This years Final Four has four teams that have a great history. The Kansas Jayhawks are one of the top programs in college basketball. The Jayhawks have a long, prosperous history, and they’re looking to add to their accomplishments this weekend with a victory over the Villanova Wildcats in the first contest of the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana. Let’s have a look at the Kansas Jayhawks and how they arrive to the Final Four round so you can bet against their March Madness Odds.
NCAA March Madness Final Four Betting: Kansas Jayhawks Analysis, Odds & Prediction
Final Four Round: Kansas Jayhawks Betting Analysis
The Kansas Jayhawks have been to the Final Four 16 times. This is the fifth-most in the history of the NCAA. With great coaches such as Phog Allen, Ted Owens, Larry Brown, and Roy Williams at the helm, Kansas has been a dominant program. When Williams left and Bill Self took over, the program continued to flourish.
This is Self’s 19th season with the Jayhawks, and this will be his fourth appearance in the Final Four. Out of their 16 appearances, Kansas only has three national championships, with Self winning one in 2008. He’ll be looking to make it two, and it will all start if Kansas can defeat Villanova.
The Kansas Jayhawks are a +180 to win it all and are a 4.5-point favorite to beat Villanova on Saturday. Kansas will rely heavily on their All-American guard Ochai Agbaji. Agbaji is one of the top players in the country and has come up big in crunch time for the Jayhawks on numerous occasions. Another key to the Jayhawks’ run is the return of Remy Martin. Martin, the Arizona State transfer, dealt with injuries over the first few months of the season. Now that he’s healthy, he’s a huge spark off the bench for Kansas.
Between Kansas’s transition game and their pick-and-roll offense, they’ll give Villanova fits on the defensive end of the floor. According to the KenPom rankings, Kansas has the 7th-most efficient offense in college basketball. They don’t turn the ball over, and they took good shots.
On the other end of the floor, the Jayhawks get things done. They’re ranked 18th in defensive efficiency in the KenPom rankings. Villanova is fundamentally sound on the offensive end of the floor, and if the defense makes a mistake, they’ll exploit it. Villanova doesn’t mind working the shot clock, so Kansas will have to defend for the full 30 seconds.
If Kansas wants to beat Villanova, Agbaji will need to come out of his shooting slump. David McCormack and Jalen Wilson will need to play big and dominate the boards. Villanova doesn’t match up well with bigs, so these two could put up some big numbers. Wilson can also shoot the three-ball well, so that could be a weapon. Although he hasn’t shot well throughout the tournament, he could step it up and hit some big shots on Saturday night.
The oddsmakers have made the Jayhawks a 4.5-point favorite in this one. While we think the Jayhawks will walk away with the win, we’re not so sure that they’ll cover the spread. With Villanova not having Justin Moore, we don’t think they’ll have enough to beat Kansas. Kansas will take the victory and then head to Monday night’s title game.
College Basketball Betting Center
Odds and Lines
Latest College Basketball News:
