NCAA Tournament: Kansas vs. Auburn fearless prediction and game preview.
Broadcast
Date: Saturday, March 23
Game Time: Coming
Venue: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
Network: Coming
All You Really Need To Know About Auburn (27-9)
(SEC), NCAA NET Rank: 18. Midwest 5-seed
Auburn did everything humanly possible to gag away the game against New Mexico State, but all that matters is surviving and advancing in the 78-77 win. It buckled down the stretch, made a whole lot of questionable plays, and couldn’t close.
The Tigers live by the three, and they hit 38% against the Aggies – right on their season average. They’ll bomb, and keep bombing away, but they got destroyed on the boards and struggled on the free throw line. The backcourt has to be a whole lot better.
All You Really Need To Know About Kansas (26-9)
(Big 12), NCAA NET Rank: 20. Midwest 4-seed
Oh yeah, Kansas is pretty good.
It was just a win over Northeastern, but it was an NCAA Tournament game without any drama as the Jayhawks were fantastic from the field, owned the interior, and showed up defensively in a clinical 87-53 win.
They didn’t do much from three, but that’s nothing new. They’re usually okay from the outside, but they don’t shoot a whole lot of threes – they didn’t need to against the Huskies.
There are going to be plenty of mistakes and turnovers, and there are a few too many lapses and lulls. Against Northeastern, they managed to close out for an entire 40 minutes and was able to hammer down the gas pedal once they got up midway through the second half.
It was just one game, but this was Kansas looking and playing like Kansas is supposed to.
What’s Going To Happen
It’s this simple: can Kansas guard the three? Sort of, holding Northeastern to 6-of-28 from beyond the arc. On the year, though, the Jayhawk defense was solid – allowing teams to hit 34% of their chances – but the defensive pressure has to be taken to another level.
The Tigers’ outside game will be fine, but can they handle what’s coming from Kansas on the inside? After dealing with an ultra-quick New Mexico State team, now they’re about to struggle too much on the interior. The threes will keep Auburn in it, but the Jayhawks are heating up.
Fearless Prediction & Line
Kansas 83, Auburn 80
Line: Coming, o/u: Coming
ATS Confidence: Coming
5: Watching games by Vegas pool working on fruity drink No. 3
1: Watching game online while doing TPS reports in your cubicle
