Texas Southern To Face No. 1 Seed for Fourth Time
Kansas is looking to win its NCAA tournament opener for the 15th consecutive time and is 14-0 in the first game in the March Madness bracket as a No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks have scored more than 100 points five times when kicking off the tournament at a No. 1 seed.
Texas Southern is 1-2 in Quad 1 games while Kansas is 12-5 against Quad 1 teams so it is no wonder that the Jayhawks are heavy favorites in the March Madness odds in this one.
Kansas (+1000) has the fourth-best odds to win the national championship. The Jayhawks are tied for the third-best odds (+200) to advance to the Final Four.
Let’s check the latest news, stats, injury reports, and March Madness Odds Texas Southern vs Kansas. We’ve plenty of predictions for you to consider.
Texas Southern Getting Hang of First Four Thing
The good news is Texas Southern emerged victorious in a First Four game for the second season in a row. Now comes a matchup with No. 1 seed Kansas, which is fresh off winning the Big 12 tournament.
Bryson Etienne, who missed last season, led Texas Southern with 21 points in the 76-67 win over Texas A;M Corpus Christi on Tuesday.
It is the second straight year that after winning a play-in contest, the Tigers get to face a top-seeded squad.
Although the Tigers lost Michael Weathers, who had 24 points in the loss to Michigan, they return four players who started in that game – John Walker III, Justin Hopkins, Jordan Gilliam and Karl Nicholas as well as Yahuza Rasas and John Jones. The returning players scored 36 of the 66 points in the 2021 game.
P.J. Henry played 34 minutes and finished with eight points and two steals in a loss to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Baylor when he was at Hartford. With the Hawks announcing that they would transition from the Division I to Division III level, the Houston native returned closer to home to finish out his collegiate career.
Texas Southern is 3-0-1 against the Las Vegas odds in the last four games.
Familiar Scenario for Top-Seeded Kansas Jayhawks
Kansas is a No. 1 seed for the 15th time since the NCAA tournament began being seeded in 1979. The Jayhawks are 39-13 as a No. 1 seed and its most recent national championship in 2008 came as a No. 1 seed.
The game could give leading scorer and All-American Ochai Agbaji a chance to find his offensive rhythm as he has connected on at least 50% of his shots just once in his last nine games. Agbaji had eight points in the regular-season finale against Texas, the only time all season he failed to score in double figures. He averaged 17.3 points in three Big 12 Tournament games but was just 4 of 10 from the field in the Big 12 final against Texas Tech.
Right on track to the rafters 😎 @youngoch
More ➝ https://t.co/lh5bk3HkZQ pic.twitter.com/brLhc67fYj
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) March 15, 2022
While Kansas recently got preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Remy Martin back after he was sidelined for most of February, reserve forward Mitch Lightfoot is questionable with a knee injury. Lightfoot is one of three players to appear in all 34 games this season for the Jayhawks. He is averaging 4.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per game.
Kansas has covered against the college basketball spreads in each of its last four games.
Texas Southern vs. Kansas Head-to-Head
The last time Kansas played Texas Southern, the Jayhawks rolled to a 114-71 victory in 2017. Kansas is 4-0 all-time in the series.
Kansas has won its last 10 NCAA tournament games against No. 16 seeds but only covered in five of them. The most recent No. 1 vs. No. 16 matchup for the Jayhawks came in 2017 when the Jayhawks defeated UC Davis 100-62 at a 22½-point favorite. More than one March Madness prediction has Thursday’s game ending with a similar score.
Texas Southern has played a No. 1 seed three times while the Tigers lost each time, they covered in the last two including an 82-66 loss to Michigan as a 24½-point underdog last year. Something of note for those who bet online, each of the games in 2017, 2018 and 2021 against a top-seeded team went over the total.
Follow the Road to the Final Four
Learn more about the No. 1 seeds here:
Georgia State vs Gonzaga Betting Preview, Picks & Predictions
Norfolk State vs Baylor Betting Preview, Picks & Predictions
Wright State vs Arizona Betting Preview, Picks & Predictions
Texas Southern vs. Kansas Game Information
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- Game: Texas Southern (19-12) vs. Kansas (28-6)
- Location: Dickies Arena, Fort Worth, Texas
- Day/Time: Thursday, March 17, 9:57 p.m. ET
- Television: Live stream: TBS.com
- 2022 March Madness bracket
Texas Southern vs. Kansas Betting Lines
Texas Southern vs. Kansas Prediction
There will be some tough tests coming for a Kansas team that is a legitimate national championship contender but Thursday’s opener should be no problem for the Jayhawks.
Texas Southern outscored Texas A&M Corpus Christi by 17 points at the foul line in the play-in game and that certainly not going to happen against Kansas.
Picking the game to over the 144½-point total seems like the way to go considering the Jayhawks’ track record in No. 1 vs. No. 16 games.
Pick: Over 144½
Pick: Kansas -21½ (-110)
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