2011 NCAA Tournament Third Round – Southwest Region
#1 Kansas Jayhawks vs. #9 Illinois Fighting Illini, Bank of Oklahoma Center, Tulsa, OK
Sunday, March 20, 2011, 8:40 pm Eastern, TV: TNT
Opening Line: Kansas -8.5
Current Line: Kansas -8.5
Opening Total: 143
Current Total: 144
Money Line: Kansas -450 / Illinois +375
The top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks (33-2) hope to avoid an upset before the Sweet 16 for the second year in a row when they square off against the ninth-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini (20-13) on Sunday at the Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa. The Jayhawks (-8.5) were shocked by #9 Northern Iowa 69-67 as the #1 in the Midwest Region last year and face another team in Illinois that also beat UNLV in the previous round.
The Runnin’ Rebels have complained about being seeded in the same part of the bracket as Kansas each of the past two years, but they have failed to advance past the opening round both times. The Illini may have benefit from an overconfident UNLV squad for the second straight year, clobbering the Rebels from start to finish in a 73-62 victory on Friday that was not nearly as close as the final score indicates.
Illinois covered the spread for the fourth time in five games as a 2.5-point underdog, jumping out to an enormous 46-24 lead after going on monster runs of 15-0 and 10-1 before the break. The Illini shot 63 percent from the field in the first half and nearly 60 percent for the game with Mike Davis and Demetri McCamey doing most of the damage. Davis and McCamey each made 7 of 13 shots from the field, combining for 39 points, 12 rebounds and 12 assists.
Ironically, Illinois head coach Bruce Weber replaced Kansas head coach Bill Self when he left for the Jayhawks, taking many of Self’s recruits to the Final Four in just his second year. Weber’s Illini made it to the 2005 national championship game and lost 75-70 to North Carolina and head coach Roy Williams, who opened the door for Self when he left Kansas.
Weber has lived in Self’s shadow throughout his coaching career at Illinois, especially after the Jayhawks won the 2008 national championship against Memphis. Now he has the opportunity to best the man he followed and would love nothing more than to send him home early again.
Kansas is coming off a 72-53 win over Boston University in the second round but did not cover the 23.5-point spread. The Jayhawks have beaten the line only once in the last seven games, going 1-5-1 against the spread during that stretch. Marcus and Markieff Morris led the team against the Terriers, scoring 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Now that you have read this NCAA tournament college basketball betting preview featuring Kansas & Illinois, check out the NCAA basketball odds on this and all the games to compare the best lines at multiple sportsbooks.
