Kansas Jayhawks vs Howard Bison March Madness Betting Preview

Top Seeds Own 135-1 Record Against 16th Seeds

Hard to make March Madness picks, but the first rounds are a no-brainer. All top seeds will advance with there being a lack of Baltimore-Maryland County in this crop of 16th seeds. It’s been 27 years since a 1 vs. 16 was decided by one possession (Purdue vs. Western Carolina in 1996). Overall, there have been two instances where the 16th seed came close to an upset, Georgetown and Princeton (50-49) and Oklahoma over ETSU (72-71), with both games happening in 1989. This play is one of our College Basketball first-round best bets. But first, let’s take a closer look at both teams.

KUJayhawks vs HowardHOW

Date, time (TV):
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Region: West

Self Returns to the Jayhawks After Heart Surgery

Bill Self has been discharged from a local hospital, Sunday, after having a procedure on his heart that required two stents and will be on the sideline against Howard. The defending champions feel in many ways they’re more talented than they were last ear, but won’t have the luxury of sneaking up on everyone. The Jayhawks are the third choice (+1000) behind Houston (+500) and Alabama (+800) to win the National Championship. College Basketball’s winningest program (2357 wins) will be making its 51st appearance in the NCAA Tournament as they try to win its 5th title.

How the Jayhawks Got Here

Kansas used a stifling defense to win 11 of their last 14 games. The Jayhawks are ranked 50th in the nation, allowing opponents to shoot just over 41% from the field including 31.5% from beyond the arc. Kansas lost to Texas in the Big 12 title game, 76-56, but that obviously didn’t hurt their seeding. For bettors, the Jayhawks have failed to cover 4 of their last six games but have cashed seven straight unders to end the season.

How Far Can Kansas Go?

Kansas has been impressive all season long but bettors still have reason t pause knowing that the Jayhawks are just 15=18 ATS. They were beaten in their last two games against Texas by an average of 18 points and another nine games that were decided by five points or less. Be very careful when filling out your brackets because the Jayhawks’ second-round opponent will be either Arkansas or Illinois and we’re high on Illinois to make noise. Be careful pushing Kansas through to the Sweet 16 on your bracket. Let’s continue our Kansas vs. Howard preview by turning our attention to the Bison.

It took 31 Years, But Here Comes Howard

Captain Jelani Williams has already come out and said that Howard is going to shock the world as a 21-point dog. Shocking the world was when their football team upset UNLV as the biggest dog (45-point dog) to win outright in 2017, this would be way bigger. Unfortunately, the only shock that’s going to happen is if they stay close enough to say they competed. They already shocked the Mid-Eastern Conference by claiming their first conference championship since 1992. That was Norfolk State, this is Kansas. The Bison have covered four straight games, including all three of their conference tournament games in addition to three straight unders. The Bison have covered 11 of their last 14 games and are 5-3 in games when the point spread is 10 or more. Only once have they been in a game as a 20 or more point underdog and that was game one against Kentucky where they failed to cover a 25-point number, 95-63.

How They Got Here

By winning the MEAC Tournament over Norfolk State. This is the third time the Bison have been invited to the dance, losing both times in the first round to Kansas in 1992, 100-67, and Wyoming in 1981 (78-43). Regardless of the result, you have to give fourth-year head coach Kenny Blakeney credit for getting this program back to playing with the big boys in March.

How Far Can Howard Go?

We wish we had a more optimistic view, but they will only go another 40 minutes in their 2022-23 season.

Handicapping the Game

With the Bison being one of the worst defensive teams in College Basketball we had to dig deep to find a morsel of hope for Howard to cover. We couldn’t. Kansas will use their 50th-ranked defense to smother the Bison in the second half. The public isn’t deterred with 59% of the early money coming in on Howard, pushing that number down a point after opening at -22.5. Over the Jayhawks’ last 12 games in the tournament, they have been a profitable 7-5, making that 8-5 after an easy 25-point win against Howard, making it one of our College Basketball best bets in round one. (Odds change frequently, be sure to check for the most up to date changes.)

That concludes our Howard vs. Kansas preview, we wish you the best with this year’s tournament.

Head-to-Head:

Last Updated: 03/13/2023Teams
Spread:Jayhawks -21.5
Total:145.5
Moneyline:Jayhawks -1000, Bison +2100
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