Kansas Basketball a 25/1 Pick for the National Title

by Owen on Nov 8, 2011 11:00 AM CST in Kansas Jayhawk Basketball 2011-12

It's a down year right? Obviously time will tell the whole story but with Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor returning to anchor the Jayhawks and players like Jeff Withey, Elijah Johnson and Travis Releford stepping in, Kansas has fairly decent odds in the grand scheme of things.

Vegas set the NCAA Championship odds at 7/2 for favorite North Carolina. That isn't a huge surprise considering what they have returning. Behind the Tar Heels you have Kentucky at 9/2 and Ohio State at 15/2. Again, two teams with players that shunned the NBA dollar signs for one more run.

Then you get into the next round of teams and Kansas has just seven teams outside of those top three with better "vegas" odds which of course mean little to nothing in the grand scheme of things.

The Jayhawks check in with 25/1 odds along with both St. Johns and UCLA. The teams in front of Kansas include Duke, Connecticut, Louisville, Syracuse, Florida, Vanderbilt and Memphis. A quick sampling of notables behind the Jayhawks includes Texas at 28/1, Baylor at 35/1, Kansas State at 60/1 and Missouri at 100/1.

It is what it is, anyone can win on any given day, but it is interesting to see that the name Kansas carries some weight with it regardless of what the circumstances are.

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Comments

Maybe Robinson is going to put this team on his back

But I’m really surprised how highly regarded KU is in the preseason. I guess it’s a testament to Self’s coaching ability. If our lineup was wearing, say, Oklahoma State, on their chests, I think they’d be a marginal top 25 team at most.

by KSinDC on Nov 8, 2011 11:07 AM CST reply actions

I have to disagree

We are not deep but we still have some highly recruited players, and experienced players that will play this year.

It's not that I'm lazy; it's that I just don't care.

by KRichards on Nov 8, 2011 12:39 PM CST up reply actions

All about Tyshawn

for better or worse.

by bigreed on Nov 8, 2011 4:41 PM CST up reply actions

We only have two players that are proven commodities

In T2 and T-Rob, and the rest are all guys that we think and hope will produce for us this year but they haven’t established that yet. So with just two proven guys, I think it is remarkable that we are getting ranked in the top-15 to top-20. I think without injuries we could easily end up a dark horse national title threat, but we definitely aren’t a top team yet.
It is nice though that the pundits and coaches already just assume that Self will get everyone’s act together and end up with a good team anyways, and having a bullseye on your back is always better in the long run.

by 2.1 seconds left on Nov 8, 2011 7:01 PM CST up reply actions