Gonzaga Eyeing Another March Madness Sweet 16 Appearance
The Bulldogs Have Some Bite in the Gonzaga vs Kansas Betting Spreads
Can the McCullar-less Jayhawks Survive and Advance Again?
After an impressive win over McNeese State, Gonzaga is a win away from its ninth consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament regionals, but it will take a victory against Kansas to get to the Sweet 16. The Gonzaga vs Kansas betting spreads list Gonzaga as the favorite for the 17th consecutive time in the NCAA tournament.
The Bulldogs and Jayhawks have split the last two meetings with Gonzaga winning an entertaining 102-90 game in the Fort Myers tip-off in 2020.
The college basketball lines list Gonzaga as a 4-point favorite.
A quick peek at the NCAA tournament schedule shows that the winner of this game will face the winner of the game between top-seeded Purdue and No. 16 Grambling, a 27.5-point underdog in the Midwest Regional semifinal.
When looking at the NCAA college basketball rankings, Kansas began the season as the No. 1 ranked team in the country but entered this game ranked 17th in the Associated Press poll and is 20th in the USA Today coaches poll.
Gonzaga is 16th in the coaches poll and 18th in the AP rankings.
Kansas is tied for 12th at +3000 in the odds of winning the national championship with the odds of winning March Madness at +4000 for Gonzaga per the NCAA basketball odds.
Keep on reading for more on the matchup between Gonzaga and Kansas.
Gonzaga Bulldogs vs Kansas Jayhawks 
Day/Time:
Location:Delta Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Streaming: CBS
Bulldogs Have Plenty of Bite
Since being limited to 62 points in a loss to WCC rival Saint Mary‘s, Gonzaga has picked things up on offense by scoring at least 85 points in nine of its last 11 games. The two exceptions came in a regular-season win over Saint Mary’s and a loss to the Gaels in the WCC title game.
Gonzaga trailed for 16 seconds in a win over McNeese State in its March Madness opener. That is something to consider when it comes to the Gonzaga vs Kansas betting spreads.
Leading scorer Graham Ike made all six of his field-goal attempts as he had 16 points and 10 rebounds in the 21-point win. He was one of four starters who scored in double figures with freshman Dusty Stromer adding 10 points off the bench.
Gonzaga is 4-1 against the Las Vegas odds in its last five games.
Kansas Tries to Do More With Less
The degree of difficulty is much higher for Kansas without its top scorer as Kevin McCullar announced on social media that he will not be able to play in the NCAA tournament. That is a major reason why Kansas is listed as the underdog according to the Gonzaga vs Kansas betting spreads.
This is just the third time in the last 11 March Madness games that Kansas is the underdog.
Kansas scored 93 points in its March Madness opener and still needed a disputed call to go its way to hold off No. 13 seed Samford to set up the matchup with Gonzaga.
K.J. Adams had 20 points while Hunter Dickinson added 19 as he returned to the court after missing the Big 12 tournament due to injury. Nicholas Timberlake also had 19 points including a pair of late free throws as Kansas won its NCAA tournament opener for the 17th time in a row.
Kansas has covered in one of its last six games.
Last Meeting
Drew Timme was one of three players who topped 20 points as Gonzaga topped Kansas 102-90 in the Fort Myers Tip-Off in the 2020-21 season opener for both teams. Gonzaga was favored by four points.
The game went over the 154.5-point total on a 3-pointer by current Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs with 7:20 left to play.
It was the first meeting between the teams since an 80-66 win by Kansas in 1998 as an 11.5-point favorite.
Gonzaga vs Kansas Betting Preview
It will be strength against strength with Gonzaga ranked eighth in offensive efficiency and Kansas having the 13th-best defensive efficiency according to the Pomeroy college basketball ratings.
With a healthy McCullar, Kansas could trade baskets with anybody but without the high-scoring guard, the Jayhawks will need to find a different way to win this game.
Both teams underachieved a bit during the regular season but none of that matters heading into this matchup.
Kansas has won 11 of its last 12 games against West Coast Conference teams.
Kansas is 7-4 outright this season against ranked teams with Gonzaga dropping two of its three games against teams ranked in the top 25.
Gonzaga is 23-5 as the favorite this season with Kansas 1-5 as the underdog.
Kansas has covered in just two of its six games this season at neutral sites.
Five of Gonzaga’s eight neutral-site matchups landed under the total.
The total has gone over in nine of Gonzaga’s last 12 games against Big 12 teams and in seven of its last 10 games.
It is easy to write off Kansas without McCullar but there is plenty of talent on this team and this is hardly the best Gonzaga team to hit the court in the NCAA tournament.
Don’t be surprised to see Kansas slow things down and try to isolate Dickinson against the Gonzaga defense.
The total of 151.5 points would be higher with McCullar around but it would be in the best interest of the Jayhawks for this game to finish under that total.
For NCAAB betting news, odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
