The four No. 1 seeds in the March Madness tournament are the Gonzaga Bulldogs, the Baylor Bears, the Arizona Wildcats, and the Kansas Jayhawks.
Kansas is the top seed in the Midwest region of the bracket and they’ll face No. 16 seed Texas Southern in the first round.
After winning Tuesday’s play-in game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi 76-67, Texas Southern is a massive underdog against Kansas.
Kansas finished the season with a 28-6 record and won the Big 12 Conference tournament without breaking much of a sweat.
Kansas vs Texas Southern Odds
Kansas vs Texas Southern odds are provided by Caesars and current as of Wednesday, March 16 at 2 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Kansas (-10000) @ Texas Southern (+2000)
- Spread: Kansas -21.5 (-110) @ Texas Southern +21.5 (-110)
- Over/Under: Over 144.5 (-110) / Under 144.5 (-110)
- Implied Score: Kansas 83, Texas Southern 61.5
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Kansas vs Texas Southern Prediction
Over the entire history of the March Madness tournament, only one No. 16 seed has taken down a No. 1 seed. Top seeds have a 143-1 all-time record against 16 seeds, with the lone loss coming in 2018 when UBMC upset Virginia in the opening round.
While everyone roots for chaos to happen during the tournament, don’t expect Kansas to be the next No. 1 seed to lose in the first round.
The Jayhawks come in as the No. 6 ranked team in Ken Pomeroy’s rankings with a 14-4 conference record in an ultra-competitive Big 12. Kansas has also recorded a 6-4 record against AP Top 25 teams, earning wins over Baylor, Texas Tech (twice), Michigan State, and Iowa State (twice).
Texas Southern won the SWAC, but is ranked 184th in Pomeroy’s rankings and posted a 1-2 record against Top 25 teams. That lone victory came against a Florida team that was then ranked No. 20, but will be playing in the NIT.
This is shaping up to be yet another blowout by a No. 1 seed over a No. 16 seed.
Kansas vs Texas Southern Score Pick
Kansas 89, Texas Southern 51
Not much needs to be said to realize that this is going to be an extremely lopsided contest.
- Print your 2022 March Madness bracket.
Kansas is a legitimate title contender while Texas Southern is just happy to get another opportunity to play in the tournament.
Kansas vs Texas Southern Best Bets
Kansas -21.5 (-110) at Caesars
Wager: 1 Unit
Kansas enters its first-round matchup as a 21.5-point favorite over Texas Southern.
The Jayhawks are considered among the teams that can win it all, while the Tigers were able to squeak out a victory over Texas A&M Corpus Christi due to Corpus Christi making only nine of 19 free throw attempts in the play-in game.
While Texas Southern could hang around early, I believe Kansas cruises to an easy win as the No. 1 seed. The Jayhawks have covered the spread two of the four times they were favored by 21.5+ points this season and they’ll make it three on Thursday night.
Over 144.5 Total Points (-110) at Caesars
Wager: 1 Unit
Leading Kansas into Thursday’s David vs Goliath-Esque clash is their dynamic guard duo of Ochai Agbaji and Christian Braun. Agbaji and Braun average 19.7 points and 14.6 points respectively, and the Jayhawks have four players that score in double figures.
Kansas averages 78.3 points per game (17th in the nation), meanwhile, Texas Southern averages a mere 69.5 points per game (192nd in the nation).
The Jayhawks have a 5-1-1 record towards the Over in neutral site games this season, and we could see them score upwards of 90 points in this contest.
