Howard vs. Kansas Pick 03/16/23

This game will be played on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 2:00 PM ET at Wells Fargo Arena.

Why bet on Kansas:

✅ Howard just can’t compete with Kansas on a stage like this. They needed a foul call by less than 10 seconds to win the MEAC Championship game and this increase in the level of competition will not serve them well.

✅ Kansas have a little extra motivation going into the NCAA tournament as they will feel like they were hit hard by the selection committee. Getting stuck in the West Region, where two-seed UCLA will have a geographic advantage in a potential regional final, should spur the Jayhawks to come out with momentum in the first round.

✅ According to Kenpom, Kansas played the toughest schedule in Division I college basketball this season. The Jayhawks are battle hardened and will have no problem with Howard to open their tournament.

Howard Bison: Nothing to lose

The Howard Bison won the MEAC Championship by defeating Norfolk State in Norfolk by a score of 65-64. They held through a back and forth game against the Spartans, with Jelani Williams making the biggest free throws of his life to seal the game with 6.1 seconds remaining. But the Bison are set for a much tougher opponent here in this Howard vs. Kansas duel in Des Moines on Thursday.

For Howard, the key to this game is just playing like you have nothing to lose. That’s because they have nothing to lose. Nobody expects the bison to win this game, so they should just approach this game by trying to make moves and not worrying about the end result.

Kansas Jayhawks: A potential chip on their shoulder

The Kansas Jayhawks lost to the Texas Longhorns in Kansas City in Saturday’s Big 12 championship game. That loss put Kansas in the West Region, where they are the top seed, but in a difficult position since UCLA is in the West Region as a two-seed. Because of that, we got to see Kansas getting angry with Howard in this first round matchup.

Of course, there’s also intrigue surrounding the status of Kansas head coach Bill Self going into the NCAA tournament. Self was hospitalized over the weekend for health reasons and has since been discharged. He expects to rejoin the team and train in the tournament, but this has added another layer of intrigue to the tournament campaign for the Jayhawks.

Has a 16 seed ever beat a one seed in the NCAA tournament?

There is an all-time event of a 16 seed defeating a one seed in the NCAA tournament. That happened in 2018 when the UMBC Retrievers destroyed the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round. Before and since, One-Seeds have won 147 times against the 16th-seeded teams in their respective regions.

It pays to keep this in mind when betting on games between one-seeds and 16-seeds. The moneyline odds on the ultimate underdogs in each region may seem appealing, but with an all-time record of 1-147 in these games, the moneyline prizes for 16 seeds aren’t worth the low probability of winning.