by Reigning national champion Kansas Jayhawks begin their run through the 2023 NCAA tournament Thursday. Kansas won the Big 12 regular-season title with a 15-6 record and earned the No. 1 spot in the West Region. The Jayhawks are 27-7 overall and face No. 16 seed Howard Bison. Howard is the MEAC champion with 12 wins in their last 14 games to improve to 22-12 this season.
Tipoff is at 2 p.m. ET in Des Moines. Caesars Sportsbook lists the Jayhawks as 22-point favorites, while the over/under is set at 146 in the latest Kansas vs. Howard odds. Before you decide on Howard vs. Kansas, you need to check out the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s advanced computer simulation model.
The SportsLine projection model simulates each Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model is competing in the 2023 79-53 NCAA Tournament with top college basketball picks this season and fetching nearly $1,300 for $100 players. Everyone who has followed him has seen huge returns.
Now the model has set its sights on Howard vs. Kansas and just laid out its picks and CBB predictions. You can now go to SportsLine to see the model selection. Well, here are some college basketball betting lines and trends for Kansas vs. Howard:
- Distribution Kansas vs. Howard: Kansas -22
- Kansas vs. Howard over/under: 146 points
- Money line Kansas vs. Howard: Kansas -10000, Howard +2000
- WIE: The Bison are 4-0 against the spread in their last four games
- KAN: The Jayhawks have been 7-4 against the spread for the past 11 games
- Pick Kansas vs. Howard: See picks here
Why Howard can cover
Howard’s offense has strong metrics, led by fantastic offensive rebounds and 3-point shooting. The Bison save 33.8% of misses on the offensive glass and convert 37.2% of 3-point attempts this season. Howard led the MEAC in overall shooting efficiency, and the Bison are above the national average in free throw rate and assists (14.9 per game).
All-MEAC guard Elijah Hawkins controls offense for Howard and leads the team this season with 13.0 points, 5.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Hawkins shoots 47.3% from 3-point range and is a key part of a defense that turns 20.7% of defensive possessions and steals 9.8% of defensive trips. Howard keeps his opponents at 33.6% from 3-point range, and the Bison are giving up just 11.9 assists per game this season.
Why Kansas can cover
Kansas has tremendous experience on their roster, and the Jayhawks dominate on the defensive end of the stage. Bill Self’s team enters the tournament ranked 7th in the country on adjusted defensive efficiency, and Kansas has excellent shooting opposition. The Jayhawks hold the opposition 47.2% from 2-point range and 31.2% from 3-point range this season, and Kansas is in the top 20 in the nation by having just 11.2 assists per game allows. Kansas is also forcing a 20.2% turnover in defensive holdings, and the Jayhawks are near the top in the country with a 12.5% steal rate.
The Jayhawks are above average in free-throw prevention, and the team’s ability to cause havoc should be magnified against Howard. The Bisons have very poor ball safety and turn over 22.9% of their possessions to finish in the bottom five nationally. That includes 8.7 live ball turnovers per game, which may give the Jayhawks fuel in the transition.
How to make Howard vs. Kansas picks
SportsLine’s model leans towards totals, with 11 players predicted to score at least six points. The model also says that one side of the variance applies in over 50% of the simulations. You can only see the model selection at SportsLine.
So, who will win Kansas against Howard? And which side of the spread applies in over 50% of the simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of Thursday’s Howard vs. Kansas spread you need to jump to, all from the model who crushed his college basketball picks and find out.
