Kansas Jayhawks face pesky Northern Iowa
Bill Self's Jayhawks look to bounce back today from a lackluster performance in their opening-round victory over Lehigh. Kansas' opponent, Northern Iowa, could prove to be a dangerous opponent as it shoots for the upset over the top-seeded team in the tourney. The reward will be a trip to the St. Louis quadrant of the Sweet 16 next weekend in the Midwest Regional. Tip-off from Oklahoma City is slated for 5:40 p.m. (ET).
Want to go back and un-pick Kansas as your choice to win the national championship?
If you answered yes, you’re not the only one that wants a do-over both in their bracket and at the futures window.
The ncaa tournament overall and Midwest Regional No. 1 Jayhawks didn’t look at all dominant in their workmanlike 90-74 win over No. 16 Lehigh in their first-round matchup on Thursday night.
How badly did Kansas disappoint bettors? Pretty badly. The Jayhawks went into the game as 25-point favorites, but it was evident early on they weren’t going to cover against the scrappy Mountain Hawks.
The 16-point win doesn’t indicate how much Kansas actually struggled given it’s supposedly the best team in the country. The Jayhawks went down 12-4 to start the game, led by only six at halftime, and didn’t truly pull away until midway through the second half.
Kansas won because of its depth and athleticism, not because it executed particularly well. Marcus Morris had 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and many of his buckets came on second-chance opportunities. Sherron Collins went for 18 points and six assists for the Big 12 champions.
You have to think the Jayhawks can still go all the way, but a look at the East Regional – namely No. 1 Kentucky – has to have Kansas backers worried. The Wildcats rolled past No. 16 East Tennessee State 100-71 on Thursday night, cashing easily as 18.5-point chalk.
Judging by their first-round games, it appears as though the Jayhawks have to play their best to win the national title. The Wildcats, on the other hand, could cut down the nets in Indianapolis on talent alone. Big difference.
The good news is one game the Big Dance does not make. The Jayhawks (33-2 SU, 14-17-1 ATS) look to bounce back with a better performance when they tip off with No. 9 Northern Iowa (29-4 SU, 21-11 ATS) in the Round of 32 on Saturday (5:40 PM ET, CBS) in Oklahoma City.
Oddsmakers opened Kansas as 12-point chalk early on Friday morning, but the number was at -11½ at every offshore book as of press time.
One Vegas outlet was holding the Jayhawks at -12, but it’s likely a matter of time before it follows suit. A few hours after the line was released, about 60% of wagers on the spread had come in on Kansas. The total was initially set at 128, but 127 and 127½ are currently the preferred numbers. That comes as no surprise given the Panthers’ 8-21 O/U record this season, which includes a 3-8 O/U mark on the road.
The Jayhawks have also been a reasonable ‘under’ wager this season. Kansas played OVER the 146½-point total against Lehigh, but it comes into Saturday at 13-18 O/U.
Northern Iowa went ‘over’ the 115½-point total in its 69-66 win against No. 8 UNLV on Thursday, as the Panthers covered as one-point faves despite being the lower seed.
The ATS payday was the fourth in a row for Northern Iowa, which ran the table both SU and against the number at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament last week.
Looking at totals, the ‘over’ was a rarity for the Panthers in tournament play. Northern Iowa is 6-20 O/U in its last 26 neutral site games, and run into a Kansas team that should be happy to oblige the streak. The Jayhawks have cashed the ‘under’ in 10 of their last 12 March Madness contests, and are 5-12 O/U in their last 17 games on a neutral court.
An old rule of thumb in handicapping circles goes like this: If you don’t think the underdog can win the game outright, don’t take it against the spread.
Before the Tournament, I would have held to the rule if faced with a matchup between Kansas and Northern Iowa, but Thursday’s games convinced me to go against the received knowledge.
The Panthers match up fairly well with the Jayhawks, but they don’t have the overall talent to upset the favorites outright. That said, Northern Iowa should keep the game within high single digits.
Leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Eglseder is actually an inch taller than Cole Aldrich at 7-foot, while Kwadzo Ahelegbe can at least hang with Collins enough to keep the Panthers close in an SU loss.
Bill Self's Jayhawks look to bounce back today from a lackluster performance in their opening-round victory over Lehigh. Kansas' opponent, Northern Iowa, could prove to be a dangerous opponent as it shoots for the upset over the top-seeded team in the tourney. The reward will be a trip to the St. Louis quadrant of the Sweet 16 next weekend in the Midwest Regional. Tip-off from Oklahoma City is slated for 5:40 p.m. (ET).
Want to go back and un-pick Kansas as your choice to win the national championship?
If you answered yes, you’re not the only one that wants a do-over both in their bracket and at the futures window.
The ncaa tournament overall and Midwest Regional No. 1 Jayhawks didn’t look at all dominant in their workmanlike 90-74 win over No. 16 Lehigh in their first-round matchup on Thursday night.
How badly did Kansas disappoint bettors? Pretty badly. The Jayhawks went into the game as 25-point favorites, but it was evident early on they weren’t going to cover against the scrappy Mountain Hawks.
The 16-point win doesn’t indicate how much Kansas actually struggled given it’s supposedly the best team in the country. The Jayhawks went down 12-4 to start the game, led by only six at halftime, and didn’t truly pull away until midway through the second half.
Kansas won because of its depth and athleticism, not because it executed particularly well. Marcus Morris had 26 points to go along with 10 rebounds, and many of his buckets came on second-chance opportunities. Sherron Collins went for 18 points and six assists for the Big 12 champions.
You have to think the Jayhawks can still go all the way, but a look at the East Regional – namely No. 1 Kentucky – has to have Kansas backers worried. The Wildcats rolled past No. 16 East Tennessee State 100-71 on Thursday night, cashing easily as 18.5-point chalk.
Judging by their first-round games, it appears as though the Jayhawks have to play their best to win the national title. The Wildcats, on the other hand, could cut down the nets in Indianapolis on talent alone. Big difference.
The good news is one game the Big Dance does not make. The Jayhawks (33-2 SU, 14-17-1 ATS) look to bounce back with a better performance when they tip off with No. 9 Northern Iowa (29-4 SU, 21-11 ATS) in the Round of 32 on Saturday (5:40 PM ET, CBS) in Oklahoma City.
Oddsmakers opened Kansas as 12-point chalk early on Friday morning, but the number was at -11½ at every offshore book as of press time.
One Vegas outlet was holding the Jayhawks at -12, but it’s likely a matter of time before it follows suit. A few hours after the line was released, about 60% of wagers on the spread had come in on Kansas. The total was initially set at 128, but 127 and 127½ are currently the preferred numbers. That comes as no surprise given the Panthers’ 8-21 O/U record this season, which includes a 3-8 O/U mark on the road.
The Jayhawks have also been a reasonable ‘under’ wager this season. Kansas played OVER the 146½-point total against Lehigh, but it comes into Saturday at 13-18 O/U.
Northern Iowa went ‘over’ the 115½-point total in its 69-66 win against No. 8 UNLV on Thursday, as the Panthers covered as one-point faves despite being the lower seed.
The ATS payday was the fourth in a row for Northern Iowa, which ran the table both SU and against the number at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament last week.
Looking at totals, the ‘over’ was a rarity for the Panthers in tournament play. Northern Iowa is 6-20 O/U in its last 26 neutral site games, and run into a Kansas team that should be happy to oblige the streak. The Jayhawks have cashed the ‘under’ in 10 of their last 12 March Madness contests, and are 5-12 O/U in their last 17 games on a neutral court.
An old rule of thumb in handicapping circles goes like this: If you don’t think the underdog can win the game outright, don’t take it against the spread.
Before the Tournament, I would have held to the rule if faced with a matchup between Kansas and Northern Iowa, but Thursday’s games convinced me to go against the received knowledge.
The Panthers match up fairly well with the Jayhawks, but they don’t have the overall talent to upset the favorites outright. That said, Northern Iowa should keep the game within high single digits.
Leading scorer and rebounder Jordan Eglseder is actually an inch taller than Cole Aldrich at 7-foot, while Kwadzo Ahelegbe can at least hang with Collins enough to keep the Panthers close in an SU loss.
