#657 Kansas -4 vs Marquette
Unlike Tennessee-Purdue, neither of these two favorites covered yesterday. Top-ranked Kansas was a huge 40+ point favorite against tourney host Chaminade (D-II), so the Jayhawks had the easiest path to the semifinals. Kansas never trailed, but they were only up 25-20 with 6:22 left in the first half before a 14-5 run. Kansas ended up winning 83-56 thanks to 60-percent shooting from the field as the Jayhawks’ defense held Chaminade to 33.9-percent shooting. Kansas dominated points in the paint (58-22) and fast-break points (27-6). Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson led the way with 31 points and 11 rebounds, making 15 of his 18 shots from the field. Kevin McCullar Jr. had his second-straight game with a triple double. KJ Adams Jr. returned to the team following the death of his mother.
Meanwhile, No. 4 Marquette needed a late three-pointer (with 38 seconds remaining) to get by unranked UCLA 71-69. The Golden Eagles came back from a 12-point second half deficit with a 17-0 run. It was a tale of two halves in terms of shooting, with Marquette going 12-of-31 in the first half and 13-of-24 in the second half. Marquette’s all-star backcourt of Kam Jones and Tyler Kolek was held to just 21 total points.
The line may look short for the top team in the country, but we’ll recommend a play on Marquette as Shaka Smart has always been great as an underdog, and the Eagles’ scheme is tough to prep for with limited turnaround time on back-to-back days.