The point spread for Saturday’s Final Four battle between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Kansas Jayhawks opened up at -2.5 in favor of the Buckeyes at Bovada Sportsbook on Monday afternoon. Bovada hasn’t released a total yet, but most books have it set at 137. As of Wednesday night, the line has not moved. So far, 53% of the betting public is on Ohio State and 73% are on the over. Here are the latest trends for this game:
Buckeyes are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 neutral site games.
Buckeyes are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite.
Jayhawks are 1-3-1 ATS in their last 5 games as an underdog of 0.5-6.5.
Jayhawks are 2-11 ATS in their last 13 vs. Big Ten.
Over is 4-0 in Buckeyes last 4 NCAA Tournament games.
Over is 10-1 in Buckeyes last 11 overall.
Under is 6-1 in Jayhawks last 7 vs. Big Ten.
Under is 17-4 in Jayhawks last 21 NCAA Tournament games.
My Prediction: After the dust settles on the big Louisville/Kentucky game, we turn our attention to a terrific matchup with Ohio State and Kansas. Both of these teams have enough weapons to beat Kentucky (should they beat Louisville) in the National Championship Game. Kansas used a late run against a short-handed North Carolina team to get to this point, outscoring the Heels 12-0 down the stretch. Keeping Jared Sullinger out of foul trouble will be key for the Buckeyes. He sat the bench most of the first half in the last couple of games. He really can’t afford to do that against Kansas. William Buford also needs to step up his offense if Ohio State wants to win this game. This is a very even matchup, but I like what coach Bill Self has done with this Kansas team this season. I really think this night is destined to have Kentucky playing Kansas for the National Championship on Monday night.
Kansas +2.5
