UC Irvine vs. Kansas State Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
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Charlie Grant
UC Irvine is generating a lot of buzz as a potential upset special in the Round of 64. The Big West champions are making just their second appearance in the NCAA Tournament but the line is already moving in their favour against power program Kansas State.
UC Irvine (13) vs. Kansas State (4) NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
UC Irvine enters the Big Dance as one of the hottest teams in the nation. The Anteaters destroyed the competition in the Big West including a 28-point win over Cal-Fullerton in the conference tournament final.
The squad is on a 16-game win streak and it is 9-1-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last 11 contests. UC Irvine topped eventual West Coast Conference tournament champs Saint Mary’s back in November.
That’s the Anteaters’ best win of the season but they still own the 31st best point differential in the country at +8.9. The Anteaters opened as 6.5-point underdogs but the line is already dropping to around 4.5.
Kansas State is coming off a 4-point loss to Iowa State in the Big 12 conference tournament, but the team finished with a share of the regular season conference title. The Wildcats 5-1 against the spread in their last six neutral site games and 13-4-1 ATS in their last 18 games overall.
The location of this game should favour UC Irvine. The Anteaters get to play just a few hours north of their home gym while the Wildcats have to travel a couple time zones on their way to California.
UC Irvine Anteaters
UC Irvine’s biggest strength is an intimidating presence in the paint. Opponents shot an NCAA-low 40.6 points inside the arc against the Anteaters. Big men Elston Jones (1.6 blocks per game) and Jonathan Galloway (1.1 bpg) lead the charge in that department.
The main offensive threat on the squad comes from the starting backcourt. Guards Max Hazzard and Evan Leonard both shoot better than 39 percent from 3-point land and they combine to average 23.6 points per game.
Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats are looking for another deep run in the Big Dance after making it all the way to the Elite Eight a year ago. K-State returns almost all its key contributors from last season’s team, but it also enters the Tournament with a similar problem.
Dean Wade missed most of the Tournament last season because of a foot injury and he’s facing a similar problem a year later. Wade is second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg) and first in rebounding (6.2 rpg).
Barry Brown Jr., Kamau Stokes and Xavier Sneed should give the Wildcats enough scoring options to make up for Wade’s absence, but they could be in for a long night here.
