Oddsmakers throw wrench into 2010 favorites

Hoops fans already know the ideal game for the 2009-10 season: Kansas vs. Kentucky.

Turns out oddsmakers feel the same way. Sportsbook.com installed the Jayhawks as 4-1 favorites to win the NCAA tournament next season. Kentucky's right behind at 5-1.

The small surprise is who's right behind the blue bloods.

It's not Michigan State or Duke. Both are listed at 15-1. Purdue, North Carolina and Villanova are all 25-1. Everyone else is 40-1 or higher.

Except two.

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Does Rick Pitino have some magic up his sleeve?

Texas (10-1) and Louisville (12-1) get the nods – well, the still too early to tell, we're all shooting in the dark nods – for the other two Final Four spots. It's not a shock, but does throw me a bit.

The Longhorns are a Top 10 team, to be sure. They have plenty of returning talent in Dexter Pittman, Damion James and Gary Johnson. Newcomers Avery Bradley and Jordan Hamilton are prize prospects. But I'm holding out on Texas until I see how everything meshes. And I wouldn't put them ahead of Michigan State, Purdue or 'Nova.

And I certainly wouldn't have Louisville ahead of those three, or a half dozen other teams.

Losing Earl Clark and Terrence Williams and hoping Samardo Samuels and PrestonTerrence Jennings make the leap to premier players seems a bit much. They seem more like 40-1 odds, along with schools like Washington, UConn, West Virginia and Missouri.

Or does Rick Pitino have some magic up his sleeve? Hmmmm. Leave it to those oddsmakers to make a guy doubt himself.