Posted at 9:00 AM ET. Odds are subject to change

Syracuse +160 ML over Kansas (Neutral Site)

MGM Arena – Las Vegas, NV

Players Era Festival

3:30 PM ET. On the surface, this matchup looks like one where a ranked Kansas should be laying a heftier price. That’s what the power ratings would tell you. But when you strip away the name on the jersey and focus solely on what these teams have actually shown, the number makes more sense. In fact, if Kansas weren’t Kansas, there’s a real argument they wouldn’t be favored at all.

Every time the Jayhawks have stepped up against real competition, they’ve been exposed. Their trip to New York ended with Duke handling them comfortably, and the visit to Chapel Hill produced another double-digit defeat. There hasn’t been a moment yet where Kansas has truly resembled the powerhouse most assume them to be. Their wins? Princeton, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi, and Wisconsin–Green Bay. That résumé carries no weight. Syracuse’s docket isn’t loaded either, but the Orange are 4–0. However, their most recent outing required avoiding an upset bid from Monmouth—a 21-point underdog. Syracuse won by five and perhaps the valuation to the naked eye is that Syracuse isn’t all it's chalked up to be.

The narrative the market is selling is predictable: Syracuse is leaving home for the first time and facing a national brand in Vegas. But what has Kansas put on film that actually justifies that fear? Aside from reputation, nothing. They’ve already been beaten soundly by teams of similar caliber to Syracuse, and their offensive inconsistencies have been glaring. If Kansas shows up and delivers the version of basketball everyone expects from them in theory, fine. But all available evidence points in the opposite direction.

We’re taking the Orange outright. payout offer! 

For straight bets, if the team you back to win goes 5 runs ahead at any stage during the game, BET365 will pay out your bet in full regardless of whether the opposition comes back to win the game.

For parlays and Same Game Parlays, if a team you have backed goes 5 runs ahead, this selection will be marked as won within My Bets, with the remaining selections left to run.

Here is a wager we were paid out early on that would eventually lose. 

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