Kansas moves up odds board to win NCAA national title

There’s a new No. 1 again this week in college basketball. Only seven weeks into the season, Kansas is the fifth team to reach the top spot, and while college basketball fans and bettors try to make heads or tails of the parity across the country this season, Kansas’s odds to win it all in March are starting to drop.

Kansas started the season at +1400 and has moved slightly to +1300, while they’ve remained in the top five all season. Saturday’s matchup against Villanova will be a good a good test for this young team with championship aspirations.

Odds to win the 2020 NCAA basketball national championship

Kansas has been rolling

It’s hard to pick a team to win it all any year, especially before conference play is in full swing. But this season is especially difficult, because of constant upsets and the rotation in the top 10 teams. This is the first season the AP poll has had five different No. 1 teams before New Years Day. But Bill Self’s squad has not lost since its season opener against Duke, 68-66.

Since then the Jayhawks have been on a tear. They’ve won nine straight and eight by double-digit margins. Kansas won three games in three days to take the Maui Invitational, with the championship game against Dayton requiring overtime.

This tournament-environment experience will be important come March, and the Jayhawks have already proven they can survive and advance.

Azubuike has been huge for Kansas

One key to the Jayhawks success will undoubtedly be Udoka Azubuike. Azubuike opted to forego the NBA Draft to return for his senior season and has been an enormous difference maker for his team.

He is shooting a ridiculous 83.1% shooting from the field, and in Saturday’s game Azubuike has the chance to break two shooting-accuracy school records. If he makes his first shot against the Wildcats, he’ll tie former Kansas center Greg Dreiling for most consecutive field goals without a miss in program history. If he makes his first five field goals, he’ll tie the record for most consecutive makes in Big 12 history.

Azubuike is chasing his own records, too. He set the school record for field goal percentage in the 2017-2018 season (77%).

Dotson has been a steady presence

But Azubuike is not doing it alone. Sophomore guard Devon Dotson leads all Jayhawks in scoring this season, at 19.6 points per game.

The Jayhawks have some serious offensive weapons, have proven themselves in a tournament setting and Self’s teams always seem to be in the conversation in March. For those reasons and more, I think there’s some money to be made with Kansas taking it all.

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