The Kansas Jayhawks didn’t have the smoothest start to the season but found their groove down the stretch. The Jayhawks won the Big 12 regular season title and the conference tournament title to claim a No. 1 seed in March Madness. Kansas is on the short list of national championship contenders and will begin their journey in the first round against the No. 16 seed Penn Quakers.
Penn made the tournament by winning the Ivy League Conference tournament title in a hard-fought game against Harvard over the weekend. Kansas will have the superior talent in this matchup and will be a sizable favorite. A No. 16 seed has never upset a No. 1 seed in March Madness history and don’t expect that to happen this time around.
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Odds Analysis
Kansas is 27-7 straight up and 18-15 against the spread. The Jayhawks played in six neutral site games on the season and covered in five of them. Kansas has covered the spread in 15 of 29 games as the favorite on the season.
Penn is 24-8 straight up and 15-14 against the spread. The Quakers have covered in half of their four neutral site matchups on the season. Penn has only gone 2-5 against the spread as the underdog on the year.
Injury Report
Big man Udoka Azubuike injured his knee on Tuesday and didn’t play as Kansas made its run through the Big 12 conference to claim the tournament title. The Jayhawks have proved they can win without him, but Azubuike is an integral piece and is expected to return for Thursday’s game against Penn.
Kansas would be able to win either way but the presence of Azubuike could make the Jayhawks bigger favorites against the Quakers. He is averaging 13.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per contest this season and is a key player on both ends of the court.
Azubuike is shooting a sparkling 77.4 percent from the field as he takes a lot of high-percentage shots down low when the guards can get it to him in good position. He has missed the past three games and it will be interesting to see if he does indeed play in this one, and if so, if Azubuike will be under any minutes restrictions.
A healthy Azubuike will be integral for ensuing rounds when the competition gets tougher.
Player To Watch
AJ Brodeur — Pennsylvania’s sophomore forward had back-to-back double-doubles coming into the NCAA tournament. He’ll be looking to put up similar numbers in this game against Kansas.
Brodeur is the team’s leading rebounder, averaging seven a game, and is the second-leading scorer with 13 points a game. He had 16 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Harvard in the Ivy League Tournament championship game this past weekend and 25 points and 10 rebounds against Yale in the semifinals.
He has captured a total of five double-doubles on the season and will need to be at his best to help the Penn pull off this upset. Brodeur and the Quakers top scorer, Ryan Betley, will be the team’s critical pieces in this one.
Free NCAA ATS Picks
Kansas may be a No. 1 seed but it isn’t among the top four or five teams expected to win the national title because of its inconsistently on the season. While the Jayhawks may not make it to the Final Four, they should win a few games, including breezing past Penn in the opener.
While the outcome won’t be in doubt, the spread is something to keep an eye on in March Madness betting lines. The Quakers are going to get a lot of points and may be able to stay in close enough range to come away with a cover. Kansas looks like one of the weaker No. 1 seeds and so it might not cruise to the win from the opening few minutes like some of the other top teams.
NCAA Odds: Kansas 89, Penn 71
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