The No. 16 Texas Southern Tigers (19-12) will meet the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks (28-6) Thursday in the first round of the Midwest Region. Tip from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth is scheduled for 9:57 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Texas Southern vs. Kansas odds and lines, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Kansas is coming off a 74-65 win over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament championship, covering as 2.5-point favorites. The Jayhawks have covered 4 straight games, including all 3 Big 12 tournament games.
Kansas is 17-16-1 against the spread (ATS) this season. It is led by G Ochai Agbaji, who averaged 19.7 points per game.
As for Texas Southern, it is already 1-0 in the NCAA Tournament, beating 16-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi by 9 in a First Four game.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference champions are 17-13-1 ATS on the season. Texas Southern is led in scoring by 6-foot-9 F John Walker III, who averages 10.1 points per game.
Also see: Bet Slippin’ Podcast: 2022 NCAA March Madness bracket betting bonanza
Texas Southern vs. Kansas odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 1:23 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Texas Southern +1300 (bet $100 to win $1,300) | Kansas -5000 (bet $5,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Texas Southern +22.5 (-115) | Kansas -22.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 145.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
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Texas Southern vs. Kansas odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Kansas 86, Texas Southern 61.
Money line
PASS.
A -5000 money line in March isn’t a smart play, yet at the same time, Texas Southern has little chance to pull off the upset against an extremely talented Kansas side.
Against the spread
LEAN to KANSAS -22.5 (-107).
With former Arizona State G Remy Martin playing for Kansas, its offensive prowess should get a boost, not like it needed one though. Kansas has the sixth-ranked adjusted offensive efficiency.
Considering Texas Southern’s weakness is offense and its strength is defense, it could be tough for the Tigers to keep pace. It has yet to play an offense as effective as Kansas.
The Jayhawks are 2-1-1 ATS when given at least a 20-point spread. They should be able to overpower the Tigers, but given the size of the spread, it’s certainly just a lean.
Over/Under
LEAN to the OVER 145.5 (-112).
Every time the Jayhawks have been spotted a spread of more than 20, they have covered the Over, scoring 80 or more points in each of those games. It is 19-15 O/U on the season.
Kansas is a conference-best 8-3-2 O/U in non-conference games. While the Tigers are just 14-17 O/U, they will have to keep pace with the Jayhawks to have any chance in this battle.
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