What Are Kansas's National Championship Odds?

A perennial blue blood is back in the mix for a National Championship in 2023. The Kansas Jayhawks are once again the class of the Big 12 with a roster bursting with talent, led by one of the sport’s top basketball minds in head coach Bill Self.

At +1000, Kansas is tied for the fourth-shortest odds of winning the National Championship on the FanDuel Sportsbook. Here’s a look at Kansas’s chances and odds @ FanDuel:

There is some incredible diversity of talent on this Jayhawk roster. They have shooting, playmaking, defense, and all-around athleticism that allows them to find different ways to win night in and night out.

A slight knock on this team is its lack of depth. Kansas has the third-lowest bench minute percentage among Power 6 schools, only ahead of North Carolina and Notre Dame. Foul trouble can put this team in a scary spot in any outing, something we saw the Tar Heels deal with on a few different occasions throughout their run to the national title game a season ago.

Betting on a team to win the Big 12 this season feels like the equivalent of a roulette wheel. Although the Jayhawks remain the slight favorite, six teams sit at odds of +850 or shorter in a conference with razor-thin margins.

They all sit within a game of each other as we near the midway point of conference play. There are other spots to find value on Kansas, and this market feels too up in the air to back them.

The talent at each position in Kansas’s starting lineup is staggering. It begins with 6’8” junior Jalen Wilson, who is in the running for the National Player of the Year award. KenPom has him as the second-most valuable player in the nation, behind Purdue’s Zach Edey.

Wilson is a senior who has made an incredible leap from last year, going from just 11.1 points per game to 21.4 this year. He has mainly elevated his game by going from a one-dimensional slashing finisher to someone you must now respect beyond the arc.

Freshman Gradey Dick appears to be a slam-dunk lottery pick in this upcoming NBA Draft between his lengthy 6’8” frame and incredible bounce, paired with an efficient 42.7 percent three-point shooting. Dajuan Harris is the offensive facilitator, averaging 6.5 assists per game, good for the fifth-highest assist rate in the Big 12.

Kevin McCullar will spend 40 minutes doing everything he can to stifle the opponent’s best player. He currently has the second-highest steal rate in the conference and has the lateral quickness to stay in front of anybody in the country. He spearheads a KU defense that is similar to last season.

They will likely not win any games because of their defense, but it won’t cost them any. Kansas will enter the NCAA Tournament battle-tested, as every team from the Big 12 does, and that bodes well for this defense not being a fatal flaw to their chances come March.

Endorsing a team to go back-to-back will always come with some hesitation, given that it hasn’t happened since Florida achieved it in 2006 and 2007.

With the metrics not sold on Kansas being the clear-cut best team in their conference, +1000 doesn’t feel like enough in this spot. They are good but not great at virtually every aspect of their game, and the bench depth remains a concern. Hold off on the Jayhawks heading into February.