Kansas
Odds: -11 ½ vs. , O/U 142
Game time: Friday, March 28, 9:40 p.m. ET
If you’re going to beat Kansas inside the arc, you have your work cut out for you.
The Jayhawks are the No. 3 team in the nation on field goal shooting (50.3 percent) and it showed over the weekend. Any one of their starters can take you one-on-one in man-to-man situations and beat you to the hoop.
On defense, it’s even worse. They stay so tight to their opponents in man-to-man coverage, they might as well be the numbers on their jerseys. They are so smooth at switching off screens and preventing the ball from getting inside and UNLV had the field goal numbers on Saturday to attest to that - 12-of-45.
Overcoming that will be tough for Nova. The Cats have one of the best lane penetrators in college hoops in Scottie Reynolds, but it’s going to be a trying task. I can’t see the Cats getting it done consistently unless they hit the three-pointer early and open up the floor. I watched them struggle against Georgetown in the Big East tournament, which has the No. 1 field goal percentage defense in the nation.
Guards Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush have big time talent on offense and both can dish and rebound. Forwards Darnell Jackson and Darrell Arthur aren’t the biggest forwards in the nation, but both are great rebounders and dribblers who can pour in double digits on you in a hurry.
They Jayhawks don’t take a ton of shots from downtown if they don’t have to, but they are efficient from out there when they need to be. They rank 10th in the nation in three-point shooting at 40 percent.
Some Kansas bettors might be a little concerned about the health of Chalmers coming into this one. He bashed his head on a drive to the hoop with 1:30 left against UNLV and was a little stunned on the play. Just before they went to a commercial after that, however, you could see him mouth the words “I’m fine” and he dropped a trey on the Jayhawks’ next possession just to prove it.
Guard-heavy Nova has its work cut out here. The Wildcats match up pretty well against Kansas in terms of style, they just don’t have the talent or the defense to hang with KU for 40 minutes.
Pick: Kansas -11 1/2
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