Posted on 3/19/2008 5:34:40 PM

NCAA College Basketball Betting Odds Portland State vs. Kansas

By Charles Jay

BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds: Kansas -22.5, Total 145.5

The Portland State Vikings (23-9 SU, 16-12-1 ATS - and I bet you didn't even about the vikings in Oregon), the Big Sky champion, gets its NCAA baptism by fire, to be sure, on Thursday afternoon, when they tackle the Kansas Jayhawks (31-3 SU, 16-14-2 ATS) in the first round of the NCAA tournament's Midwest Regional, which is set to tip off at 12:25 PM ET at the Qwest Center in Omaha.

At BetUS Sportsbook, Kansas is listed as a 22.5-point favorite, with a total of 145.5 points.

Here are some of the NCAA college basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* PSU has covered eight of its last 12 games
* PSU has won 14 of its last 15 games SU
* PSU has played seven of its last nine games OVER the total
* KAN has covered four of its last six games
* KAN has covered four of its last 14 games
* KAN has won its last seven games SU
* KAN has played five of its last seven games OVER the total

Kansas is third in the nation in shooting, as the Jayhawks have hit 50.6% of their shots. And Portland State allowed 44% shooting by opponents, mostly in Big Sky play. We appreciate that Jeremiah Dominguez had a heck of a season for the Vikes (44% from three-point range!) and Scott Morrison, who hit 58% from the field, was also the conference defensive player of the year. and there is a coach at PSU named Ken Bone who made quite a name for himself in national tournament play at the Division II level at Seattle Pacific.

But Kansas comes at its opponents in droves, with depth and speed. It's going to be hard to contend with the kind of athleticism that has seen this team ring up almost 82 points a game and register 14 wins by this impost. Kansas won't be stale, as it has warmed up for this with wins over four capable Big 12 teams, and as the Jayhawks demonstrated against Texas in the conference title game, they are there to play all 40 minutes.

Besides the fact that they are challenged in the area of depth, the problems for Portland State also include Kansas' defensive presence, which is quick enough to get outside and disrupt Dominguez and his three-point shooting partner, Kyle Coston (41%).

If the Jayhawks didn't have such a killer instinct, we would have some trepidation on this one. But they can coast and extend a lead with their reserves, three-point shooters and transition game.

Before the friendly Omaha crowd, we'll lay the points with Kansas, the 22.5-point favorite in the BetUS NCAA college basketball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: KANSAS

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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com gives it the old college try as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)