Here are four teams that casual sports fans might find surprising to not be in the top 25: Duke, North Carolina, Kansas and Kentucky. Also not in the rankings are Indiana, Louisville or Michigan State. UCLA finds itself at No. 24 in the coaches poll, but not in the Associated Press ranking.
Here are teams that are in there instead (AP rankings): No. 1 Gonzaga, No. 2 Baylor, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 Villanova. Other teams include a surprising No. 11 Alabama, No. 13 Texas, No. 19 Creighton and No. 22 Loyola-Chicago. Drake, which is also undefeated along with Gonzaga and Baylor, is receiving votes for the top 25.
The Kansas Jayhawks lost a pair of games by double digits in the last nine days, and they lost five of their last seven to fall to 12-7 on the season and just 6-5 in the Big 12 conference. This is the first time they have fallen from the top 25 since they entered the rankings on Feb. 2, 2009. Their streak of 231-consecutive weeks in the top 25 is a record.
The road gets a little easier for Kansas after Monday night’s game at home against No. 23 Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks will get back-to-back games against Iowa State, which is winless in the Big 12, and then Kansas will travel to face in-state rival Kansas State, which is next-to-last in the Big 12. Things get tougher after that with three games against ranked teams. The Jayhawks will finish the season against No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 13 Texas and No. 2 Baylor.
Kansas, Kentucky, Duke and UNC have become long shots to win the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Tournament that starts on March 18 in Indiana. Gonzaga is the favorite, followed closely by Baylor, Michigan, Illinois and Villanova, according to sportsbetting.ag.
Here’s how the odds work. Gonzaga is the favorite at +250. That means a $100 bet on the Bulldogs would win the bettor $250. Kansas and North Carolina have the best odds of the four aforementioned teams at +5000, meaning a $100 bet on them would win $5,000 if they were to win the national championship.
Here are the odds, according to sportsbetting.ag:
Gonzaga +250 Baylor +300 Michigan +1000 Villanova +1000 Illinois +1800 Alabama +2000 Iowa +2000 Texas +2000 Houston +2500 Ohio State +2500 Tennessee +2500 Texas Tech +2500 Virginia +2500 Wisconsin +2500 Creighton +3300 Florida State +3300 West Virginia +3300 Colorado +5000 Kansas +5000 Missouri +5000 North Carolina +5000 Oklahoma +5000 Oregon +5000 UCLA +5000 USC +5000 Connecticut +6600 Duke +6600 Florida +6600 Indiana +6600 Louisville +6600 Loyola Chicago +6600 LSU +6600 Purdue +6600 St. Louis +6600 Virginia Tech +6600 Xavier +6600 Arkansas +8000 Clemson +8000 Drake +8000 Michigan State +8000 Minnesota +8000 Rutgers +8000 San Diego State +8000 Stanford +8000 Boise State +10000 BYU +10000 Dayton +10000 Georgia Tech +10000 Kentucky +10000 Maryland +10000 Syracuse +10000 Mississippi State+15000 NC State +15000 Ole Miss +15000 Richmond +15000 SMU +15000
