No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks vs. No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats
Monday, 4/2/12, 9:23 PM EST, TV: CBS
Opening Point Spread: Kentucky -6
Current Betting Line: Kentucky -6.5
Opening Total: 139
Current Total: 137.5
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker
Kansas has advanced to its ninth NCAA National Championship game with a 64-62 win over the Ohio State Buckeyes as three-point underdogs on Saturday night. The Jayhawks overcame a 13-point deficit in that particular contest, as the program gets set to revenge an earlier loss against tonight’s opponent. The team suffered a 75-65 setback to the Kentucky Wildcats as 6.5-point neutral court underdogs on Nov. 15, which served as the second game of the year for both sides. Kansas is 2-2 ATS as an underdog and the “under” is 5-0 in that situation.
The Jayhawks are 6-20 all-time against the Wildcats, but have managed to win three of the last four meetings. Kansas led the Big 12 Conference in limiting opponents to just 37.9 percent shooting and also managed to pace all teams in out-rebounding opponents by 5.8 boards per game. Junior forward Thomas Robinson is certainly the player to watch, as he comes in averaging 17.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. Bob Cousy Award finalist Tyshawn Taylor will also have to be great from the point guard position, as he led the program during conference play in averaging 18.6 points per game.
Kentucky comes off a 69-61 win over in-state rival Louisville and advances to its 11th national championship game. The Wildcats are led by a freshman class that accounted for 54 percent of the program’s points and 57 percent of its rebounds. Forward Anthony Davis is the leader of that group, averaging team highs in points (14.4), rebounds (10.2) and blocked shots (4.6) per game. He is enjoying a tremendous season and has grabbed the attention of Kansas head coach Bill Self. “Davis is a great player, but he’s not Superman,” stated Self over the weekend. Kentucky is 16-21 ATS as a favorite this year.
The Wildcats come in with a 174-26 all-time mark when playing as the top-ranked team in the country, while head coach John Calipari is 62-8 over the course of his career in that situation. Kentucky is tremendous on the defensive side of the floor, leading all teams nationally in allowing opponents to shoot just 37.4 percent from the field. The program will finish this season with three rematches from the regular season, as it has already taken care of business against Indiana and Louisville in earlier rounds of the tournament.
Bettors will likely back the Wildcats due to their 3-1-1 ATS mark versus Big 12 opponents, while the Jayhawks are 0-2 ATS versus SEC foes.
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