to have legitimate title NCAAB contenders numbering in the teens ahead of March Madness. While that was part of the allure of the sport, it killed off a good bit of the sport’s history. 

Gone are iconic programs such as the 11-title UCLA Bruins, overseen by legendary coach John Wooden and led during his time in Westwood by a guy then named Lew Alcindor. Alcindor, known of course today as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, manned the middle when the Bruins won in 1967, ‘68, and ‘69. 

Bill Walton had perhaps the best championship game in history when UCLA won in 1973. It was a staggering seventh title in succession by the Bruins, who ended with 10 titles in a dozen-season span (1964 through 1975, inclusive).  

It’s been three decades since the last Bruin title of 1995.

Right after UCLA is Kentucky, as the Wildcats have won eight titles. It was the Baron, Adolph Rupp, who put the ‘Cats on the map with three championships in four seasons (1948, ‘49, '51).

There were six titles apiece by the North Carolina Tar Heels and Connecticut Huskies, the latter winning consecutively in 2023 and 2024. That’s a feat which isn’t to be taken lightly.

Then, five championships by the Duke Blue Devils and Indiana Hoosiers (the last Hoosier title back in 1987), with the Kansas Jayhawks boasting four banners at Allen Fieldhouse.      

Those aforementioned schools are as good a place to start as any if you want to learn the history of college basketball.

While it’s too early to bring March Madness 2026 into the mix, it’s not far-fetched to assume one or more of those once-mighty behemoths to be NCAA tournament contenders once again.

Here’s a bit of a primer on the current state of NCAA basketball…

Who Are the Elite Eight in College Basketball?

The term ‘Elite Eight’ usually refers to the last eight teams standing in the men’s (and women’s) college basketball tournament.

We are going to take some editorial license here, however, redefining the ‘Elite Eight’ in this narrative as the eight current favorites to win the 2026 men’s basketball title. 

According to BetUS NCAAB odds at the time of this early-December time, it’s the Michigan Wolverines favored at 15-2 (+750), with second choice the Purdue Boilermakers at 17-2 (+850).

Then, the Duke Blue Devils are at 10-1 (+1000), with the Connecticut Huskies and Houston Cougars both at 12-1 (+1200), while the Gonzaga Bulldogs are at 14-1 (+1400).

The Arizona Wildcats and Louisville Cardinals are both listed at 16-1 (+1600), rounding out this version of the ‘Elite Eight.’ 

As a public service, a reminder that odds around this future wager are fluid.

What’s the Best College Basketball Team Right Now? 

It’s terribly subjective to say who the team in the U.S. is, especially since we have not even begun conference play. That’s not stopping us with the task at hand.

The latest Associated Press college basketball rankings have the Purdue Boilermakers ruling the roost, ahead of the Arizona Wildcats, Michigan Wolverines, Duke Blue Devils, and Connecticut Huskies. Louisville, Michigan St., Houston, Brigham Young, and Iowa St. round out the top 10 through the first week of December. 

Again, way too early to read the tea leaves, but it’s something. 

As a public service, remember that this NCAAB odds future wager is fluid.  

Who Won the NCAA Basketball Title in 2025? 

Props to the Florida Gators, who ended the 2024-25 season with a record of 36-4. Florida finished its season with a 65-63 win over the Houston Cougars in San Antonio to win the third NCAAB title in school history.

Any Final Thoughts?

Whether serious, casual or somewhere in between, bettors are advised to pay close attention to college basketball. Volatile and subject to weekly fluctuations, rankings are a decent measuring stick as to how a team is seen in the national picture. However, it’s the savvy ‘investor’ who incorporates those rankings with other trends (while shopping to find the best line out there) in the quest to gain any possible advantage with his/her wager.

- Don Shapiro, Gambing911.com