2015 Free NCAA Tournament Picks – Wichita St vs Kansas Odds & Predictions in Midwest Region 3rd Rd

2015 Free NCAA Tournament Picks – Wichita St vs Kansas Odds & Predictions in Midwest Region 3rd Rd: One of the most exciting 3rd round matchups in recent NCAA Tournament memory will take place on Sunday afternoon when #7 seeded Wichita State faces off against #2 seeded Kansas in a showdown that will have the entire state of Kansas glued to their television sets. The game is scheduled to tip off Sunday afternoon at 5:15PM EST from the Centurylink Arena in Omaha, Nebraska and the odds makers at Bovada Sportsbook have installed the Kansas Jayhawks as a small -1.5 point favorite on the point spread with a the game total set at over or under 134 points.

Wichita State finally gets the game that their fans, alumni and coaching staff has been wanting for years when that take on the Jayhawks Sunday. Kansas has always avoided Wichita State’s attempts to schedule a regular season game as Kansas head coach Bill Self has publically stated that he wouldn’t schedule a game against the Shockers because they would have nothing to gain from playing the smaller school from in-state lines. However, thanks to the NCAA Tournament selection committee and two 2nd round wins by both Kansas and Wichita State, we finally got the chance to see these two schools hook up on a neutral court in what should be an absolute fantastic matchup that goes down to the wire.

Kansas enters this matchup as the #2 seed in the 2015 NCAA Tournament’s Midwest Region and are 27-8 overall on the season out of the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks reached the 3rd round by easily disposing of an overmatched #15 seeded New Mexico State team in the 2nd round on Friday by a score of 75-56 to cover the -9.5 point spread. The Jayhawks were led in scoring in that matchup by sophomore guard Frank Mason III as he pumped in 17 points on 6-7 shooting to go along with 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.

Wichita State will enter this game as the #7 seed in the Midwest Region and have an impressive overall record of 29-4 out of the Missouri Valley Conference. The Shockers hung on to beat #10 seeded Indiana in their 2nd round matchup on Friday by a score of 81-76 to narrowly miss covering the -6 point spread. The Shockers received a huge game from junior guard Fred VanVleet as the 6-0 195 pound native of Rockford, Illinois pumped in 27 points on 9-18 shooting and also had 4 assists and 2 steals.

Kansas and Wichita State will be matching up on the court for the first time in 22 years in what many people in Kansas are calling the biggest game in state history. Yes, folks, this is a big time deal in the state of Kansas. On paper this game looks extremely close and we feel it will just as close on the court Sunday afternoon. Both teams and head coaches will want this game really bad and the only people who will want it more than them are the fans of both schools. This game should be an all out war filled with intensity and great back and forth action.

Kansas enters this game averaging 71.3 points per game as a team offensively and allowing 64.4 points per game on defense. Wichita State comes in averaging 70.1 points per game offensively and allowing 56.4 points per game defensively. However, one must consider the fact that Kansas clearly played the tougher conference schedule in the Big 12 as opposed to Wichita State’s Missouri Valley Conference competition so that will explain the bigger margin between the two school’s offensive and defensive stats.

Our expert handicapper Sonny LaFouchi(aka The Legend) has made his NCAA Tournament picks on this game and feels that this game is simply too close to call. Not much separates these two teams and thus the point spread is pretty much spot on. However, one edge that he does see is the fact that this game is clearly a bigger game for Wichita State’s player and fans than it is for Kansas’ players and fans. That’s not saying that Kansas doesn’t want to win this game bad but there is no denying that Wichita State will have just a little bit more motivation and hunger to win this one and put their school even more on the national map. Take Wichita State plus the 1.5 points on the spread.

Free 2015 NCAA Tournament Picks: Take Wichita State +1.5 over Kansas.