College Basketball Betting Picks

The Division I basketball season officially begins at the start of November, with the NCAA having moved the standard first-contest date to Monday, November 2, 2026.

There is, however, an international curtain-raiser one day earlier. Notre Dame and Villanova meet in Rome on November 1, providing an unusual European opening to the college basketball calendar before programs across the United States begin their campaigns.

November quickly brings several traditional showcase events.

The Champions Classic takes place on November 10, with Kentucky facing Kansas as part of the annual event involving Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and Michigan State.

Thanksgiving week then brings another packed collection of tournaments and neutral-site games before attention gradually shifts towards conference play.

The ACC begins its conference schedule on December 29, with the major conference races occupying much of January and February before tournament season begins in March.

The most important structural change to the season arrives in March.

The 2027 NCAA men's basketball tournament expands from 68 teams to 76, the first enlargement of March Madness since the field moved from 65 to 68 teams in 2011.

The change creates a substantially larger opening round. Twenty-four teams will compete across 12 Opening Round games on March 16 and 17, with those contests staged in Dayton and Wichita. The winners advance into the familiar 64-team bracket.

From there, March Madness retains its traditional knockout structure.

The First Round takes place on March 18 and 19, followed by the Second Round that weekend. The Sweet 16 begins on March 25 and the Elite Eight concludes on March 28.

For teams sitting around the traditional NCAA Tournament bubble, expansion creates additional opportunities. But it does not change the fundamental appeal of March Madness: one defeat still ends a team's pursuit of the national championship.

The previous college basketball season ended with Michigan defeating UConn 69-63 in the NCAA championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.

The Wolverines had entered March Madness as a No.1 seed and progressed through the tournament before beating Arizona in the Final Four and facing UConn for the national championship.

Victory gave Michigan its first men's basketball national title since 1989, and completed an extraordinary season under head coach Dusty May, who transformed Michigan into one of college basketball's elite programs during his two years in Ann Arbor.

May's success ultimately attracted attention from the NBA.

In June, the Dallas Mavericks hired May as their new head coach, bringing his championship-winning tenure at Michigan to a sudden conclusion. He left with a 64-13 record across two seasons.

Michigan subsequently promoted assistant Mike Boynton Jr. to head coach. Boynton already had extensive head-coaching experience from seven seasons at Oklahoma State and had spent two years on May's Michigan staff, giving the Wolverines continuity as they attempt to defend their championship.

Repeating in college basketball is extraordinarily difficult. Attempting it immediately after losing the coach responsible for winning the championship makes Michigan's title defence one of the season's most fascinating stories.

Roster turnover has become one of the defining characteristics of modern college basketball.

The transfer portal opened almost immediately after Michigan's championship victory and produced astonishing activity. More than 1,000 Division I men's players entered within the opening 10 hours, and that figure had surpassed 2,000 within 75 hours.

Several potentially transformative players were among those seeking new opportunities.

Flory Bidunga moved from Kansas to Louisville after developing into one of the country's leading interior players. The 6ft 10in forward averaged 13.3 points, nine rebounds and 2.6 blocks during his previous season and gives Louisville an established defensive presence.

John Blackwell left Wisconsin for Duke after averaging 19.1 points for the Badgers, giving Jon Scheyer another experienced scoring option following the departure of NBA-bound talent from his roster.

Houston also moved quickly, adding Dedan Thomas Jr. from LSU and Delrecco Gillespie from Kent State. Thomas averaged 15.3 points and 6.5 assists during an injury-shortened season in Baton Rouge and gives Kelvin Sampson an experienced point guard.

Defending champion Michigan was active as well, adding 6ft 11in Tennessee transfer JP Estrella while retaining important members of its championship roster.

The days when college basketball rosters could be projected several seasons into the future have effectively disappeared. Coaches must now recruit high-school players, identify transfer targets and convince existing players to remain with their programs simultaneously.

The season stretches across more than five months, but several dates immediately stand out: