Arkansas vs Kansas Odds, Player Props & Picks for First Round (March 20)

• The #10 Arkansas Razorbacks take on the #7 Kansas Jayhawks in the First Round of March Madness
• The Under is a combined 39-27 in games involving the Razorbacks & Jayhawks this season
• Below, see the Arkansas vs Kansas odds, player props & picks for Thursday night’s matchup

It’s a little unexpected to see it happen so early in the tournament, but two college basketball coaching legends will go head-to-head in the first round of this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. A birth in the second round is at stake when John Calipari’s #10 Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13, 14-18-1 ATS) take on Bill Self’s #7 Kansas Jayhawks (21-12, 15-18-0 ATS).

After opening the season ranked #1 in the nation, a seven-seed can’t be what the Jayhawks were expecting to see on Selection Sunday, but they still go into Thursday as five-point favorites against the Razorbacks. Tip-off is set for 7:10 pm ET at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, RI.

Arkansas vs Kansas Odds

With moneyline odds at -220, the Jayhawks are favorites to advance past Arkansas. The winner of this First Round matchup in the West Region will face the winner of #2 St. John’s Red Storm and #15 Omaha Mavericks.

The point total for Razorbacks/Jayhawks tonight is 145.5. Arkansas hit 146 points or more in 17 of 33 games this season, while Kansas was able to do so in 16 of 33 games.

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Arkansas vs Kansas Team Stats

Can the Razorbacks Cope With All the Injuries?

Things have not come easy this season for the Arkansas Razorbacks. After putting up a 11-2 non-conference record to start the season, the Hogs opened up SEC play by going 0-5. And that’s when things supposedly got worse.

Their leading scorer? He’s out. Their second-leading scorer? Yeah, he’s out, too. That’s right, nearly 31 PPG came off the board following injuries to point guard Boogie Fland (15.1 PPG, 5.7 APG) on January 18th, then forward Adou Thiero (15.6 PPG, 6.0 RPG) on February 22nd.

And yet, the Razorbacks persevered. They’ve gone 4-2 since Thiero went down and 9-6 since Fland’s injury, which all came on the heels of that five-game skid. Arkansas is resilient, if anything

So what are the Arkansas Razorbacks to do? Keep playing defense!

Per KenPom, the Razorbacks are 18th in the nation in defensive efficiency, 7th in blocks, and are just outside the Top 80 in steals. All very positive metrics, when you consider that they did this in the toughest conference in the country, and without their top two players.

That said, Fland is apparently ready to return for the tournament, though coach John Calipari says if anything he’ll be coming off the bench. But with the Razorbacks rolling until this point, it remains to be seen whether his return will be a blessing or a disruption.

Can the Preseason No. 1 Jayhawks Escape the First Round?

The start of the college basketball season feels like a million years ago. Remember when the Kansas Jayhawks were the top-ranked team in the country and were beating the likes of UNC, Duke, and Michigan State? If you can’t I don’t blame you. Pepperidge Farms doesn’t even remember.

It’s no small feat to go from Preseason No. 1 to completely out of the Top 25 rankings, or to become the first Bill Self-coached Kansas team to not be seeded fourth or higher in the tournament. It’s an understatement to say expectations were not met in Allen Fieldhouse this season.

So what’s the good news? First off, they’re no 2022-23 Tar Heels; they may have fallen from #1 to out of the rankings, but they still made the tournament! And there’s a big reason for it.

The Jayhawks still put up twenty wins this season, which is no small feat when they’ve played through the 12th most difficult schedule. The reason behind it all? For as good as Arkansas is defensively, the Jayhawks are better. In fact, they’re one of the most defensively efficient teams in the nation this season.

Kansas is strong on the boards, force a reasonable amount of turnovers, and don’t foul a lot. Win or lose, that should prove to be particularly frustrating for any opponent they face.

Arkansas vs Kansas Player Props

Looking for value, my eyes immediately went to the -120 that Jayhawks star center Hunter Dickinson was getting to put 20+ points on the board. However, against other high-efficiency defenses this season, Dickinson didn’t fair as well. He put up 17 twice against Houston, 14 and 6 against Iowa State, 10 against West Virginia, and 14 against Cincinnati. He’ll get his buckets; just maybe not twenty of them.

Instead, I’m looking across the court at Arkansas’ Trevon Brazile. Though he shot 41.2% from beyond the arc this season, Brazile has gone 11 for 20 (55%) in his last four games and 13 for 26 (50%) in his last six. He’s getting more looks ever since Adou Thiero was injured in February and I don’t see Coach Cal telling Brazile to stop shooting on Thursday.

Arkansas vs Kansas Prediction

So do you want to back the twelfth-best team in the #1 conference or the sixth-best team in the #3 conference? That might be the play here in determining a winner, given that both squads are defensive heavies with average shooters.

Both teams had middling Quad 1 records, so look to the Quad 2 games: Kansas went 7-1, losing only to the should-be-in-the-tourney West Virginia Mountaineers, whereas Arkansas went 4-3, with losses @ LSU (NET Rank: 89), @ South Carolina (87), and vs Oklahoma (43).

As entertaining as a potential Calipari vs Rick Pitino Second Round showdown would be, I don’t see it happening. I’m taking the Jayhawks at -220 to win outright.

I’m also taking the Under in this one. Yes, both Arkansas and Kansas average around 76 PPG, but their defenses are far more efficient (18th and 11th at KenPom) than their respective offenses (73rd and 48th). To be honest, I’d be a little surprised if both teams lets each other break seventy points

Arkansas vs Kansas Picks:

• Kansas ML (-220)
• Under 145.5 (-110)
• Trevon Brazile Over 1.5 Three-Pointers (+120)