Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State March Madness Betting Preview: Unlikely Matchup Set for East Region Final
Kansas State: A Win Away from Program's First Final Four Appearance Since 1964
Can No. 9 Seed Florida Atlantic Pull Off Another Upset to Secure Spot in the Final Four?
With the unpredictable nature of the NCAAB regular season, there figured to be some surprises in the NCAA tournament. However, few could have foreseen a matchup between No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic and third-seeded Kansas State to decide the East Region champion.
Florida Atlantic erased a five-point halftime lead to top No. 4 seed Tennessee and reach the Elite Eight. No. 3 seed Kansas State engaged in a classic overtime showdown with seventh-seeded Michigan State.
Kansas State, coming off a 14-17 season, was listed as the early two-point favorite when looking at the Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State March Madness betting guide.
Kansas State reached the Final Four a total of four times from 1948-1964. However, the Wildcats have lost their last seven regional finals and that includes a 16-point loss to No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago in the 2018 South Regional final. Florida Atlantic was 0-1 in the NCAA Division I tournament before posting three wins in this year’s event.
Kansas State is 15th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and 13th in the coaches’ poll. Florida Atlantic broke into both polls at No. 25.
This is the first meeting between the schools. Florida Atlantic is 1-7 against teams currently in the Big 12 with the win coming against Oklahoma State in 1998. The most recent matchup was a 90-54 loss to Texas Tech in 2017.
According to the NCAA basketball March Madness odds, Kansas State (+1200) is seventh and Florida Atlantic (+2000) eighth in the odds to win the national title heading into Friday’s action.
Florida Atlantic: Getting Defensive
It was looking like the magical March Madness run was coming to an end when Florida Atlantic trailed Tennessee by six points with 12:51 to play.
The Owls picked up the intensity on defense as Tennessee missed nine of its next 10 shots during an 18-2 run. Michael Forrest had a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight of his 11 points during the run and Johnell Davis had four points.
Davis was 6 for 6 from the foul line over the final 4:23 to send the Owls into the regional final. Now the Owls are the underdogs for the second straight game according to the Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State March Madness betting guide.
FAU has outscored its first three NCAA tournament opponents by 21 points in the second half and held Memphis, Fairleigh Dickinson and Tennessee to 28% shooting from 3-point range.
Florida Atlantic has covered against the college basketball point spreads in seven of its last 10 games.
Kansas State: Spreading the Wealth
Markquis Nowell didn’t get to play in the NCAA tournament during his first four seasons. The Kansas State guard is making up for lost time.
Nowell had 44 points and 23 assists in wins over Montana State and Kentucky as the native of Harlem, N.Y. earned a chance to return home to play at Madison Square Garden.
Nowell delivered a performance for the ages. Nowell set the NCAA men’s Division I tournament record with 19 assists in an overtime win over Michigan State.
Nowell either scored or assisted on Kansas State’s last five baskets in overtime. He finished with 20 points and had only two turnovers to lead the Wildcats into the Elite Eight.
Five of the last six Kansas State games finished over the college basketball betting lines total.
Handicapping the Game
There is no previous matchup between the teams so this might be a hard game to project. Florida Atlantic is 1-7 against teams currently in the Big 12 with the win coming against Oklahoma State in 1998. The most recent matchup was a 90-54 loss to Texas Tech in 2017.
The teams come in 27th and 29th in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to the Pomeroy college basketball ratings database. FAU is 26th and Kansas State 35th in the offensive ratings.
Florida Atlantic is +10 in rebounding margin during the NCAA tournament while Kansas State has been outrebounded 81-56 in the last two games, 32-12 on offensive rebounds.
Kansas State has won seven of its 12 games against teams ranked in the top 25 in the Associated Press at the time of the game while Florida Atlantic has played in just two of those games so that could give the edge to the Wildcats. Of course, the same could be said heading into FAU’s regional final against Tennessee.
When analyzing the college basketball injury report, Kansas State’s top four scorers combined to miss just one game this season. The Wildcats have been without freshman guard Dorian Finister since mid December.
Florida Atlantic’s top nine players have missed a combined total of nine games this season.
Kansas State is 18-2 when listed by the Las Vegas NCAA odds as the favorite. Florida Atlantic is 6-2 as an underdog.
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