The Kansas Jayhawks earned their spot in the second week of the Tournament by beating the Michigan State Spartans with 90:70, while the Purdue Boilermakers held off Iowa State with 80-76. Two teams will now square of in Kansas City in quest for a place among the top 8 college teams this season.
Place: Sprint Center, Kansas City, Missouri
Date/Time: Thursday March 23th, 2017. 09:40 PM ET
TV Coverage: CBS
#1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. #4 Purdue Boilermakers
LINE: Kansas -5 (-102); moneyline -196
Total: 157points (-105 over, -106 under)
Kansas routs Michigan State by dominating the end of the game
The Kansas Jayhawks (30-4) chances of winning it all significantly improved after some of the favorites’ run prematurely ended in the second round, but also by the fact that they are going to play their next two games 41 miles away from their main campus, in front of what promises to be a raucous Jayhawks crowd. The Jayhawks’ 90-70 victory over Michigan State assured KU a spot in Thursday’s Sweet 16 contest against the fourth-seeded Purdue at the Sprint Center, the place where they have no recent fond memories off, as they were surprisingly defeated by TCU in the Big 12 tournament in this arena.
Despite the final result, the game against the Michigan State was not that one-sided. The Jayhawks pulled away late after the Spartans closed early KU lead to 54-53. Freshman guard Josh Jackson took over and scored 8 of his 23 points in quick succession and the Jayhawks closed the game on a 36-17 run. Frank Mason was also playing well with 20 points – 8-of-8 from the line – and five assists, while senior Landen Lucas scored 10 points and grabbed 11 boards. KU hit 53.1 percent of its shots (8 of 20 from three) and limited the Spartans to 43.9 percent. They’ve took good care of the ball, committing just 7 turnovers. For the season, the Jayhawks score an average of 83.4 points per game on 49.1 percent shooting and allow 72.0 points on 41.7 percent shooting to their opponents.
Purdue avoids collapse against Iowa State
Everything that the Purdue Boilermakers (27-7) worked hard for this entire season came down to the last three minutes of their clash with the Cyclones. They have squandered a 19-point second half lead and looked stunned after the Cyclones took the lead and Cyclones-oriented arena boiling. Fortunately, this lead was a short one as Purdue scored on the ensuing action and held on for an 80-74 victory. Purdue’s flexed its muscles and used its size to win. Purdue standout Caleb Swanigan led the way with 20 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists, proving his ability to orchestrate Boilermakers attack from the inside. Fellow forward Vince Edwards added 21 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists of his own. In beautiful offensive performance, the Boilermakers had 27 assists as a team. That almost wasn’t enough due to prolific second half shooting of the resilient Iowa State Cyclones.
Purdue continues to rely on their height advantage to dominate the paint and will have an edge over the Jayhawks in that department as well. Their guards need to step up, both offensively and defensively. This season, Purdue has outscored their opponents by 12.6 points per game, but haven’t been that dominant in a month – they played two overtime games, lost to Michigan by 12 and won the rest by maximum of 11 points. They continue to score on par with their season average of 80.1 points per game, but haven’t been able to hold their opponents under their season average of 67.5 points allowed in all but one game during the same period.
#1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. #4 Purdue Boilermakers Game Trends & Prediction
Kansas Jayhawks covered both of the first week games, outscoring their opponents by an average of 29 points. They are only 13-18-1 against the spread though, as books look to fade them to protect themselves from the public bets. Their last 4 games ended in overs, bringing their season O/U record to 16-16.
Purdue Boilermakers have been making money for their backers, going 19-10-2, also covering in both of their tournament games. Five of their last six games were overs, mostly due to their defense underperforming. They went 18-12-1 against the over/under so far.
Given that the Kansas Jayhawks are a popular pick to reach the Final Four after impressive performances in the first round and that they’ve only been favored by 4 points at the opening of the market, it’s no surprise that all the early money is going their way. The line was quickly changed to -5, but this still holds enough value to jump the bandwagon. Remember, it’s almost a home game for the Jayhawks. Purdue has the inside muscle, but it won’t be enough for KU. Recent trend suggests a lot of points in this game, but the line offered actually holds a small value on the opposite side. It’s not enough for placing a wager on under, so I recommend skipping it.
My Pick: Kansas -5
Total: Pass
