The No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks take on the No. 13 Samford Bulldogs in the Round of 64 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The game will take place at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah on Thursday, March 21.
Update — Kansas top guard Kevin McCullar Jr. will not play in the team’s first round matchup vs. Samford on Thursday. He’s been ruled out for the remainder of the NCAA Tournament as well. That should move the betting line significantly. Hunter Dickinson is going to play, however. But this is big news with the Jayhawks going up against a good Samford squad without their best scorer.
Kansas
NET: 20
KenPom Overall: 22
KenPom O: 65
KenPom D: 10
Record: 22-10
Strength of Schedule: 3
Conference: Big 12
Conference Record: 10-8
Quad 1 Record: 7-9
The Kansas Jayhawks finished their regular season run not with a bang but a whimper, losing three of their final four games and going out in a 30-point loss to Houston. They rank 18th at KenPom and were able to put together a solid defensive performance this season, letting up just 40.7% of attempts from the field.
Kansas returns to the NCAA Tournament for the 33rd consecutive year. They won it all just two years ago, but fell short in the Round of 32 last year and saw an early exit. Guard Kevin McCullar Jr. and big man Hunter Dickinson are the duo to watch on this squad, each averaging 18 points per game.
Samford
NET: 74
KenPom Overall: 82
KenPom O: 69
KenPom D: 117
Record: 29-5
Strength of Schedule: 247
Conference: SoCon
Conference Record: 15-3
Quad 1 Record: 0-2
The Samford Bulldogs are going dancing for the first time since 2000. The Bulldogs earned the No. 1 seed in the Southern Conference and rode it all the way to a tournament title, grabbing wins over Mercer, Furman, and ETSU. Samford ranks 68th in adjusted offensive efficiency at KenPom, averaging 84.3 points per game this season (6th in the nation).
They shot 48.9% from the field (9th in the nation) and 39.3% from the perimeter (8th in the nation). Forward Achor Achor led the Bulldogs with 15.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
2024 March Madness: Kansas vs. Samford odds
Odds from DraftKings Sportsbook
Spread: Kansas -7
Over/Under: 149.5
Moneyline: Kansas -298, Samford +240
Note: Odds are updated as of Tuesday at 7:38 p.m. ET after McCullar news.