Chicago — When the odds to win the 2022 college basketball national title reset after the Sweet 16 was set, top-seeded Kansas had the second best odds in the eyes of the gang at BetOnline.ag.
No. 1 Gonzaga was the favorite at 9/4 and fellow-top-seeds KU and Arizona were next at 5/1.
Then Thursday night happened, when Gonzaga and Arizona both went down, leaving the Jayhawks (30-6) as the betting favorite to win this year’s NCAA title.
A look at the updated odds shows that Houston and Duke are both slightly ahead of Kansas at the moment, but that’s largely influenced by the fact that those two programs already won their Sweet 16 games and will be playing in the Elite Eight — Houston against Villanova and Duke against Arkansas — on Saturday.
Kansas will face 4th-seeded Providence at 6:29 p.m. tonight with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.
If the Jayhawks top the Friars, they definitely could jump ahead of both of those programs ahead of the Elite Eight round.
For what it’s worth, Houston was the fourth highest favorite entering the Sweet 16 at 8/1 and Duke was at 14/1.
Betting odds certainly don’t guarantee anything, but they do provide an indication of the road ahead. And Kansas, for better or worse, continues to have one of the better roads to the Final Four on paper.
The Jayhawks also are the only No. 1 seed still playing in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
Baylor was bounced in the second round by No. 8 seed North Carolina. And Gonzaga and Arizona both went down on Thursday night.
That marked just the fourth time since 1979 that multiple top seeds lost on the same day prior to the Elite Eight.
It also marked the third time ever that the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked teams in the Associated Press poll lost on the same day in the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s some good news for Kansas: This year marks just the fourth time since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64/68 teams that three No. 1 seeds lost before the Elite Eight. And we’ve never see all four No. 1 seeds lose before the Elite Eight round.
The Jayhawks will look to keep that streak alive at United Center tonight. With a win, Kansas would advance to Sunday’s Elite Eight to face the winner of Friday’s nightcap between No. 10 seed Miami and No. 11 seed Iowa State.
Stay in touch with KUsports.com throughout the day and night for complete coverage from Chicago.
**Here’s a look at our coverage from the Windy City so far:**
• Game Day Breakdown: Kansas vs. Providence
• Sweet 16 Notebook: Jayhawks, Friars mirror each other
“>• Photo gallery from Thursday’s open practices
• Providence eager to face college basketball blue blood
• Bill Self on leaving Illinois: ‘It’s worked out well for us’
• Basketball Friends breaks down what’s at stake for KU in Chicago
• Experienced transfers lead Providence to Sweet 16
• Top-seeded Kansas arrives in Chicago
