March Madness starts back up tonight with a four-game Sweet 16 slate that includes an exciting matchup between two of the three remaining Wildcats in the tournament: No. 5 Kentucky and No. 9 Kansas State. After a wild first week in the South region, Kentucky managed to survive the Boise pod with wins over No. 12 Davidson and No. 13 Buffalo and is now the highest seed still alive in that portion of the bracket. It’s the first time in history that the four highest seeds in a region have ever been eliminated prior to the Sweet 16, giving UK a clear path to San Antonio for the Final Four.
These Wildcats will first have to get past their counterparts from Kansas State, who knocked off No. 8 Creighton in the Round of 64 and then outlasted an upset-minded No. 16 UMBC squad—the Retrievers made history by knocking out top-seeded Virginia in the first round, making K-State’s journey to the regional much easier than anyone could have ever expected—in a low-scoring second round battle. The Manhattan-based Wildcats will now face not only their toughest test of the Big Dance, but arguably their strongest non-conference foe of the entire 2017-18 season.
Alex Kirshner joked that this showdown sounds like a bad football bowl game:
Kansas State-Kentucky sounds like a terrible Liberty Bowl
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) March 19, 2018
Oddsmakers don’t like Kansas State’s chances here, opening it as a 5.5-point underdog against the Wildcats from Lexington. It’s not a shocking line after Kentucky dismantled the Bulls, 95-75, in the Round of 32 and has been firing on all cylinders at the right time. K-State struggled to reach 50 points against a No. 16 seed in a game played at an average pace, which isn’t a good omen for its chances of pulling an upset in Atlanta this evening.
Kentucky Basketball tweeted out a quip from head coach John Calipari regarding his team’s Final Four odds:
Cal on the odds going up for UK to make the Final Four. “We have zero percent chance if we don’t beat Kansas State.”
— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) March 19, 2018
Jon Price of SportsInformationTraders.com has been projecting winners throughout March Madness and has a lean on this game that you won’t want to miss. Before diving into an in-depth preview and the pro handicapper’s prediction for Kansas State vs. Kentucky, check out the full schedule, start times, TV and live stream viewing info so you can watch online, updated odds and quick picks for every Sweet 16 game in the 2018 NCAA Tournament:
2018 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 Schedule, Viewing Guide And Odds
| Time (ET) | Matchup (TV) | Odds | Pick |
| Sweet 16 | |||
| Thursday, March 22 | |||
| 7:07 p.m. | No. 7 Nevada vs. No. 11 Loyola-Chicago (CBS) | NEV -1.5 | LCHI |
| 7:37 p.m. | No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 7 Texas A&M (TBS) | UM -2.5 | UM |
| 9:37 p.m. | No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 9 Kansas State (CBS) | UK -5.5 | UK |
| 10:07 p.m. | No. 4 Gonzaga vs. No. 9 Florida State (TBS) | GONZ -6 | GONZ |
| Friday, March 23 | |||
| 7:07 p.m. | No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 5 Clemson (CBS) | KU -4.5 | KU |
| 7:37 p.m. | No. 1 Villanova vs. No. 5 West Virginia (TBS) | NOVA -5.5 | NOVA |
| 9:37 p.m. | No. 2 Duke vs. No. 11 Syracuse (CBS) | DUKE -11.5 | DUKE |
| 9:57 p.m. | No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 3 Texas Tech (TBS) | PUR -2 | TTU |
NCAA Tournament Odds Via BetDSI Sportsbook
All games streaming via March Madness Live
South Regional Preview: No. 5 Kentucky (26-10) Vs. No. 9 Kansas State (24-11)
When: Thursday, March 22 at 9:37 p.m. ET
Watch: CBS
Live Stream: March Madness Live
Point Spread: Kentucky -5.5
Preview: This is a matchup between two schools that have been on vastly different paths over the past decade. Kentucky will be appearing in its seventh Sweet 16 game since head coach John Calipari took over the program nine years ago. Only once did the Wildcats get stopped there, advancing to the Elite Eight or beyond in six of those seasons, including a national championship run in 2011.
Kansas State hasn’t been bad during this same stretch by any means, but these Wildcats just reached their first regional since 2010. That was also the last year they went to the Elite Eight. They haven’t been to the Final Four since 1964 and you’d have to go all the way back to 1951 to find the only time they went to a national title game, a contest they lost to Adolph Rupp’s Kentucky team.
UK once again seems poised for yet another deep foray through the bracket, with everything breaking its way in the Big Dance so far. It was a trying season at times for Calipari’s roster that is chock-full of blue-chip freshmen—it lost four in a row and six of nine games at one point in conference play—but the lineup is finally coming together and gelling. The Wildcats turned the corner when they blitzed through the SEC Tournament, winning all three games on their way to the championship by an average margin of nearly 14 points. They also managed to get revenge against Tennessee—an opponent that beat them twice during the regular campaign—in the finale. It appeared they would possibly be meeting the Volunteers for a fourth time this season, but Loyola-Chicago shocked the world and upset them in the Round of 32.
The Dawg Pack wasn’t happy about how easy Kentucky has it in the NCAA Tournament this year:
so kentucky’s path to the final four is Davidson, Buffalo, Kansas State, and Nevada or Loyola Chicago.
unreal.
— The Dawg Pack (@UWDawgPack) March 19, 2018
The Ramblers’ victory was yet another fortunate event during a ridiculous string of good luck that Kentucky has been the beneficiary of during March Madness. It now has a vastly easier path to the San Antonio than anyone would have ever expected. On Selection Sunday, it seemed like Kentucky would have one of the harder journies to the Final Four by starting on the No. 5 line in the South region. That meant potential showdowns with No. 4 Arizona in the second round, No. 1 Virginia in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 Cincinnati or No. 3 Tennessee in the Elite Eight, but the school won’t face an opponent seeded higher than a No. 7 prior to the final weekend. If the Wildcats get through the upcoming regional and secure a spot in the Final Four, the highest-seeded foe it could match up with prior to the national championship game is No. 3 Michigan.
This is great for Kentucky, but bad news for their opponents. The Wildcats are not a team anyone wants to meet at this juncture, averaging nearly 80 points and shooting over 52% from the field and 43% from beyond the arc over their last five contests, unsurprisingly all victories. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is the driving force behind this offensive explosion, as the freshman phenom is averaging 21.8 points, 6.6 assists, 5.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals in this span. The Kentucky defense, which was consistently solid in 2017-18 and ranks No. 23 in the country according to KenPom.com’s efficiency-adjusted metrics, has only given up 66.4 points per game during this same span.
Barstool’s Big Cat joked about the quality of hoops during the Kansas Stat-UMBC clash in the second round:
This UMBC/Kansas State game is the greatest pick up game ever played
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) March 19, 2018
Kansas State will need to improve its offensive production to have any shot at keeping pace with Kentucky tonight. That hasn’t been an area of strength for these Wildcats this year, who rank No. 76 in the KenPom rankings—56 spots lower than UK. They’ve only put up 59.5 points per game during the Big Dance and haven’t put more than 70 up on the scoreboard since the regular-season finale against Baylor. The absence of Dean Wade, who scores a team-high 16.5 points per game but missed the last three contests with a stress fracture in his foot, has been made life tough for K-State.
According to ESPN.com, head coach Bruce Weber says he’s hoping to just have his star junior forward back on the court for this upcoming March Madness game, regardless of whether or not he has to be kept on a minutes restriction:
You know, he’s not going to be a 30-minute guy, but we can get like the NBA, the minute guy — a couple minutes here, a couple minutes there. He does a lot of good things for us. It would be a nice boost. I know the guys were excited to have him back and cheering him on today.
Even with a defense that has allowed a mere 51 points on 32% field goal shooting on average during the tournament, there is little chance that Kansas State can keep their improbable run going without a massive uptick on the offensive end. Wade’s presence, even if limited, will surely help, but they’ll need the rest of the lineup to step up. Only two other players—Barry Brown and Xavier Sneed—averaged double-digits this year.
Jon Price believes Kentucky, with its superior athletes and length, should have no problems locking down their opponent on defense and outscoring them on the other end of the court. The Wildcats from the Bluegrass State are clearly the better side in this Sweet 16 matchup and are clicking at the right time. We’ve seen talented teams that haven’t had the most consistent seasons finally build a glowing rapport during the NCAA Tournament and go on a Final Four run plenty of times before. That will be the case with Coach Cal’s squad in 2018, so lay the points here and watch as Kentucky blows K-State off the floor in Atlanta.
Pick: Kentucky -5.5
March Madness Bracket (Updated For Sweet 16)
You can get the latest printable bracket by clicking here.
