As challenging this season has been so far for the Kansas Jayhawks (+6,000 to win the national title), the good thing for them is that they still made it to the Big Dance. As for the Northeastern Huskies (+100,000), they have no desires of playing just the role of a tourists in the tournament. They are going to be in Salt Lake City looking to bust brackets. Read on for a preview of this intriguing first-round matchup.
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Betting Preview for the Northeastern Huskies vs. Kansas Jayhawks College Basketball Game on March 21, 2019
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
When: Thursday, March 21, 2019, 4:00 PM ET
Line: Northeastern Huskies (+8) vs. Kansas Jayhawks (-8) – view all NCAA Basketball lines
TV Broadcast: TNT
Betting on the Northeastern Huskies
The Huskies reserved a spot in the national tournament after upsetting CAA Tournament top seed Hofstra Pride in the finals, 82-74. Northeastern’s win over the Pride showed how potent the Huskies’ best player is in the form of Serbian Vasa Pusica. The senior gunner laid waste on Hofstra’s defense, scoring 21 points, including seven 3-pointers and a 7-for-13 shooting line from the field. Pusica isn’t just Northeastern’s most dangerous asset, he’s also among the best in the conference, having just been named as the Most Outstanding Player in the CAA Tournament. Pusica led the team in the regular season with 17.8 points to go with 45.2 assists per contest. Speaking of 3-point shooting, that will be a weapon the Huskies are expected to use in their bid to upset Kansas. Northeastern is second in the CAA with a 38.5 3-point shooting percentage. The Huskies are 22nd in the nation with 9.8 3-pointers made per game, so look for them to pull the trigger from deep without hesitation.
The Huskies are 6-0-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last seven games.
Betting on the Kansas Jayhawks
It’s been a topsy-turvy season for the Jayhawks thus far. For the first time in several years, they failed to win either of the Big 12 regular season title or the conference championship. Injuries and personnel issues have hampered Bill Self’s squad, but the Jayhawks have enough talent and healthy bodies to send Northeastern packing right in the very first round. The Jayhawks, who are coming off a 78-66 loss to the Iowa State Cyclones in the Big 12 Tournament championship game, should be able control and dictate the pace of their meeting with Northeastern because of their superior rebounding. The Huskies were only 321st in the nation back in the regular season with only 31.8 rebounds per game. Kansas, on the other hand, was fourth in the ultra-competitive Big 12 with 40.8 boards per contest. Dedric Lawson should have field day inside the paint against the Huskies’ slim frontline. Lawson averaged a double-double of 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game in the regular season.
After a loss this season, Kansas is 5-2-1 ATS, covering 71.4% of the time.
Writer’s Prediction
Kansas wins, 76-68.
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