Kansas State, a Big 12 at-large bid and the two seed in the West Region, begins Thursday's second set of games by taking on 15 seed and champions of the Sun Belt, North Texas (2:50 Eastern) at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The winner will advance to play either No. 7 seed BYU (29-5, 13-3 MWC) or No. 10 seed Florida (21-12, 9-7 SEC) on Saturday, March 20.
NCAA Tournament oddsmakers at online sportsbook BetUS.com list Kansas State as 15 1/2-chalk favorites versus the Mean Green with a 147 1/2 total. The Wildcats have totaled a school-record 26 wins, including 11 in league play, en route to a tie for second place in the Big 12 and a runner-up finish in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
Kansas State is averaging just under 80 points per game (79.6 ppg.) on 45 percent shooting (868-of-1930), including 35.6 percent from 3-point range (222-of-624), with 39.1 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 7.3 steals and 4.8 blocks per game. The squad has topped 80 or more points in 19 of 33 games.
North Texas enters Thursday's game with a 24-8 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Sun Belt Conference play after knocking off No. 10 Louisiana-Monroe (69-66), No. 6 Denver (63-56) and No. 1 Troy (66-63) en route to its second Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship. The team's 11-game winning streak ties for the third-longest (Oakland) active streak in the nation. The Mean Green haven't lost since a 69-64 setback in overtime at Middle Tennessee State on Jan. 30.
North Texas is averaging nearly 75 points per game (74.2) on the season on 46.1 percent shooting, including 33.5 percent from 3-point range, with 37.0 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 4.4 steals and 2.9 blocks per game. A very balanced squad with four players scoring in double figures, the Mean Green are paced by the 1-2 punch of juniors Josh White and Tristan Thompson, who are averaging 14.9 and 14.1 points per game.
NCAA College Basketball Picks: Gamblers should love large point spreads in the NCAA Tournament. KSU will win this game but bettors should jump on the Mean Green getting the 15 1/2-chalk.
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