Free College Basketball NCAA Tournament Pick
#1 Kansas Jayhawks (32-2, 15-1 Big 12) vs Lehigh Mountain Hawks (22-10, 10-4 Patriot League) Ford Center, Oklahoma City, OK, 3/18, 9:30 PM
The team that ended the season with the top ranking in the country, and now is the top seeded team in the tournament prepares to make its run at a national championship. Kansas will start that journey against Lehigh.
The Mountain Hawks have won five straight games and seven of their last eight. This is the fourth appearance in the NCAA tournament for Lehigh, and the first since 2004. That appearance was short lived though as they lost the play-in game and never truly had a taste of March Madness. The Mountain Hawks guaranteed their spot in the tournament with a win over Lafayette to win the conference tournament. Lehigh also won the Patriot League regular season championship. They are led by C.J. McCollum and his 18.9 points per game.
While Lehigh may have upset on the brain, the reality is that a number 1 seed has never fallen to a team seeded this low, and it isn’t about to start in this matchup. Kansas is already well over the 30-win mark, they average more points per game (81.8 to 75.1) and give up fewer (63.8 to 70.0).
Kansas was guaranteed a 1 seed no matter what happened in their conference tournament, but they assured themselves of the top overall seed after beating Kansas State to win the Big 12 Conference tournament championship. Four players average double figures for the Jayhawks. Sherron Collins leads the way with 15.6 ppg. Cole Aldrich and his nearly double-double average (11.2 ppg, 9.9 rpg) give them a strong inside presence.
As usual with these types of games, Kansas will try to win without experiencing any injuries, and set a good tone for the final month of the season. Don’t expect this one to be close.
Kansas is favored by 26 points. The total is listed at 146.
Kansas Betting Trends:
Kansas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games |
Kansas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games |
Lehigh Betting Trends:
There are no betting trends to report at this time.
Pick: Take Kansas -26
Betting Trends by Bodog.com
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