Sports
Ranking 80 men’s NCAA basketball teams by March Madness potential
More than six months ago, Walter Clayton Jr. won Most Outstanding Player honors on one of the most thrilling runs to the national championship since Kemba Walker led UConn in 2011. The Florida Gators were not viewed as a top-tier team entering last season, though, checking in at 21st in the preseason AP poll and 24th in last year’s version of these tiers.
Things can change quickly in college basketball, which means, like last season’s champions, some of the following teams will be in a different tier by the end of 2025-26. Still, we have ordered 80 of the sport’s 365 Division I teams into tiers by their NCAA tournament chances.
Yes, there are clear championship and Final Four contenders (newsflash: Duke will be good again). But there are also teams with second-weekend potential that could fall to the bubble (Auburn has lost a lot of talent and a head coach), likely bubble teams that could pull off an upset (Washington is intriguing), teams moving in the wrong direction, teams ready to take a step (or two) forward — and everything in between.
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf organize the chaos of that wide range of potential outcomes by sorting 80 noteworthy programs into 10 tiers as the Nov. 3 season tipoff draws closer.
Jump to:
Title favorites | Final Four contenders | Second-weekend threats | Can go dancing | Potential bid thieves | ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ | Check back next year | Comeback kids | 2 outliers | Cinderellas

Tier I: National championship favorites
Purdue Boilermakers
Florida Gators
Houston Cougars
UConn Huskies
These were the four teams that received first-place votes in the preseason AP poll and the four atop ESPN’s preseason top 25. In other words: These are your national title favorites entering the season.
Purdue is eyeing its first national championship, led by Wooden Award favorite Braden Smith and fellow potential All-American Trey Kaufman-Renn — the best inside-outside duo in the country. Two other starters also return for Matt Painter, who then added double-double machine Oscar Cluff from the transfer portal plus highly regarded international prospect Omer Mayer.
Florida is a legitimate threat to go back-to-back, especially with the way Todd Golden finished his reloading efforts last spring. The Gators replaced do-everything NCAA tournament hero Clayton with Boogie Fland and Xaivian Lee, two high-level offensive guards with real playmaking chops when the ball is in their hands. They also return the best frontcourt in the country, headlined by Thomas Haugh and Alex Condon.
After falling devastatingly short in the title game last April, Houston will look to finish the job this season. The Cougars were able to keep Milos Uzan, Emanuel Sharp and Joseph Tugler in school, and they are bringing in three top-25 recruits as reinforcements. It might take some time for the newcomers to get up to speed on playing Kelvin Sampson-coached defense, but we have faith they will be there in March.
Rounding out the top tier is UConn, which took an inevitable step back last season after winning back-to-back national championships in 2023 and 2024. But Dan Hurley and the Huskies are poised for a return to the national title discussion. Tarris Reed Jr. is back down low, and the trio of Solo Ball, Braylon Mullins and Alex Karaban is as good as it gets from an offensive and shooting perspective. The addition of Silas Demary Jr. should solve their point guard issues. — Borzello

Tier II: Final Four contenders
BYU Cougars
St. John’s Red Storm
Louisville Cardinals
Michigan Wolverines
Duke Blue Devils
Kentucky Wildcats
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Arkansas Razorbacks
Every team on this list has the potential to move into the national title conversation with the right mix of chemistry and execution. That starts with BYU, which owned the nation’s best offense in the last two months of 2024-25 as the program reached the Sweet 16 in Kevin Young’s first year at the helm. Now, the Cougars have added AJ Dybantsa, a five-star prospect who has his sights set on the No. 1 spot in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Also in that race for the top overall pick is Duke freshman Cameron Boozer, the leader of a Blue Devils crew with ESPN’s top 2025 recruiting class. Ten years ago, a similarly youthful and talented Duke squad captured the final national title of Mike Krzyzewski’s reign.
Texas Tech and Michigan are led by preseason All-Americans — JT Toppin and Yaxel Lendeborg, respectively — following second-weekend runs a season ago. St. John’s has arguably the strongest transfer class in the nation, a group that will become even more compelling if former All-Big East forward Bryce Hopkins regains his old form after battling injuries. And Kentucky spent millions to add talent around the SEC Preseason Player of the Year Otega Oweh, headlined by Arizona State transfer and projected top-five pick Jayden Quaintance, whose expected return to the court later this season after suffering an ACL tear in February could elevate the Wildcats into the title favorites tier.
Finally, Louisville (Mikel Brown Jr.) and Arkansas (Darius Acuff Jr.) have added a pair of dynamic guards with NBA dreams. — Medcalf

Tier III: Second-weekend threats
Arizona Wildcats
Illinois Fighting Illini
UCLA Bruins
Gonzaga Bulldogs
Alabama Crimson Tide
Iowa State Cyclones
Auburn Tigers
Wisconsin Badgers
Tennessee Volunteers
Kansas Jayhawks
Creighton Bluejays
Michigan State Spartans
These teams have a couple more question marks than the tier above, but history suggests a few will play themselves into the Final Four discussion and a top-five rank at some point this season.
Arizona and Illinois are loaded with different types of talent. Wildcats coach Tommy Lloyd will rely heavily on five-star freshmen Koa Peat and Brayden Burries, while Illinois’ Brad Underwood went the overseas route to add five players with Balkan ties to the rotation. How quickly the newcomers get up to speed will be key for both programs.
Perhaps the most fascinating team in this tier is Auburn, which had a seismic coaching change when Bruce Pearl retired as the Tigers’ head coach only six weeks before tipoff, passing the reigns to his son Steven. Tahaad Pettiford is one of the most electric point guards in the country, while Keyshawn Hall and KeShawn Murphy are proven high-major transfers.
A few of these teams are more accustomed to higher ranks, two of which will lean on incoming top-five recruits. Kansas will look to bounce back from back-to-back disappointing seasons, as Bill Self welcomes Darryn Peterson, another potential No. 1 pick next June. And Tennessee loses five of its top scorers but brings in star freshman Nate Ament and Maryland transfer Ja’Kobi Gillespie. Now the question is whether Rick Barnes can get the Vols to maintain the levels of elite defense from the past six seasons.
2:04
Vols’ Rick Barnes explains how style of play has changed
Tennessee’s Barnes describes how he has seen different systems through his career and goes back in the vault to implement those styles into his team today.
Then there’s Michigan State, which brings four rotation players back from a team that won 30 games and a Big Ten regular-season title. If coach Tom Izzo can find a difference-maker on the perimeter among his newcomers, this tier will be one too low for Sparty. — Borzello

Tier IV: Can win a tournament game
North Carolina Tar Heels
NC State Wolfpack
Oregon Ducks
USC Trojans
San Diego State Aztecs
Ohio State Buckeyes
Texas Longhorns
Baylor Bears
Oklahoma Sooners
Missouri Tigers
Virginia Cavaliers
Iowa Hawkeyes
Cincinnati Bearcats
Ole Miss Rebels
For some programs, inclusion in this tier will seem like a letdown. For others, winning an NCAA tournament game would mean a successful season. The latter group starts with Will Wade and NC State. A season after the Wolfpack won just 12 games, Wade takes over the helm with a new roster led by Darrion Williams — one of the top available transfers who starred for Texas Tech in the Elite Eight — in a debut season that could yield immediate results.
Iowa also falls under that banner. New Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum and last season’s Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year Bennett Stirtz are at their third stop together following successful campaigns at Drake and Northwest Missouri State. NCAA tournament victories for Texas (first season with Sean Miller), Virginia (first season for Ryan Odom) and Ohio State (Jake Diebler’s second full season) would also be celebrated as positive steps under new leadership.
The same can’t be said for North Carolina. The Tar Heels landing in this tier would have seemed blasphemous only a few years ago, but after they stumbled into last season’s NCAA tournament and Hubert Davis’ job status became the subject of hot-seat talk, a tournament victory could be the only way to stabilize this program. If it happens, five-star recruit Caleb Wilson will likely play a role in that mission.
Cincinnati’s Wes Miller could hold off further buzz about a regime change with an NCAA tournament victory. And Baylor, Oregon, USC and San Diego State will have to regroup to win big after losing talent to the portal. But Baylor’s Tounde Yessoufou (No. 9 in the SC Next 100); Oregon’s Nate Bittle and Jackson Shelstad (All-Big Ten preseason selections); USC’s Rodney Rice (13.8 PPG at Maryland last season); and San Diego State’s Miles Byrd (second-team All-Mountain West in 2024-25) should give those four programs a chance to advance. — Medcalf

Tier V: Dangerous bubble teams
Indiana Hoosiers
Texas A&M Aggies
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
SMU Mustangs
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Vanderbilt Commodores
Marquette Golden Eagles
Washington Huskies
Kansas State Wildcats
Georgia Bulldogs
VCU Rams
Boise State Broncos
Utah State Aggies
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
This list is a mix. New coaches have changed the fortunes of select teams, while star power is the reason for hype around the rest.
Tucker DeVries played only a handful of games at West Virginia last season, but the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year followed his father, new Indiana head coach Darian DeVries, to Bloomington. The Hoosiers lost five players who averaged at least 9.0 points last season but could still be a bubble threat in DeVries’ first year at the helm after regrouping around his son, a potential All-American.
Bucky McMillan has an intriguing group for his first season at Texas A&M, too. On paper, a roster featuring Pop Isaacs (Texas Tech), Jacari Lane (North Alabama) and Mackenzie Mgbako (Indiana) — all transfers who averaged double figures at their programs last season — should be squarely on the bubble with the potential for more if the Aggies develop the right chemistry.
Second-team All-American P.J. Haggerty‘s decision to transfer from Memphis to Kansas State was arguably the biggest portal move of the spring. He and Notre Dame’s Markus Burton, a second-team All-ACC performer last season, will be difference-makers for teams looking to flip the script after sub-.500 campaigns. If the Wildcats and Fighting Irish make the NCAA tournament, few opponents would have players more capable than those two dynamic guards.
Utah State’s Mason Falslev (15.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.3 SPG, 39% 3P%) and Mississippi State’s Josh Hubbard (18.9 PPG, 3.1 APG) are two of the country’s top players on teams that won 20-plus games and reached the NCAA tournament in 2024-25. Their squads have lost key players, but it wouldn’t be surprising if they moved up a tier by the end of the season.
Washington is probably the most intriguing team on this list. Danny Sprinkle’s crew finished 13-18 last season despite landing top-ranked players in the transfer portal. Yet, the arrival and return of Wesley Yates III (redshirted for the Huskies in 2023-24 before transferring to USC in 2024-25) and the addition of his former Trojans teammate Desmond Claude (15.8 PPG) means the Huskies have the look of a dangerous bubble team. — Medcalf

Tier VI: Total rebuild = ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Miami Hurricanes
Maryland Terrapins
Villanova Wildcats
Xavier Musketeers
West Virginia Mountaineers
Even in this era of the transfer portal and widespread attrition, it stands out when new coaches take over programs with a completely clean slate. Miami, Maryland and West Virginia returned zero players, while Villanova welcomed back one player plus a redshirt and Xavier didn’t return anyone who played a minute of last season.
Miami and first-year head coach Jai Lucas have the most reason for optimism among that group. The Hurricanes opted for a balance of freshmen, transfers and international additions — and there’s plenty of intrigue surrounding the arrival of high-major transfers Malik Reneau (Indiana), Tre Donaldson (Michigan) and Ernest Udeh (TCU), as well as potential one-and-done freshman Shelton Henderson.
New Maryland head coach Buzz Williams has had success at every program he has led, winning NCAA tournament games with three different schools. Can he make it four? A few players followed him from Texas A&M, and he brought in three other transfers who averaged double-figure scoring.
Kevin Willard (Villanova) and Richard Pitino (Xavier) placed a heavy emphasis on the portal after taking over their respective Big East programs, but the most individual buzz surrounds Wildcats freshman guard Acaden Lewis, a top-35 recruit who should have the ball in his hands a ton this season.
West Virginia will hope Ross Hodge can bring some stability to the program after cycling through three different head coaches in the past three seasons. He has coached high-level defenses at North Texas and will hope North Dakota transfer Treysen Eaglestaff — who scored a Summit League-record 51 points in last season’s conference tournament — carries things on the offensive end. — Borzello

Tier VII: Backward step looms?
Clemson Tigers
Memphis Tigers
Saint Mary’s Gaels
New Mexico Lobos
Colorado State Rams
George Mason Patriots
This tier represents the flip side of the transfer portal boost higher-ranked teams will benefit from this season. Last season, this group of teams combined to win 165 total games, and five of the six reached the NCAA tournament. Now, they all enter this season with lower expectations after losing key players who helped their respective programs reach those heights.
We’ll never know whether Penny Hardaway would have extended the best season of his tenure at Memphis — 29 wins en route to the American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles — had Tyrese Hunter been healthy in the postseason. With Hunter, Haggerty and two other players who averaged double figures last season gone, the Tigers could have a rocky path ahead. The same goes for Clemson, which lost All-ACC selection Chase Hunter and the entire starting five from a team that earned a 5-seed last March.
Meanwhile, in the Mountain West, New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino left for Xavier and the Lobos’ leading scorer, Donovan Dent, transferred to UCLA. Nique Clifford (18.9 PPG), who helped Colorado State reach the second round of the NCAA tournament, moved on to the NBA, while his head coach, Niko Medved, left for Minnesota. Both runs were fun while they lasted.
A step backward for Saint Mary’s demands some context: Randy Bennett hasn’t won fewer than 20 games in a season that wasn’t impacted by the pandemic since 2006-07, but WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marčiulionis is gone, and another 29-win season and second-round trip could be out of reach in 2025-26. — Medcalf

Tier VIII: The (potential) comeback kids
Syracuse Orange
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Georgetown Hoyas
Virginia Tech Hokies
LSU Tigers
When it comes to pure talent, Syracuse is in great shape. The Orange brought back preseason All-ACC selection J.J. Starling and former top-10 recruit Donnie Freeman, and they added Georgia Tech transfer Naithan George — one of the most coveted point guards in the portal — and a pair of top-35 recruits, including Kiyan Anthony, Carmelo’s son.
On the surface, winning 21 games and the College Basketball Crown is nothing to bounce back from. But Nebraska didn’t make the Big Ten tournament after losing five in a row to end the regular season, and the return of Rienk Mast will be impactful after the All-Big Ten selection missed last season because of a knee injury. Four other players who started games for the Cornhuskers in 2024-25 are also back.
Virginia Tech is a potential NCAA tournament team. Neoklis Avdalas should be one of the best international players in college, and head coach Mike Young is high on West Virginia transfer Amani Hansberry. Throw in the return of NBA prospect Tobi Lawal and three other rotation players, and this team has the potential to move up in the ACC standings.
Ed Cooley took Georgetown from a 9-23 record (2-18 in the Big East) in Year 1 to 18-16 (8-12) in Year 2 — and the Hoyas are ready to take another jump under his leadership. Cooley signed six power conference transfers, led by former Arizona guard KJ Lewis, and welcomes back starting point guard Malik Mack. Those two should form one of the best backcourts in the Big East.
LSU, on the other hand, is in a tough spot. Matt McMahon’s team went 3-15 in the SEC last season, so there’s plenty of room to improve. But in a conference that sent a record 14 teams to the NCAA tournament last season, there’s also a pretty difficult-to-crack ceiling without dramatic improvement. That said, the incoming transfer class is talented and should right the ship. — Borzello
3:45
Matt McMahon expresses confidence in LSU’s returners and transfers
McMahon shares his vision while describing the Tigers’ portal additions and lists multiple returners he believes are on the verge of breakout seasons.

Tier IX: Two teams we pounded the table for
Borzello: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
I went back and forth between Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, but expectations for the Hokies seem higher, so I’ll go with the Yellow Jackets. Simply put, being picked 13th in the preseason ACC poll seems low for the talent coach Damon Stoudamire has on his roster this season. This is a team that racked up wins over Duke, North Carolina and Clemson in 2023-24, then finished .500 overall and in the ACC last season.
In Stoudamire’s third season, can Tech take the next step? It starts on the interior with preseason second-team All-ACC selection Baye Ndongo and potential one-and-done freshman Mouhamed Sylla. Ndongo has been one of the more productive bigs in the league the past two seasons, and Sylla is a rim-running, shot-blocking extraordinaire with explosiveness.
Returnees Jaeden Mustaf and Kowacie Reeves Jr., along with redshirt freshman Dyllan Thompson and Miami Ohio transfer Kam Craft, all bring size on the wings. The key to Tech’s season will come at the point guard spot, where Stoudamire will rely on Pacific transfer Lamar Washington. He’s 6-foot-5 but can really pass and brings two-way ability.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say Tech is a surefire tournament team, but with the size the Jackets have throughout the roster, and Ndongo and Sylla starring down low, they won’t be overmatched in any game. I like them to be in the bubble conversation come February.
Medcalf: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Former Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson had everything you would think a head coach would need to get proper support from a school. He played high school basketball and football in Minneapolis, was a star for Minnesota in college, then spent time as an assistant under Richard Pitino before succeeding him. But Johnson ultimately landed the Gophers’ head coaching gig amid the most turbulent time in recent college basketball history, and the school and its boosters failed to offer the NIL support they needed to compete.
By contrast, Niko Medved — also a Minneapolis native — navigated those challenges at a program (Colorado State) that had more resource limitations than Minnesota. He understands this landscape and program. And he has assembled a team full of underdogs, including former North Carolina reserve Cade Tyson.
This is where the portal is a plus for a coach like Medved: this team doesn’t know or care about the past at Minnesota, they just want to win. And Medved has won 20 or more games in five of the past six seasons, reaching the NCAA tournament three times during that stretch, too. The Gophers, meanwhile, have just one winning season in that same span. Medved could make an immediate impact at Minnesota.

Tier X: Potential March Cinderellas
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
UNC Wilmington Seahawks
Towson Tigers
Yale Bulldogs
High Point Panthers
Liberty Flames
Vermont Catamounts
Chattanooga Mocs
Illinois State Redbirds
Siena Saints
We need one or two of these teams to bring chaos to the bracket in March. The 2025 NCAA tournament saw no teams lower than a 12-seed pull off a first-round upset and no mid-major teams advance to the Sweet 16. Will any of these teams end that trend in a few months?
There are four leagues that should produce a first-round upset threat: the CAA, Missouri Valley, SoCon and Big West. We included both UNCW and Towson from the CAA (Charleston isn’t far behind), but the other three all have teams worth watching that didn’t quite make the cut here. We went with Illinois State and its four returning starters in the Valley, but Northern Iowa and Bradley should be right there. Chattanooga edged out Furman in the SoCon for us, while UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine should both be factors out of the Big West. UConn transfer Aidan Mahaney should be one of the most impactful “transfer-down” players in the country for UCSB.
They don’t have the most built-for-March roster, but Liberty could be the best team from a one-bid league during the regular season. The Flames won Conference USA in 2024-25, and Ritchie McKay welcomes back several of their key players. Three returning starters, including all-league forward Zach Cleveland, lead the way, and former Minnesota forward Isaiah Ihnen is healthy after playing just nine games and averaging double-figures in his first season with the Flames.
Yale and Vermont are bracket staples, although John Becker and the Catamounts had a “down season” in 2024-25, finishing second in the America East. James Jones and the Bulldogs lose stars John Poulakidas and Bez Mbeng but could still have the best player in the Ivy League in forward Nick Townsend.
Finally, we went with a deep sleeper as our final team in this tier. Siena went just 14-18 overall and 9-11 in the MAAC in Gerry McNamara’s first season, but that was a 10-win improvement on the Saints’ 2023-24 campaign. They return three starters, led by all-league guard Justice Shoats, and six rotation players. Freshman Christian Jones should also make an immediate impact with his speed and playmaking. — Borzello
Sports
The race for No. 1 draft pick: Five teams still in the mix, plus prospects they might consider
The race for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft is solidifying after 15 weeks of the 2025 season. Only five teams have at least a 1% chance at landing the top pick, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) projections. So we called on our NFL reporters and analysts to size up each of those bottom-tier franchises again after taking a look at midseason.
Our NFL Nation reporters looked at what went wrong for each team to get them in this position. Seth Walder used FPI to make sense of each teams’ chances in their final three games. Dan Graziano rated each team’s likelihood of trading the No. 1 pick on a 1-10 scale. And finally, Jordan Reid spun it forward and suggested one prospect each front office could consider if it kept the top selection.
Let’s start with the Raiders, who currently have the best odds at the first pick.
Jump to a team:
CLE | LV | NYG | NYJ | TEN
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FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 37.6%
FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 92.7%
What was the biggest problem this season?
Las Vegas has been a complete mess on offense. Since firing offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, the Raiders have scored only 31 points in three games. They totaled 75 yards in a 31-0 loss to the Eagles this past Sunday. Quarterback Geno Smith has regressed over the course of the season, and rookie running back Ashton Jeanty has been underwhelming. The offensive line’s inability to hold protection or create space hasn’t helped either player. The Raiders are currently 22nd in pass block win rate (61.0%) and tied for 18th in run block win rate (70.6%). — Ryan McFadden
What lies ahead in the schedule? Are they favored in any remaining games?
They aren’t favored in any games but don’t make the mistake of thinking that the Raiders have the No. 1 pick locked up. Their Week 17 game is against the Giants, who are fourth on this list, and Week 18 is against an already eliminated Chiefs team. Who knows what that game will look like. — Walder
On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it they would trade the pick?
1. All of these grades will be based on whether the team likes the top QB prospect — Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza or whomever else it could become — enough to justify taking him No. 1. The Raiders desperately need a real, long-term solution at quarterback and would be foolish to let an opportunity to draft one slip past them. — Graziano
Who is the best prospect fit right now for them at No. 1?
Mendoza. Adding Smith as a veteran presence backfired. The Raiders desperately need a franchise QB, and this year’s Heisman Trophy winner could fill that void as the top option in this class. His toughness, poise and accuracy are traits that can translate quickly. The franchise hasn’t selected a QB in Round 1 since 2007, when it took Jamarcus Russell with the top pick. — Reid
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FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 20.3%
FPI chance to earn top five pick: 89.3%
What was the biggest problem this season?
Offense. For the second straight season, the Browns have one of the most anemic offenses in the NFL. Cleveland is tied with Tennessee for the lowest mark in yards per play (4.3) this season. The Browns are last in offensive EPA, per NFL Next Gen Stats, and have cycled through three different starting quarterbacks — Joe Flacco, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders. But the issues span beyond the QB, from an oft-injured and underperforming offensive line to a lack of playmakers on the outside. — Daniel Oyefusi
What lies ahead in the schedule? Are they favored in any remaining games?
They are most certainly not favored in any games. The Browns face the Bills, Steelers and Bengals, a high degree of difficulty stretch. FPI favors Cleveland’s opponents by at least 8.5 points in each of those matchups, though it remains to be seen what the state of the Bengals is in Week 18. Still, Browns fans hoping to see their team lose out have a good chance of that happening.— Walder
On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it they would trade the pick?
4. Anyone who tells you they know what the Browns are going to do at QB next season is lying. They have two rookies (Sanders and Gabriel), Deshaun Watson still on the roster at a price of $46 million and two first-round picks in 2026. If they fall in love with Mendoza, I feel confident they’d take him here. If they aren’t in love with any QB prospect and feel good about Sanders, Gabriel and/or Watson for one more season, then they could trade it and address the problem with even more draft capital in 2027. — Graziano
Who is the best prospect fit right now for them at No. 1?
Mendoza. I don’t think Gabriel and Sanders have shown enough this season to stop the Browns from continuing to find their long-term answer under center. This season, the Browns are 30th in passing yards per game (171.9) and last in Total QBR (24.6). Arguably the most consistent passer in this class, Mendoza has the potential to bring stability to a franchise that has lacked it since Baker Mayfield was traded in 2022. — Reid
2:18
Stephen A. blames Stefanski for not developing Browns QBs
Stephen A. Smith calls out Browns coach Kevin Stefanski for refusing to develop other quarterbacks while the team tries Shedeur Sanders at QB.
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FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 18.9%
FPI chance to earn top-five pick: 88.9%
What was the biggest problem this season?
Lack of complementary football. There have been games when the Titans’ defense played well but eventually wore down after being on the field too much because the offense couldn’t sustain drives. Tennessee is currently 28th in time of possession and second worst in total yards per game (250.5). But the offense has given the defense a chance to close out games, like in Week 11 (a 16-13 loss to Houston). It didn’t happen. — Turron Davenport
What lies ahead in the schedule? Are they favored in any remaining games?
They aren’t favored in any games by FPI, but there are a couple of winnable games. The Titans are getting the Chiefs fresh off their playoff elimination and without quarterback Patrick Mahomes (torn ACL). Will Kansas City pack it in in a meaningless game? It wouldn’t be that shocking. And though the Saints are playing well, that’s not a sure-fire loss for Tennessee in Week 17. But Week 18 could easily be a loss if the game is meaningful for the Jaguars’ playoff hopes. — Walder
On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it they would trade the pick?
9. I’d be shocked if Tennessee took a QB at No. 1 two years in a row. It has never happened. The only reason it’s not a 10 is because a new coach could decide he’s not sold on rookie quarterback Cam Ward. Though, why take the job if that’s the case? This front office, led by first-year general manager Mike Borgonzi, drafted Ward No. 1 last spring and believes in him. So trading the pick for future draft capital would make sense. — Graziano
Who is the best prospect fit right now for them at No. 1?
Arvell Reese, Edge/linebacker, Ohio State. In need of talent on both sides of the ball, Reese is a versatile defender who’s capable of playing edge rusher and off-ball linebacker. His combination of explosiveness, power and physicality are all qualities that give him the potential to be a building block for a defense that already has star defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. — Reid
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FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 16.1%
FPI chance to earn top five pick: 76.3%
What was the biggest problem this season?
The entire program. The Giants fired coach Brian Daboll, defensive coordinator Shane Bowen and assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox at different points this season. The defense has been extremely disappointing given the talent (tied for 30th in yards allowed per play), but that is just part of a bigger problem. The Giants’ leadership, culture and locker room are all sour. How else do you explain winning five of the past 31 games? — Jordan Raanan
What lies ahead in the schedule? Are they favored in any remaining games?
FPI, which is particularly fond of the Giants this season, favors them this week against the Vikings (though Minnesota is a 3-point favorite at DraftKings). Next week, both the betting line and FPI agree the Giants should be favored against the Raiders. And our model makes the Cowboys-Giants Week 18 game a pick ’em. All of that is a big part of the reason why the Giants aren’t higher on this list. — Walder
On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it they would trade the pick?
8. Similar to what I said about the Titans, except that the Giants could have a new coach and new GM if Joe Schoen is replaced. And if that new leadership has concerns about quarterback Jaxson Dart‘s durability and felt 100 percent convinced on a QB prospect in this class, maybe they make that move. But again, it would be a major surprise from an organization that has reason to believe in last spring’s first-round selection. — Graziano
Who is the best prospect fit right now for them at No. 1?
Reese. Like the Titans, the Giants have their QB in place with Dart. With edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux entering the final year of his rookie deal in 2026, Reese could turn into an edge rusher, off-ball linebacker hybrid if Thibodeaux is not brought back. Simply taking a best player available approach, he would make a lot of sense as another key addition on a defense with plenty of young talent. — Reid
1:38
Why a full offseason could be key for Jaxson Dart’s growth
Jason McCourty and Jeff Saturday explain how the upcoming offseason will be important for Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart.
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FPI chance to earn No. 1 pick: 6.8%
FPI chance to earn top five pick: 77.8%
What was the biggest problem this season?
Everything except special teams. The defense regressed badly under defense-minded coach Aaron Glenn and coordinator Steve Wilks, resulting in Wilks’ firing after 14 games. The offense was weighed down by poor quarterback play, as the Justin Fields experiment was a resounding failure that cost them $30 million in guarantees. The Jets have some players on offense, but neither Fields, Tyrod Taylor nor Brady Cook were able to galvanize the unit. The team is currently ranked 27th in Total QBR (40.6). — Rich Cimini
What lies ahead in the schedule? Are they favored in any remaining games?
The Jets aren’t favored at the Saints, against the Patriots and at the Bills to close out the season. The Saints are playing well enough that they probably will be able to take care of the Jets, so the big risk comes in Week 18 if the Bills have already lost the AFC East and don’t have much to play for. — Walder
On a scale of 1-10, how likely is it they would trade the pick?
1. The Jets are a complete blank slate at QB moving forward. They don’t have any major cap issues connected with Fields or Aaron Rodgers anymore. They need a star at QB and would be unwise to pass up a chance to draft one with the top pick. — Graziano
Who is the best prospect fit right now for them at No. 1?
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon. With five first-round picks over the next two seasons, the Jets have the most draft capital of any of the QB-needy teams. They’d love to keep that future capital to build around Moore after the Fields signing did not work out. Moore’s poise and ball placement project well in offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand’s system given his potential as a true distributor. — Reid
Sports
Scandals, prediction markets: Is 2025 a turning point for sports betting?
In 2025, seven years into legalized sports betting, the industry faced some of its biggest challenges yet, rocked by multiple high-profile scandals, embroiled in taxation issues and confronted by a fast-growing disruptor to the traditional bookmaking model.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event watching these worlds collide, and very rarely do you see it happen in any industry, let alone all at the same time,” said Max Bichsel, an executive with Gambling.com Group, which runs sportsbook affiliate websites.
If the legalization of sports betting reshaped the way Americans view sports, the emergence of prediction markets and government questions about sporting integrity might reshape the way Americans view sports betting. In October, a Pew Research poll found that 43% of U.S. adults say legalized sports betting is a bad thing for society — up from 34% in 2022 — and 40% say it’s a bad thing for sports, an increase from 33%.
Here are the stories that dominated sports betting’s year — and will continue to be battlegrounds in 2026.
Peak scandal?
Over five weeks this fall, gambling scandals dominated the headlines.
In a single week in November, the FBI met with the UFC about an allegedly rigged fight, two Major League Baseball pitchers were federally indicted and accused of rigging pitches to help bettors, and the NCAA accused six former men’s college basketball players from three schools of participating in gambling schemes.
Two weeks earlier, federal authorities arrested and charged 34 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player Damon Jones — in two gambling cases involving alleged insider betting and allegedly rigged poker games.
Billups, Rozier and Jones have pleaded not guilty, as have Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz.
There have been gambling cases in previous years — think Shohei Ohtani‘s former interpreter or former NBA two-way player Jontay Porter — but the high-profile nature of these cases, along with the volume, has attracted attention and concern. Congressional committees have asked the NBA and MLB for information about what the leagues are doing to prevent integrity threats in light of these cases.
“We’re in a bit of a watershed moment this year,” said Jason Van’t Hof, a former vice president of investigations at integrity monitor IC360, which works with most of the major leagues. He believes the indictments and congressional attention will prompt the leagues to take further action, whether in public or behind the scenes.
Many of the cases involve individuals allegedly manipulating their performances so that bettors could wager on their statistics, whether that be pitches or points scored. That has increased scrutiny on player prop bets, which can be easier to fix because they are dependent on a single person’s behavior.
“When they’re just based off of individual performance, I think it’s a lot easier for match fixing in that type of situation,” an NCAA official told ESPN. “You don’t have to get to the overall team, you could just have one individual that could manipulate those markets.”
Prop bets have become increasingly popular in recent years, especially because they are often the building blocks for parlays and same-game parlays: DraftKings saw a significant increase in parlay handle mix from 2024 to 2025, according to the company’s most recent earnings report.
After Clase and Ortiz were federally indicted, MLB and its partner sportsbooks established a $200 limit on bets involving individual pitches. The NCAA has long petitioned sportsbooks and state regulators to go further and eliminate player props on college players altogether.
The NCAA official said that players from smaller programs could be bigger targets for bet fixing because their teams are no longer in tournament contention or they have lesser pro aspirations. Most of the players the NCAA has investigated this season for gambling violations come from such smaller programs.
Industry advocates say the proliferation of scandals is proof that the regulatory system is working and that eliminating bets would only serve to drive the wagering underground.
“You’re always going to have bad actors. We’re never going to be able to completely eliminate it,” a representative from a major sportsbook said. “But the goal is to really expose it, and by limiting what’s offered, that’s not going to do anything other than to make it go back to where it was before, which was the illegal markets.”
Joe Maloney, president of the Sports Betting Alliance, an advocacy group for the major sportsbooks, said the gambling cases show the role sportsbooks play in catching wrongdoing.
“Hopefully, these announcements and these suspensions not only serve as a deterrent, but demonstrate how legal sportsbooks play an important role in exposing these bad actors,” he said. “Fans aren’t going to buy jerseys, fans aren’t going to watch the games, fans aren’t going to buy tickets if they think the competition is rigged, and bettors will not bet on the games if they think the competition is rigged.”
However, in a letter to MLB in the wake of the Ortiz and Clase indictments, a U.S. Senate committee expressed concern over a “new integrity crisis” facing American sports.
“An isolated incident of game rigging might be dismissed as an aberration, but the emergence of manipulation across multiple leagues suggests a deeper, systemic vulnerability,” the senators wrote. “These developments warrant thorough scrutiny by Congress before misconduct issues become more widespread.”
The rise of prediction markets
While sportsbooks deal with gambling scandals, a new way to stake money on the outcome of sporting events has risen to disrupt the industry. Prediction markets, where users can bet on the yes/no outcome of events, have quickly gained momentum this year despite legal challenges and regulatory uncertainty.
One of the big players in the prediction market space, Kalshi, announced this month that it now sees over $1 billion traded on its platform each week, a 1,000% increase from 2024. Polymarket, the largest prediction market operator in the world, launched on a limited basis in the U.S. this month.
Sports account for the majority of Kalshi’s trading volume, according to data collated by the user datadashboards on Dune Analytics, an open-source crypto data platform, and the company has gradually increased its sports offerings over the year. This fall, Kalshi began offering prop bets on the NBA and NFL, and on Monday, Tarek Mansour, Kalshi’s cofounder, announced the launch of “combos,” or multiple-leg trades similar to parlays.
Mansour has said that he didn’t know what his product “has to do with gambling.” “If we are gambling, then I think you’re basically calling the entire financial market gambling,” he added.
Prediction market companies say one difference is that users are not going up against the house but instead trading contracts with other users on the opposite side of the proposition. While bookmakers charge a vig on losing wagers, prediction markets make money from a transaction fee, similar to a broker, and have no stake in the result.
Traditional sportsbooks operate in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Prediction markets can operate in all 50 states because of the way they are regulated.
As a result, oversight of prediction markets is being contested in courts across the country. State gaming regulators, which oversee traditional sportsbooks, argue that Kalshi is violating state laws by offering event contracts that mimic sports bets. Kalshi argues it does not fall under state jurisdiction and is instead regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a federal agency.
The CFTC has yet to weigh in. President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the agency was confirmed Thursday. Donald Trump Jr. is an adviser to both Polymarket and Kalshi.
Kalshi previously told ESPN that it underwent a six-year process to be certified as an exchange regulated by the CFTC. This allows them to list any new offerings through a self-certification process without prior approval from the federal agency, which can later review products and flag them for violations.
The NFL questioned the oversight of prediction markets and its implications for sporting integrity in congressional testimony last week.
“Without the comprehensive regulatory framework that now exists in 39 states and the District of Columbia, these products could be susceptible to manipulation or price distortion. In each of these state-regulated markets, regulators and state legislators closely monitor betting activity and, with input from professional sports leagues, can determine which bets and wager levels are acceptable,” Jeff Miller, an executive vice president for the NFL, wrote. “Those guardrails do not exist in prediction markets.”
The newly formed Coalition for Prediction Markets, which represents many of the largest operators in the space, including Kalshi, disputed Miller’s testimony.
“This testimony is like saying the stock market has no rules,” a coalition spokesperson told ESPN in a statement. “The CFTC’s regulations on abusive or manipulative trading apply to prediction markets just like the SEC’s regulations apply to the stock market. This activity is strictly prohibited by both the CFTC and prediction markets, and we use a variety of tools before, during, and after people trade to prevent illegal trading and bring enforcement action when violations happen.”
Kalshi partners with IC360, which announced this month that it will work with Eventus, a market surveillance company, to monitor prediction markets.
Joe Schifano, the global head of regulatory affairs for Eventus, said that it isn’t surprising to see instances of bad behavior early in a market.
“You have lots of new entrants. People need to be educated,” he told ESPN. “There are absolutely going to be instances in a new market where people think that they can push the envelope. We’ve seen it, time and time and time again in history. So that’s why we monitor.”
Ian McGinley, a former director of enforcement for the CFTC, said that building expertise in a new market such as sports takes time.
“Every market is going to have the same kind of problems, whether you’re talking the stock market, the crypto market, the betting market, the prediction market,” McGinley told ESPN. “And so what you see in a lot of these markets are people who have inside information, either tipping it to someone else and then they trade, or they trade on it themselves.”
McGinley said prediction market companies are obligated to report their data to the CFTC, which employs “sophisticated market surveillance tools.” He added that the CFTC has never brought a case against prediction markets for insider trading or manipulation but that the agency can levy financial penalties and restraints on participation against violators.
In its congressional testimony, the NFL pointed to a prediction market recently accepting trades on whether phrases such as “concussion protocol,” “late hit,” or “roughing the passer” would be mentioned during game broadcasts.
“Congress and the CFTC should prohibit these and other types of objectionable bets among the many consumer and integrity protective measures needed before sports-related events contracts are legalized,” Miller wrote.
McGinley, the former CFTC official, noted the similarities between these types of mention markets and player props.
“That’s almost just like what we saw in the NBA cases, where if you’re a particular player, and it’s an up or down on whether you score above eight points, you can control that,” he said. “Well, you can also control when you’re on a call whether you say 10 words. And so exactly the same concern.”
Van’t Hof, the former IC360 executive, said that prediction markets pose a unique challenge for integrity monitors because of the vast range of topics offered on their platforms. People can trade on sports, politics, award shows, even the weather.
“If nothing else, you’re increasing the volume of potential things that you’re supposed to be monitoring,” he said. “You’re looking at so many different things. … Just crazy amounts of things that people could be using their money on.”
Still, as the legal battles rage on, prediction markets continue to gain momentum. DraftKings, which was named the official sportsbook and odds provider of ESPN earlier this month, launched a prediction market Friday. Fanatics and daily fantasy site PrizePicks are both already in the market, while FanDuel also has plans to launch. This fall, the NHL and UFC signed deals with prediction markets.
“It should be clear now — prediction markets are here to stay,” Mansour said in October.
A change in tax law
In early July, as Congress was rushing to pass President Trump’s signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, professional bettors began to sound the alarm. The 940-page bill contained a change to the tax code that will have significant ramifications for them.
Bettors who itemize their taxes will be allowed to deduct only 90% of their losses against their winnings, as opposed to the previous 100%. In effect, this means bettors could lose money and still have to pay a significant tax bill, according to Jim Willis, a professor of taxation practice at Wake Forest University. In general, it will raise taxes on winnings.
“You could have a significant tax bill in a year where you truly are out of pocket several hundred thousand dollars and yet you’re paying tax because you had winnings, and all of your expenses, including your losses, are subject to this 90% limit,” Willis said.
Currently, a professional bettor’s profit is calculated by adding up all their winnings — from wagers or tournament prizes, for example — and deducting the money lost on wagers or entry fees incurred. If, over the course of a year, a bettor spent $100,000 to win $100,000 to break even, they would currently not owe tax. But under the 90% rule, they would owe tax on the $10,000 difference between the amount won and the amount of losses allowed to be deducted.
The bill passed and will go into effect Jan. 1.
“It literally singles out gamblers. There’s no other profession or career that this type of law applies to,” professional sports bettor Bill Krackomberger told ESPN. “You may get rid of the pros, but I’ll tell you one thing, you’re going to get rid of a lot of the Joes too.”
Congresswoman Dina Titus, whose district encompasses much of Las Vegas, said she has seen millions of responses from concerned citizens about the tax change and that it could drive professional and recreational bettors alike back to the black market.
“While the change may appear minor, it will have significant and harmful consequences,” Titus wrote in a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees tax legislation. “It unfairly burdens professional gamblers and casual players alike and will inevitably drive players toward offshore and unregulated markets where consumer protections are non-existent, thereby undermining responsible gaming efforts nationwide.”
Congress’ Joint Committee on Taxation estimates that, under ideal conditions, the tax change will raise $1.1 billion in revenue. Titus, however, believes it could be significantly less if bettors move to unregulated markets.
“They estimate it’s $1 billion, but I think it will actually be less than that because I think if this goes into effect, it’s going to send people to other markets like the black market or prediction markets or overseas offshore markets,” Titus told ESPN. “It’s going to discourage anybody from actually itemizing and declaring their winnings.”
Titus introduced a bill in July to change the deduction back to 100%, but it has not been brought to the House floor. Congressman Jason Smith, who chairs the House Ways and Means committee, told ESPN the bill has bipartisan support.
“The gaming industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country, and I believe there is a bipartisan path forward to restoring full deductibility of gambling losses,” Smith told ESPN in a statement.
It’s possible that an adjustment could come as part of a different piece of legislation — in the same way that the betting deductions change found its way into law through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the first place — but with Congress’ legislative calendar ending Friday, bettors appear poised to deal with a larger tax burden in 2026.
Sports
Anthony Joshua knocks out Jake Paul in boxing spectacle
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Anthony Joshua knocked out Jake Paul in the sixth round of their fight on Friday night.
Joshua smelled blood in the water in the fifth round, knocking Paul down twice. Somehow, Paul survived the round. He didn’t last long in the sixth round as the British heavyweight delivered the final blows.
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Jake Paul fights Anthony Joshua in their heavyweight bout during Jake Paul v Anthony Joshua at Kaseya Center on December 19, 2025 in Miami, Florida. (Ed Mulholland/Getty Images for Netflix)
It wasn’t as easy for Joshua as he would have liked. He landed 62% of his power shots but the expectation was that he wasn’t going to take the bout further than the round.
“It wasn’t the best performance,” Joshua admitted, adding that Paul held his own in the fight.
Paul came out bouncing around the ring and trying to take his shots wherever he could get them. He delivered a few quick jabs to Joshua and likely won the first round. However, Paul’s strategy started to frustrate the referee and the crowd.
The Cleveland native would strike Joshua and try to wrap him up. He hit the mat a few times, sparking boos from the crowd at the Kaseya Center in Miami. The referee even had to weigh in.
ANDERSON SILVA CATCHES TYRON WOODLEY WITH BRUTAL PUNCHES IN TKO WIN

Jake Paul, left, attempts to avoid Anthony Joshua during their heavyweight boxing match, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Miami, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
“Fans did not pay to see this crap,” the referee said in the middle of the fourth round.
They sure didn’t.
But the two brought it after the referee’s warning, but Paul’s stamina began to wane. It allowed Joshua to step forward and hit the necessary shots to knock him down.
Paul came into the fight with only one blemish on his record – a loss to Tommy Fury. He was coming off wins against Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Mike Tyson – the latter bout being one of the biggest spectacles the sport had seen in years.
He told Netflix’s Ariel Helwani that he believed his jaw was broken. He said he would take some time off after the fight and come back stronger.
Joshua hadn’t fought since last September. He was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in a bout for the IBF heavyweight title. Before that, he was on a four-fight winning streak with victories over Francis Ngannou, Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius and Jermaine Franklin.

Anthony Joshua, left, in action against Jake Paul during their heavyweight boxing match, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, in Miami, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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The British star called out Tyson Fury for a mega fight that boxing fans have been waiting for.
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