Even though the South Region has been a tremendous gauntlet thus far, many believe this is still a wide open bracket for the lower-seeded teams because of the lack of wins in the dance Bill Self and Jay Wright have. Self will hope that his Kansas Jayhawks aren't bothered by the weight of playing in the Sweet 16 when they take on the No. 5 seed in the region, the Maryland Terrapins.
NCAA Tournament Odds at BookMaker.eu
Maryland Terrapins +6.5
Kansas Jayhawks –6.5
Over/Under 145.5
HOW THEY GOT HERE
Neither one of these teams has had to play a team ranked beyond No. 9 yet in the tourney, so perhaps neither has a great gauge for this game yet.
Kansas never really had any problems with either Austin Peay or Connecticut, though it should be noted that the team didn't cover most of the live betting numbers for the game due to the fact that the Huskies went on a little bit of a charge in the second half.
Maryland meanwhile, had two games completely under control against South Dakota State and Hawaii only to let both teams hang around for a lot longer than it should have. The Jackrabbits ended up making much more of a game of it than the Warriors did, but neither result was quite as impressive as live bettors perhaps thought in the middle of the game.
KEY MATCHUP
When these brackets came out, the immediate concern for Kansas is that it doesn't have any NBA players, yet it was very likely to run into a Sweet 16 matchup against a team with at least two men set to be in the Association next year. With all due respect to Diamond Stone, who is going to likely end up being the highest drafted player in this game in the summer, Maryland's chances come down to Melo Trimble.
Trimble has been all over the place in this tournament. He's been in foul trouble. He's had some great shots. He's taken some looks that make you question his sanity. He's been great at the foul line. He's also been awful there in clutch spots. His decision-making hasn't always been the best. But at times when he's played hero ball, he's been the difference.
Get used to it, live bettors. You're going to see the good Melo Trimble and the bad Melo Trimble in this one for sure at times.
The real key for Trimble though, isn't going to be his offense. His defense could really end up being pesky to the Jayhawks. Trimble and Rasheed Sulaimon are the exact lanky types of defenders who have given Devonte' Graham and Frank Mason troubles all year long, and if this turns out to be the case once again and the Jayhawks start turning the ball over too often for their own good, this could turn out to be a heck of a game.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
Maryland has yet to win a game this year as an underdog. The squad is 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS to show for its work when it isn't expected to win, though it should be noted that the one cover came in that epic game in the Big Ten Tournament against Michigan State which easily could've gone either direction. Still, the Terps haven't been at their best against the best teams in America, and live bettors shouldn't forget that fact.
Kansas is riding hot heading into the Sweet 16, as it is 8-1 ATS in its last nine played on neutral courts and 13-3 ATS in its last 16 games overall dating back into the early stages of the Big XII campaign.
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Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The Maryland Terrapins and Kansas Jayhawks will square off Thursday, March 24, 2016, at 9:40 p.m. ET at the KFC Yum! Center. This Sweet 16 matchup will be televised live on CBS.
