The No.9-seeded Connecticut Huskies play the No.1-seeded Kansas Jayhawks in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Wells Fargo Arena. Action starts at 7:45 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 19 and will air on CBS.
The Jayhawks dismantled Austin Peay 105-79 in the First Round. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk led all scorers with 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting. The Huskies, meanwhile, are coming off a 74-67 win against Colorado in the First Round. Rodney Purvis was the team’s top scorer, accumulating 19 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
Devonte’ Graham has been playing at a high level over the last five games for the Jayhawks. During that stretch, he has averaged 13.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.2 steals, and 2.6 three-pointers. Daniel Hamilton has also upped his play in the same span, averaging 18.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.0 three-pointer while leading the Huskies.
This matchup pits one of the nation’s top offenses against one of its elite defenses, as Kansas currently ranks ninth in the nation in offensive efficiency and Connecticut is seventh in defensive efficiency. Also, the Huskies commit the 24th-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 16.6%), while the ball-hawking defense of the Jayhawks causes the 22nd-most (opponents’ TO% of 19.2%).
The Jayhawks have gone 31-4 Straight Up (SU) and 22-11 Against The Spread (ATS). In their last 10 games, they are 7-3 ATS. Kansas’s three-point defense can be considered one of the best in the nation, allowing just 6.0 three-pointers per game.
In the other locker room, the Huskies have 25-10 SU and 17-14-1 ATS records. Connecticut has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 7-3. Connecticut is the top foul-shooting team in the nation, converting .793 of their shots from the line.
Kansas and Connecticut have not played one another in a regular season matchup in recent years.
Predictions: SU Winner – Kansas, ATS Winner – Kansas
Notes
“Kansas is 12-3 ATS in its last 15 games “.
“Kansas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas’s last 5 games “.
The Kansas Jayhawks rank ninth for their offensive rating of 117.3. The Connecticut Huskies have a defensive rating of 95.0 (ranked seventh).
On average, Kansas has 70.1 possessions per game and scores 1.173 points on each possession. Connecticut has both fewer possessions (66.8) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.099).
The Kansas Jayhawks have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking seventh in the country with an eFG% of 56.7%. The Connecticut Huskies have split their games this season (2-2) when opponents record a similar or higher eFG%.
Kansas ranks 33rd in assists, registering 16.1 per game. Connecticut performs worse at 145th with 13.7 assists per game.
Connecticut, the 25th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 5.1 blocks per game. Kansas ranks 81st with 4.2.
Kansas ranks 174th in offensive rebounds, while Connecticut ranks 58th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Kansas makes 6.9 steals per game. Connecticut has a solid 8-5 record when it gives up at least 6 steals.
