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.