The 13th seeded Samford Bulldogs (29-5) take on the 4th seeded Kansas Jayhawks (22-10) in the 1st round of the NCAA tournament Thursday night. The Bulldogs are coming off a Southern Conference regular season and tournament title, while the Jayhawks had a disappointing exit in their 1st game of the Big 12 tournament after finishing 6th in the Big 12 regular season standings.
Can the Samford pull the upset and send Kansas home or will the Jayhawks get to the 2nd round for the 16th straight NCAA tournament?
Samford Bulldogs vs Kansas Jayhawks Betting Odds
|
Team |
Spread |
Total |
MoneyLine |
|
#13 Samford Bulldogs |
+7 -110 |
O 154 -108 |
230 |
|
#4 Kansas Jayhawks |
-7 -110 |
U 154 -112 |
-285 |
|
**Odds Courtesy of DraftKings** |
|||
Samford Bulldogs vs Kansas Jayhawks Game Details
- Fixture: Samford Bulldogs vs Kansas Jayhawks
- Date and Time: March 21, 2024 @ 9:55 pm EST
- Location: Delta Center in Salt Lake City, UT
Apex Tale of the Tape
|
Samford Bulldogs |
Vs. |
Kansas Jayhawks |
|
29-5 |
Record |
22-10 |
|
86 |
Points Per Game |
75.3 |
|
49.3% |
FG% |
48.8% |
|
39.3% |
3PT% |
32.9% |
|
35.8 |
Rebounds Per Game |
35.8 |
|
73.9 |
Points Allowed Per Game |
68.7 |
|
42.9% |
Defensive FG% |
40.4% |
|
33.8 |
Defensive 3PT% |
33.2% |
|
68.8% |
Defensive FT% |
70.1% |
|
23.7 |
Defensive Rebounds Against |
23.7 |
|
4-1 |
Last 5 W-L |
1-4 |
|
73.7 |
Team Pace |
69.5 |
Key Stats
Samford Bulldogs
Coach Bucky McMillan has got Samford in the big dance for the 1st time since 2000. The Bulldogs play a very uptempo style called “Bucky Ball”, which consists of a lot of 3-pointers and quick possessions. Also, they make a lot of substitutions and run a rotation of 11 players. With this big rotation, Samford has a lot of contributors across the stat sheet. However, the guy that makes the machine go is Achor Achor, who leads the team in points and rebounds (15.8 PPG, 6.1 RPG).
Kansas Jayhawks
Even in a topsy-turvy season, the Kansas Jayhawks are still in the tournament as a top 4 seed for what feels like the 100th time in a row. The Jayhawks had arguably the best starting 5 in the country, led by Hunter Dickinson (18 PPG, 10.8 RPG) and Kevin McCullar (18.3 PPG). Unfortunately for Kansas, coach Bill Self announced earlier this week that McCullar will be out for the tournament with a knee injury. Also, while Dickinson is expected to play, he is coming right off a shoulder injury. This makes a short rotation for the Jayhawks even shorter. For Kansas to have any sort of deep run in this tournament, they will need multiple players outside of their starting lineup to produce much more than they did during the regular season.
Game Prediction
The McCullar injury for Kansas is devastating. That with the combanation of Dickinson not being 100%, a 6 man rotation for Kansas looks more like a 4 or 5 man rotation. They have to hope someone getting a shot on the bench can step up. On the contrary, Samford will go 11 players deep and stay fresh with their uptempo style of play. I see Samford tiring out Kansas to an extent as the game goes on. I like the Bulldogs to cover the spread here.
Final Pick
Samford +7
About the Author
Cory is an Oregon Duck alumni and has been following college basketball closely for years. He has attended over 30 games across the country this season alone. Follow Cory on X @cory_pappas1 for more game previews. it’s March!
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