Richmond vs. Kansas Line in Double Digits

The Richmond vs. Kansas line opened at -10.5 early Monday with oddsmakers having little confidence that the 12-seeded Spiders can upset the Jayhawks.  The betting public does not necessarily concur as spread betting action was coming in as even.  Likewise, Gambling911.com calculations suggest that Kansas should only be a 9-point favorite coming into this Sweet 16 showdown.  The total on this game was 138 with most of the early action on the OVER at betED.com. 

Richmond’s 65-48 win over number 13-seeded Morehead State might seem less impressive than some of the upsets we have seen take place in recent days.  Still, this marks Richmond’s second time advancing to the Sweet 16 as a 12-seed or lower. The Spiders also won their eighth game as a 12-seed or lower.

Richmond also took care of Morehead State star Kenneth Faried, who finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, his 86th career double-double, one shy of Tim Duncan's all-time record.

"They didn't do anything to me that I haven't seen," Faried said. "I was kind of stagnate with my offense, and that's a credit to Richmond.

"We played Louisville and were able to come up with the upset. We fell short against Richmond."

Kansas, meanwhile, easily handled the 9^th-seeded Illini.  The Jayhawks are US President Barack Obama’s choice to win the 2011 NCAA Championship and they are looking mighty impressive to date.

ESPN noted that, left alone in the Southwest regional with the 10, 11 and 12 seeds, Kansas will not have to face a team seeded better than No. 9 if it reaches the Final Four.

The last time a No. 1 seed reached the Final Four with its lowest-seeded opponent along the way being a 9-seed came in 2001.

"It feels good. It feels like we've got a lot of pressure off our shoulders," said Markieff Morris, who had 24 points and 12 rebounds. "It feels good to go to San Antonio. ... Now that we got past this weekend, we got over the hump and we're ready for next weekend."

Richmond is 7-0 Against The Spread on neutral courts, 7-0 ATS in all tournament games, 7-1 ATS over the past three seasons versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game after 15+ games, and 11-3 ATS versus good offensive teams - scoring 77+ points/game.

NCAA TOURNAMENT - REGIONAL SEMIFINALS ALAMODOME - SAN ANTONIO, TX

- Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com

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