USC Small Favorite in Second-Round Matchup With Kansas

The sixth-seeded USC Trojans (23-7) hope to move on to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2007 when they battle the third-seeded Kansas Jayhawks (21-8) as small favorites in their West Region second-round matchup on Monday.

Led by freshman star Evan Mobley, this could be USC head coach Andy Enfield’s best team there, while the last Sweet 16 appearance by Kansas came in 2018 en route to a Final Four appearance.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

This might be another case of bettors siding with the more known school in early action, taking the Trojans down to 1-point favorites even though they have been the better team throughout the season. The Jayhawks were a No. 4 seed in the 2019 NCAA Tournament and got pummeled 89-75 in the second round by the Auburn Tigers, who were the No. 5 seed.

Otherwise, they have been a No. 1 or No. 2 seed every year dating back to 2009 until now. The defenses may be the difference here, and bettors know that, with the total down as low as 134 at some sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

USC News & Notes

Despite a competitive first half, USC had no problems with the 11th-seeded Drake Bulldogs in the first round, disposing of them 72-56 to cover easily as 7-point favorites on Saturday.

The Trojans outscored them 32-19 after halftime, with Mobley leading three starters who scored in double figures with 17 points while adding a game-high 11 rebounds.

Mobley’s presence alone will be a huge factor in the second round, as Kansas should have issues containing the seven-footer. He had 26 points and nine rebounds in each of his previous two games and will definitely be a difficult matchup.

Kansas News & Notes

The Jayhawks welcomed David McCormack back from a bout with COVID-19 on Saturday and he responded with a team-high 22 points off the bench in a 93-84 win over the 14th-seeded Eastern Washington Eagles. Kansas looked like a team ripe for an upset in the first half, trailing 46-38 before the intermission.

However, Jayhawks head coach Bill Self was able to rally his players during the break and they responded by outscoring the Eagles 55-38 in the final 20 minutes, though they did not end up covering the spread as 10.5-point favorites over the Eagles.

Ochai Agbaji (21 points) and Marcus Garrett (20) also came up big for Kansas, which has won four games in a row and nine of 10 if you do not count the forfeit in the Big 12 Tournament due to positive COVID-19 tests.