No. 6 Xavier Musketeers vs No. 2 Kansas State Wildcats
Thursday, March 25th – 9:37 PM ET
Energy Solutions Arena – Salt Lake City, UT
West Region
March Madness Odds: Kansas State -4.5
There are many sports betting enthusiasts who have been ensconced in college basketball betting for the last week. The NCAA Tournament started on Thursday and after a weekend of crazy upsets, we’re left with 16 teams of the sweet variety.
Two teams that were semi-expected to still be there - Xavier and Kansas State – will meet up in the West Region for a berth in the Elite Eight.
Xavier knocked off Minnesota rather easily in the first round but then had a close shave in a 71-68 win over Minnesota. Meanwhile, the Wildcats have been rolling as they had a 20-point win over North Texas in the opening round followed by a 12-point win over BYU in round two.
Speaking of that matchup against BYU, this should be a similar matchup for the Wildcats as they are dealing with a similar opponent.
The Cougars were led by Jimmer Fredette, who scored a whopping 34 points in the first round but couldn’t come close to that in the second round. With Wildcats guard Jacob Pullen on him, Fredette managed just four field goald.
The same can’t happen to Xavier or they won’t even be in this contest. The Musketeers are led by guard Jordan Crawford, who has scored 55 points in the first two games of this tournament. He needs to have another big game for the Musketeers to pull the upset and if the lock down defense wins, so will Kansas State.
The Musketeers are not a team with a ton of depth, so they rely on their leaders more than most teams. They also don’t play a signature brand of defense, so they will need to fill it up regularly to win this game.
If that’s the key matchup for the Wildcats on defense, the key matchup when their on offense will be the perimeter. Against BYU, Pullen and guard Denis Clemente feasted. Pullen had 34 points, including seven three-pointers, and he could have another big game as Xavier doesn’t cover the perimeter very well.
The Musketeers have been to the Sweet Sixteen for three straight years but this is as far as they’ll get this year as the Wildcats will send them packing.
Sportsbook Reviews Pick: Kansas State -4.5
