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Welcome to the latest edition of the Newsweek Sports Betting newsletter, which you can start receiving in your inbox by subscribing here. Right now, here's what your free subscription entails: Weekly look at college basketball (every Monday evening) Weekly look at the NBA (every Tuesday evening) College football weekend preview (every Thursday evening) NFL weekend preview (every Friday morning) College Football ATS picks (every Saturday morning at 10 a.m. ET) NFL ATS picks (every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. ET) Tonight's edition is available below, to subscribers only. Though college basketball doesn't dominate headlines until March, this sport offers a ton of intriguing action in November, starting tonight in Las Vegas. That's right, although some of us (most of us??) still haven't even taken down our Halloween decorations, the 2025-26 college hoops season is upon us. The highlights this evening are a couple of nationally televised Hall of Fame Series games in Las Vegas: No. 3 Florida vs. No. 13 Arizona (7 p.m., TNT/truTV) and Villanova vs. No. 8 BYU (9:30 p.m., TNT/truTV). Say what you will about the transfer portal -- which has certainly had a profound, and complicated, effect on college basketball -- but to me, the sport is as compelling right now as it has ever been. With elite talent now more evenly distributed across the country than ever before, this could be the best college basketball season in a long, long time. Unlike last year, there's currently not a household name like Cooper Flagg in college hoops right now. But there are a handful of true freshmen who have already been well-known among NBA fans and scouts for months. The big three are Kansas guard Darryn Peterson, BYU forward AJ Dybantsa and Duke forward Cameron Boozer. Each is currently listed at between +150 and +235 to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Those three are also among the early-season Wooden Award Favorites, though it's veteran Purdue PG Braden Smith who enters the year as the favorite to be named the top player in college basketball. Here's your starting five for tonight's Newsweek Sports Betting college hoops season preview: 1️⃣Villanova vs. No. 8 BYU Betting Preview 2️⃣Final Four picks: Purdue, Florida, Connecticut, Louisville 3️⃣National title winner: Connecticut 4️⃣Wooden Award pick: Braden Smith. Best longshot: Donovan Dent 5️⃣Best longshot regular-season conference title winner: Iowa (+3000) 1️⃣Villanova vs. No. 8 BYU Odds, Best Bets Tipoff: 9:30 p.m. ET TV: TNT/truTV Betting odds (via FD) Spread: BYU -9.5 (-110); Villanova +9.5 (-110) Moneyline: BYU -530; Villanova +390 Total: 153.5 (o-110; u-110) Later tonight, BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa makes his highly anticipated debut. His commitment to the Cougars was headline news when he signed with them last December over Alabama, North Carolina and Kansas. Between Dybantsa, transfer Robert Wright III from Baylor and returning All-Big 12 guard Richie Saunders, BYU is loaded. It enters this season as a contender not only in the Big 12, but nationally. Villanova, on the other hand, is entering a new era under former Maryland coach Kevin Willard. This program has not reached the NCAA Tournament since Jay Wright retired after the 2021-22 season. Willard is working with a completely overhauled roster that features just one player, point guard Tyler Perkins, who scored a point for the Wildcats last year. Given not only how overmatched his roster is on paper, but the fact that Willard himself called the scheduling of this game a head-scratcher, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer's Jeff Neiburg, a blowout loss by Villanova would hardly be a shocker. Willard made several other comments in that piece from the Inquirer that indicated that this could be a long night for the Wildcats. BYU -- which lit up the scoreboard with a less talented roster a year ago -- also feels like a great bet to go over its team total of 81.5 points. Best bets: BYU -9.5 (-110 at FanDuel) BYU Team Total Over 81.5 points (-112 at FD) 2️⃣Final Four Picks: Purdue, Florida, Connecticut, Louisville Choosing who will make the Final Four before I've seen a minute of meaningful basketball is a great way to look like an idiot, but here goes nothing ... Purdue (odds to reach Final Four: +210 at DK) Let's start with the obvious. Like everyone else, I'm high on arguably the deepest, most veteran team in the country. Florida (odds to reach Final Four: +390 at DK) When you're an outstanding rebounding team, as Florida projects to be, you have a hell of a floor, if nothing else. I'm not completely sold on Lee and Fland in the UF backcourt, but I'm comfortable backing a group that will be dominant on the glass. Connecticut (odds to reach Final Four: +360 at DK) Dan Hurley's teams were dominant down the stretch in both 2023 and 2024. But they lost a ton of talent after the 2024 season and "struggled" last year, relatively speaking, finishing 24-11 (14-6 Big East). This year's roster features three proven vets in Alex Karaban, Solo Ball and big man Tarris Reed Jr. Transfer Silas Demary Jr. from Georgia gives the Huskies another talented scorer who can get to the basket, and the Huskies also boast several talented true freshmen. Louisville (odds to reach Final Four: +475 at DK) The Cardinals were one of the most improved teams in the nation in coach Pat Kelsey's first year at the helm, and that was despite multiple long-term injuries to key contributors. Between superstar freshman Mikel Brown Jr., two dangerous scoring threats via the portal -- Ryan Conwell from Xavier and Isaac McKneely from Virginia -- and a handful of returning veterans, Louisville has the pieces to reach its first Final Four since 2013. 3️⃣National Title Winner: UConn (+1400) For better or worse, I'm resisting the urge to take the preseason No. 1 team in the country, Purdue. Below, I'll run through the quick case for (or against) each of my Final Four picks winning it all. Florida looks outstanding on paper, but I don't like any team's chances of winning back-to-back titles in this era. Purdue looks loaded, but going wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the country might be more difficult than winning back-to-back titles. And as much as I like Louisville, there's not quite enough cohesion on this roster for me to take the Cardinals to win it all. I don't see UConn going on another dominant run through the tournament, but I think its experience -- and the lack of holes on this roster -- makes it as tempting as anyone right now. The Huskies are 13-to-1 at DraftKings as of Nov. 3, but they're also available at 14-to-1 at both FanDuel and bet355. 4️⃣2025-26 John Wooden Award Odds, Pick Below are the top six candidates, per oddsmakers, for the award given annually to the best player in college basketball. - Purdue G Braden Smith (+600 at DK, +450 at FD, +450 at bet365) - Kansas G Darryn Peterson (+700 at DK, +700 at FD, +900 at bet365) - Michigan F Yaxel Lendeborg (+950 at DK, +1000 at FD, +1100 at bet365) - Texas Tech F JT Toppin (+1000 at DK, +1000 at FD, +1000 at bet365) - Duke F Cameron Boozer (+1100 at DK, +1000 at FD, +1200 at bet365) - BYU F AJ Dybantsa (+1100 at DK, +1200 at FD, +900 at bet365) To me, Smith -- who averaged 15.8 points per game and 8.7 assists per game -- and Toppin are the safest bets. Peterson, Boozer and Dybantsa all look pro-ready, but they'll probably have some ups and downs. If you're looking to take one of the favorites, I'm going to recommend Braden Smith, who has everything in place to have another monster season for the preseason No. 1 team in the country. My favorite longshot for the Wooden Award is senior guard Donovan Dent, who transferred from New Mexico to UCLA this summer. Dent is a prolific scorer and talented passer. If he can lead UCLA, which enters the season at No. 12, to Big Ten title contention, he could have a great chance to win this award after averaging 20.4 points and 6.4 assists per game last year. To me, Dent (+4000 at FD) offers more Wooden Award value than anyone in the country right now. 5️⃣Best Longshot Conference Title Winner: Iowa I wasn't kidding when I said longshot. And honestly, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see Purdue win the Big Ten regular-season title. But I'm fascinated to see how first-year head coach Ben McCollum, star guard Bennett Stirtz and the Hawkeyes fare this year. For anyone looking for a lottery ticket in the "regular season conference winner" markets, why not sprinkle a few bucks on Iowa at 30-to-1 (DK) to win the Big Ten? McCollum and Stirtz, who left Drake for Iowa as a package deal this summer, give the Hawkeyes an excellent coach-PG combo. Oddsmakers see Iowa as between the 8th-to-10th-best team in the Big Ten, but I think this squad could surprise some people. Stirtz will need a ton of help from a supporting cast featuring fellow Drake transfer Tavion Banks and Alvaro Folgueiras from Robert Morris. Personally, though, I can't shake the feeling that the Hawkeyes have a ton of upside (and at +3000, they are certainly a longshot). If you're unfamiliar with Stirtz, who averaged 19 points and 5 assists for Drake last year, or Folgueiras (14.1 ppg, 9.1 rpg for Robert Morris), be sure and check out Iowa ASAP. 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