The NCAA Tournament West Regional four-seed Southern Illinois Salukis seem to be on the short end of the stick when it comes to getting respect entering their final-sixteen game with top-seed Kansas. The Jayhawks are installed as -9.0-point favorites by oddsmakers with a 126.5 total for today’s 7:10 p.m. game at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. There will not be a better way for the SIU to prove it belongs than to knock off the powerful Jayhawks, winners of 13 straight games.
Kansas obviously isn’t invulnerable as evidenced by its 78-71 home loss to Oral Roberts of the Mid-Continent Conference back in November. So when SIU coach Chris Lowery is asked if his team can beat Kansas he gushes, “I don’t know why not.” And rightfully so.
Getting that win over Kansas could be easier said than done. With four players averaging double-digit points, 32 wins, Big 12 regular-season and tournament championships, and game-changing players like Brandon Rush and Julian Wright, the Jayhawks have earned their top seed.
To counter that, the Salukis, led by senior guard Jamaal Tatum hope to provide the Jayhawks with some matchup problems of their own. SIU hopes to force Kansas into a slower paced game, a style the Salukis have built their success upon. And that style, as always begins with defense.
SIU is no slouch winning 15 of its last 16 games and earning the Missouri Valley Conference regular season championship. In the NCAA Tournament first round the Salukis defeated Holy Cross as a -8.0 favorite 61-51 and followed that with a second round win over ACC member Virginia Tech 63-48. SIU is 2-0 in the tournament against the spread. The UNDER has cashed on totals betting in both games SIU played.
The Jayhawks , while picking up 32 wins on the season are not immune from letting their backers down at the betting window. In their last ten games, all wins straight up, the Jayhawks backers have cashed in on six of them. The OVER has also cashed on the total in the last six of 10 Kansas wins.
SIU has some injury question marks with junior forward Matt Shaw, who sprained an ankle in the first round game with Holy Cross and on Tuesday, freshman guard Josh Bone suffered a knee injury during practice. Both players are listed as questionable for tonight’s game. The injury situation for SIU could have an effect on the team’s depth which could prove costly against teams as powerful and deep as Kansas.
Point-Spreads.com pick: Kansas -9.0
