The Defending Champs - (14) North Dakota State vs. (3) Kansas

#14 North Dakota State Bison vs. #3 Kansas Jayhawks 12:30 ET

The second day of the NCAA sports betting Tournament tips off from Dayton Arena at 12:30 ET when the Summit League champion North Dakota State Bison (26-6, 1-1 ATS) squares off against Head Coach Bill Self and the defending NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks (25-7, 18-7-1 ATS). The Fargo, ND based Bison punched their first ever ticket to the “Big Dance” when they upended the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the Summit League Tournament’s championship game. Kansas steamrolled its way through the Big 12 regular season to capture the conference crown for the second year in a row, but it shockingly bowed out to the Baylor Bears in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Bison only went 1-1 ATS in its two lined away games, but overall, Head coach Saul Phillips’ kids won 14 of their 19 games away from home SU. Kansas lost both its neutral court games both SU & ATS this season losing to the aforementioned Baylor Bears and against the Syracuse Orange in an OT thriller (89-81) way back in late November.

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Kansas currently sits as 10-point neutral court favorites in their first round match-up with the Bison at BetUS Sportsbook; the ‘total’ has been set at 144.5. NDST didn’t have many lined games this season, but in the program’s history, it’s a perfect 6-0 ATS in non-conference games dating back to 1997; they went 3-0 ATS when installed an underdog during that stretch. The Jayhawks went 17-4 SU & 14-7 ATS as a favorite this season, and they’re a perfect 4-0 ATS the L/4 times they took the court off a loss.

When speaking of the Bison, the first two names that will always pop up are those of guard Ben Woodside and forward Brett Winkelman. Woodside hit the last second shot against Oakland to send the Bison dancing, and he and Winkelman were two of the most potent scorers to lace ‘em up this season. Woodside averaged just under 23 points per game, while Winkelman chipped in with a shade less than 19 points per game. The Bison’s offense simply lit it up this season! The team shot at a 49% clip from the field good for the country’s 3rd best ranking, and if that’s not enough, they converted close to 42% of their attempts from beyond the arc (#5). They also hit close to 74% of their free throw attempts. Defensively, NDST was porous allowing opponents to shoot close to 45% from the field, and they surrendered an average of 68.6 points per game (#199).

KU’s offense was one to be reckoned with this season as well against much tougher competition. Their 77.1 PPG average was good for the country’s 34th best mark, and their 48% conversion rate from the field was the 20th best mark. They outrebounded their foes by an average of 7.2 rebounds per game (35.9-28.7), and comes into today’s game ranked the 123rd defense in the land allowing opponents an average of 65.8 PPG.

I don’t know why, but Bucknell keeps popping off in my head every time I look at this match-up; a shocker from out of nowhere. If it was to occur again, this would certainly be the spot. NDST is a senior laden team that plays great team basketball. Though Kansas is the defending tourney champion, they’re still very green regardless of the fact that Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich got valuable minutes during last year’s run. Woodside and Winkelman can single-handedly keep the Bison in this game, and it’s not out of the question that they can turn Fargo into a frenzy and shock the college basketball betting world by stealing the outright victory. That said; we won’t go that far and just call for the Bison to keep it close in a higher scoring game than the current ‘total’ suggests.

Rose’s Recommendation: 2* NDST (+10) / 3* Over 144.5

(Grading scale = 1* to 5*)