Kansas, Xavier seek payouts on conference tournament odds

Kansas, Xavier Seek Payouts on Conference Tournament Odds

For the ACC’s Virginia Cavaliers (28-2) and Big East’s Villanova Wildcats (27-4), top seeds in the NCAA Tournament appear locked up based on their regular-season performance. But for others such as the Big East’s Xavier Musketeers and Big 12’s Kansas Jayhawks, there is some work left to be done this week during their respective conference tournaments in order to prove they should earn No. 1 seeds as well.

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Kansas is favored to win the Big 12 Tournament at +200 while Xavier is the +325 second choice to win the Big East Tournament behind favorite Villanova.

The top-seeded Musketeers (27-4) – who are also ranked third nationally – will play the winner of Wednesday’s matchup between the eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas (15-14) and ninth-seeded St. John’s Red Storm (15-16) in the quarterfinals on Thursday, and they might need to win the championship game to get a top seed in the Big Dance on Selection Sunday.

The Wildcats are the No. 2 seed in the Big East Tournament and ranked second in the country with two winsKansas, Xavier Seek Payouts on Conference Tournament Odds over Xavier during the regular season.

The Jayhawks (24-7) are the top seed in the Big 12 Tournament but ranked just ninth nationally after getting swept by the Oklahoma State Cowboys (18-13) in their regular-season finale. Kansas may meet Oklahoma State for a third time in the quarterfinals if the eighth-seeded Cowboys can get past the ninth-seeded Oklahoma Sooners (18-12) on Wednesday.

A loss in the conference tournament, especially before the title game, would likely end any talk of the Jayhawks as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Arizona Wildcats (24-7) are ranked 15th in the country with an identical overall record as Kansas, and they are the top seed and favorite in the Pac-12 Tournament.

The Wildcats are listed at +175 to win the Pac-12 Tournament and will play the winner between the eighth-seeded Colorado Buffaloes (16-14) and ninth-seeded Arizona State Sun Devils (20-10) on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The Sun Devils may be a solid sleeper pick to win the Pac-12 Tournament at +850 considering they might need to win two games to get into the Big Dance, including an upset of Arizona.