Quite a few people went out on a limb and predicted the Kansas Jayhawks to become the first team ever to lose to a No. 16 seed in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. There were a few tense moments early as Penn jumped out to a lead but eventually Kansas took control to move on. Now that the Jayhawks don’t have to worry about that they will aim to find a groove and make a deep March Madness run.
Their Round of 32 game will come against the No. 8 seed Seton Hall Pirates, who took care of business against North Carolina State in the opening round. Seton Hall is a solid team and Kansas is one of the weaker No. 1 seeds so this one could be a competitive matchup. However, the Jayhawks are still going to be favored to capture this victory.
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We'll have NCAA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NCAA Saturday schedule.
Odds Analysis
Kansas is only listed as a 4.5-point favorite to take care of business in this one. The vig has stuck at -110 so it seems like the early money is coming in evenly on both teams. The scoring total is set at 153.5 points as the oddsmakers believe a shootout is coming.
Kansas is 28-7 straight up and 19-15 against the spread on the season. The Jayhawks have done really great on neutral courts, covering in six of seven attempts. Kansas is 16-14 against the spread as the favorite this year.
Seton Hall is 22-11 straight up and 17-16 against the spread. The Pirates have gone 4-1 against the spread on neutral courts this season. Seton Hall has covered in six of nine attempts as the underdog.
Key Stat
20. That’s the number of points Seton Hall got off the bench from Desi Rodriguez in the opening round win over North Carolina State, which was a huge boost for the team. Rodriguez has been dealing with foot and ankle injuries which kept him out of three games near the end of the regular season, but he played 29 minutes against the Wolfpack and seemed to emerge healthy.
Rodriguez is a key piece. Kansas can score in bunches so it is imperative for Seton Hall to hit shots when given good looks. Rodriguez is often the guy either scoring or creating for others. If he has a big game it wouldn’t be a shock for Seton Hall to either keep the game close or even win.
Injury Report
Udoka Azubuike -- The Kansas big man is one of the team’s key players when healthy, but right now he is dealing with a knee injury. He missed several games down the stretch, and while he did return to the court in the first round against Penn, it wasn’t fortuitous.
He only played three first-half minutes and was not moving around well while wearing a knee brace. Azubuike is averaging 13.7 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per contest, but if he isn’t healthy he’s not going to be the same type of impact player as in past games.
It will be interesting to see if coach Bill Self uses his star forward after a poor showing on Thursday.
Free NCAA ATS Pick
Kansas is going to be in a huge fight to win this game. Seton Hall is nearly as talented and will hold a lead for much of the contest. In the end, the Jayhawks should be able to shake off a slow March Madness first half and come away with the smallest of victories.
While Kansas is the pick to win, the Pirates are the easy choice to cover in NCAA basketball betting spreads
NCAA Odds: Kansas 79, Seton Hall 78
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