Oddsmakers still believe in Kansas, Wiggins
For all of the struggles that the non-conference schedule brought — four losses, tough road environments, a month away from Allen Fieldhouse — the folks in the betting industry still seem to have a great deal of faith in the Kansas University basketball team.
According to a press release sent out by Bovada.com, the Jayhawks currently sit as the fourth favorite to win the 2014 national championship.
KU registers as a 15-2 favorite, down slightly from the 11-2 mark they held in May.
Arizona, which opened the season as a 15-1 favorite to cut down the nets in Dallas, currently is the top favorite at 11-2. Michigan State (6-1) and Kentucky (7-1) are second and third and Louisville and Syracuse are tied at 10-1 to round out the top five.
KU’s place in the Top 5 certainly suggests that the Jayhawks have the potential for plenty of good days ahead. And, really, I don’t think the non-conference results are an indication of rough days behind. KU lost to four ranked teams, two of them on late three-pointers and two in hostile environments.
Sure KU’s players and head coach Bill Self might feel better about themselves heading into Big 12 play — 6 p.m. tonight at Oklahoma — if they had one or two fewer losses. But with the Big 12 possibly as good as it’s ever been, there’s still plenty to gain in the weeks ahead.
Beyond KU’s standing with oddsmakers as one of college basketball’s favorites is the presence of freshman forward Andrew Wiggins as a Top 6 favorite for national player of the year. Wiggins, who leads KU in scoring at 15.8 points per game on 45 percent shooting (and also is third on the team in rebounding at 5.4 boards per game), is a 10-1 favorite to win the award, behind only Duke’s Jabari Parker (4-1), Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart (7-1), Kentucky’s Julius Randle (8-1), Creighton’s Doug McDermott (8-1) and Louisville’s Russ Smith (8-1).
These Jayhawks have flaws and are far from a polished product. But with a legitimate player of the year candidate who figures to continue to improve and a veteran coach like Bill Self, it’s easy to see why Kansas remains one of the favorites for big things come March.
Before we get to that point, the Jayhawks will begin their quest for a 10th straight Big 12 title tonight in Norman, Okla. If they get it, their odds of winning it all figure to be even better than they are today.
Here’s a quick look at the both lists sent out by Bovada.
In the first list of national championship favorites, the second column lists each team’s odds as of May 15, 2013 and the third column is the current odds.
Odds to win 2013-2014 National Championship:
Arizona — 15/1 — 11/2
Michigan State — 12/1 — 6/1
Kentucky — 5/1 — 7/1
Kansas — 11/2 — 15/2
Louisville — 17/2 — 10/1
Oklahoma State — 50/1 — 10/1
Syracuse — 25/1 — 10/1
Duke — 14/1 — 12/1
Ohio State — 20/1 — 12/1
Wisconsin — 50/1 — 16/1
Florida — 18/1 — 20/1
North Carolina — 16/1 — 25/1
Wichita State — 66/1 — 28/1
Iowa — 50/1 — 40/1
Pittsburgh — 50/1 — 40/1
UCLA — 40/1 — 40/1
Villanova — 66/1 — 40/1
Colorado — 40/1 — 50/1
Connecticut — 33/1 — 50/1
Iowa State — 100/1 — 50/1
Memphis — 33/1 — 50/1
Michigan — 33/1 — 50/1
Oregon — 100/1 — 50/1
San Diego State — 100/1 — 50/1
Creighton — 50/1 — 66/1
Gonzaga — 50/1 — 66/1
Missouri — 50/1 — 66/1
VCU — 50/1 — 66/1
Baylor — 50/1 — 75/1
Cincinnati — 100/1 — 100/1
Georgetown — 50/1 — 100/1
St. Louis — 50/1 — 100/1
Virginia — 66/1 — 100/1
UMass — Off the Board — 100/1
Florida State — 75/1 — 150/1
Illinois — 66/1 — 150/1
Indiana — 33/1 — 150/1
Kansas State — 100/1 — 150/1
New Mexico — 50/1 — 150/1
Oklahoma — 200/1 — 150/1
Tennessee — 66/1 — 150/1
LSU — 150/1 — 150/1
Butler — 66/1 — 200/1
Harvard — 200/1 — 200/1
Minnesota — 66/1 — 200/1
Texas — 100/1 — 200/1
Xavier — 200/1 — 200/1
George Washington — Off the Board — 200/1
Boise State — 150/1 — 250/1
Dayton — 150/1 — 250/1
Marquette — 50/1 — 250/1
Notre Dame — 75/1 — 250/1
Ole Miss — 100/1 — 250/1
Arizona State — 100/1 — 300/1
Clemson — 250/1 — 300/1
NC State — 50/1 — 300/1
St. John’s — 66/1 — 300/1
St. Mary’s — 150/1 — 300/1
Stanford — 100/1 — 300/1
Texas A&M — 200/1 — 300/1
Wake Forest — 250/1 — 300/1
Alabama — 100/1 — 500/1
Arkansas — 150/1 — 500/1
BYU — 100/1 — 500/1
California — 100/1 — 500/1
Maryland — 200/1 — 500/1
Miami Florida — 100/1 — 500/1
Purdue — 100/1 — 500/1
UNLV — 66/1 — 500/1
USC — 150/1 — 500/1
Vanderbilt — 100/1 — 500/1
Virginia Tech — 250/1 — 500/1
Washington — 200/1 — 500/1
West Virginia — 100/1 — 500/1
George Mason — Off the Board — 500/1
Boston College — 500/1 — 1000/1
Colorado State — 150/1 — 1000/1
Georgia — 200/1 — 1000/1
Georgia Tech — 200/1 — 1000/1
Northwestern — 500/1 — 1000/1
South Carolina — 250/1 — 1000/1
St. Joe’s — 250/1 — 1000/1
Temple — 150/1 — 1000/1
Washington State — 200/1 — 1000/1
La Salle — Off the Board — 1000/1
Richmond — Off the Board — 1000/1
St. Bonaventure — Off the Board — 1000/1
Rhode Island — Off the Board — 1000/1
Fordham — Off the Board — 1000/1
Davidson — 250/1 — 2000/1
Mississippi State — 500/1 — Off the Board
Odds to win 2013-2014 Associated Press Player of the Year:
Jabari Parker (Duke) — 4/1
Marcus Smart (Oklahoma State) — 7/1
Julius Randle (Kentucky) — 8/1
Doug McDermott (Creighton) — 8/1
Russ Smith (Louisville) — 8/1
Andrew Wiggins (Kansas) — 10/1
C.J. Fair (Syracuse) — 12/1
Shabazz Napier (UConn) — 12/1
Aaron Craft (Ohio State) — 15/1
Chaz Williams (UMass) — 15/1
Aaron Gordon (Arizona) — 15/1
Keith Appling (Michigan State) — 20/1
Nick Johnson (Arizona) — 20/1
Cleanthony Early (Wichita State) — 20/1
Gary Harris (Michigan State) — 25/1
Kyle Anderson (UCLA) — 33/1
Marcus Paige (North Carolina) — 33/1
Casey Prather (Florida) — 33/1
T.J. Warren (N.C. State) — 33/1
Adreian Payne (Michigan State) — 33/1