Kansas Ohio State Spread at Buckeyes -2.5
Carrie Stroup here with your Kansas Ohio State spread with the Buckeys coming in as a 2.5 point favorite. You can find all the Final Four betting odds at Sportsbook.com here and be sure to claim your FREE CASH (restrictions do apply).
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Ohio State -2.5 & 137
Opening Line & Total: Buckeyes -2.5 & 136.5
The second national semifinal game features a pair of two-seeds with 31 wins each as Ohio State squares off with Kansas on Saturday night.
Don’t put too much weight on the Dec. 10 meeting in Lawrence when Kansas won 78-67 over an OSU team that didn’t have Jared Sullinger on the court due to back spasms. KU shot 58.3% FG that day, including 9-of-17 threes. That won’t happen again, as Ohio State has held NCAA tourney opponents to 40.6% FG, and Kansas is making just 40.6% FG in its four NCAA games. Also, the Jayhawks are 4-7 ATS on a neutral court this season, and the Buckeyes are 13-5 ATS (72%) with 3+ days of rest.
The Buckeyes have won their three NCAA Tournament games by an average score of 77 to 65. They have outrebounding these squads by 10.3 RPG in the tourney and rank sixth in the nation in rebounding margin for the season (+7.7 RPG). OSU also ranks among the nation’s leaders in turnover margin (+3.0), placing 24th among all D-I teams. After turning the ball over 18 times in their opening game, the Buckeyes have just 11.3 TOPG in the past three contests. Although the team made just 41.2% FG in the Elite Eight win over Syracuse, Ohio State shoots at an impressive 48.0% FG clip for the season (18th in nation).
The offense revolves around PF Jared Sullinger (17.6 PPG, 9.1 RPG), who has 21.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG in his past two games despite missing the majority of the first half versus Syracuse because of foul trouble. Sullinger has been money from the foul line all tournament, making 27-of-33 free throws (82%). As good as Sullinger has been on the offensive end, sophomore F Deshaun Thomas (16.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG) has been even better. He’s averaging 21.8 PPG (52% FG) and 8.5 RPG so far in the NCAA Tournament, and he also scored 19 in Lawrence in December. Sophomore G Lenzelle Smith Jr. averages just 6.7 PPG for the season, but he’s had quite the scoring burst in the past two games, averaging 17.5 PPG on 11-of-18 shooting (6-of-10 threes).
Senior F/G William Buford (14.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG) continued his prolonged slump with a 3-for-12 shooting night in the win over Syracuse. Buford is a woeful 8-for-33 FG (24%) in his past three games, dropping him to 41.5% FG on the season. But considering he’s scored 20+ points on nine different occasions this year (including 21 points on 8-of-23 FG in Kansas), he’s still somebody the Jayhawks need to worry about. Sophomore point guard Aaron Craft (8.8 PPG, 4.7 APG) is also capable of playing better. He has a 2.2 assist-to-turnover ratio for the season, but has just nine assists and six turnovers in his past two contests. And after racking up 3+ steals in five straight games, Craft had only one steal against Syracuse before fouling out late in the game.
Kansas doesn’t get enough credit for its defense, as the Jayhawks are holding NCAA Tournament opponents to 58.5 PPG on 35.7% FG. They rank fourth in the nation in shooting defense (38.0% FG) thanks in part to 5.6 blocks per game (ninth in D-I). Offensively, KU hasn’t been great during this tourney, but it was able to get some transition baskets against UNC, finishing the game with 80 points on 46% FG. For the season, Kansas ranks among the top-30 teams nationally in shooting (47.6% FG), rebound margin (+5.7 RPG) and assists (15.2 APG).
Thomas Robinson (17.7 PPG, 11.8 RPG) and Tyshawn Taylor (16.7 PPG, 4.7 APG) are the primary scoring threats for the Jayhawks, scoring half of their team’s points in the Elite Eight win. Robinson had 18 points and nine boards, and is averaging 15.8 PPG and 12.5 RPG in the NCAA tourney. He was also nearly perfect at home against Ohio State in December, scoring 21 points on 7-of-9 FG and 7-of-8 FT. Taylor had a quiet tourney (8.7 PPG, 33% FG) before exploding against Carolina, scoring 22 points (10-of-19 FG) with six rebounds, five assists and five steals. But he did miss all five of his three-point attempts, and is now 0-for-17 from downtown in this tournament. Taylor had nine points and 13 assists against OSU, but he also committed seven turnovers.
The Jayhawks continue to get great contributions from their other starters. Junior G Elijah Johnson (10.0 PPG, 3.6 APG) has had a great tournament (13.5 PPG), scoring in double-figures in each game and connecting on 9-of-20 threes. Johnson lit up the Buckeyes for 15 points on 5-of-7 threes when the teams last met. Seven-footer Jeff Withey (9.2 PPG, 6.2 RPG) has also come on strong in the past two games with 11.5 PPG (8-of-12 FG), 6.5 RPG and 6.5 BPG. And junior swingman Travis Releford (8.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG) is coming off his best game of the tourney, scoring 11 points on 4-of-6 FG with two steals against Carolina.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
