Southern California vs. Kansas Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
Two teams moving in opposite directions are set to face off in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Monday night when the No. 6 seeded USC Trojans take on the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks. The Trojans are looking to move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007, while the Jayhawks are looking to avenge a second round upset exit in 2019. Can USC finally go on a run in this tournament, or will perennial contenders, Kansas, give them another early exit?
Southern California Trojans vs. Kansas Jayhawks NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The early betting trends have nearly taken this game down to a pick’em. USC opened as a 2.5-point favourite, but 53 per cent of bettors are backing the better-known Kansas, bringing the Trojans’ line down to -1.5. A likely reason for the Jayhawks’ support, is Kansas’ six-game winning streak over USC and their past performance in the tournament. Outside of the 2019 tournament, which saw them as a No. 4 seed, Kansas has been a No. 1 or No. 2 seed every year since 2009. The total of 134.5 is seeing a lot of action on the Over, with 84 per cent of bettors banking on a high scoring game. Those bettors might want to be careful however, as the total has gone Under in four of USC’s last six games and six of Kansas’ last eight. With both teams boasting strong defences, points could be hard to come by.
(6) Southern California Trojans
USC didn’t face any significant struggles in the first round against Drake on Saturday. It was probably a closer first half than the Trojans would have liked, but they pulled away late to lead 32-19 at the break, before eventually rolling off a convincing 72-56 win. Evan Mobley, who was one of three USC starters to hit double-digit points, was the biggest factor in the win. Mobley had back-to-back games of 26 points and nine rebounds heading into this contest, before dropping 17 points and a game-high 11 rebounds on Saturday. The Trojans hit 50 per cent of their shots from the floor, but were just 6-18 from beyond the arc. This isn’t the strong Kansas team we’ve known for the last decade, so if USC can hit more three’s than they did on Saturday, they’ll have all the tools they need to win.
(3) Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas did what they do best and put a lot of points on the board in their 93-84 win over Eastern Washington on Saturday. This team has been one of the harder-hit teams with COVID, losing three key players in the last couple of weeks. While the Jayhawks are still without Jalen Wilson and Tristan Enaruna, they were finally able to add David McCormack back to the lineup against Eastern Washington. McCormack didn’t look any worse for the wear, finishing with a team-high 22 points, off the bench. Ochai Agbaji (21 points) and Marcus Garrett (20 points) were also key contributors. McCormack will likely matchup with Mobley, in what will be a preview of two top NBA prospects. Kansas is still suffering from a lack of depth, so there’s a lot of pressure on McCormack heading into this game.
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