The Kansas Jayhawks are 7-0 straight up and 6-1 against the spread in their last seven games as a favorite of seven points or fewer. The Jayhawks will be in one of these situations on Thursday when they take on the Maryland Terrapins.
Kansas vs. Maryland 2016 odds: Favored Jayhawks on 16-game win streak entering Sweet 16
Kansas can continue its push towards an NCAA Tournament title with a win as the betting favorite against Maryland in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.
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Kansas is a 6.5-point betting favorite in the Sweet 16 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Maryland is 0-7 SU in its last seven games as an underdog with a 2-3-2 ATS record in those games.
The Jayhawks entered March Madness as the betting favorite to win the tournament, and they have done nothing to make their backers uneasy thus far with a 105-79 win over Austin Peay and a 73-61 win over Connecticut.
Those wins brought Kansas’ current stretch of dominance to 16-0 SU and 13-3 ATS. Kansas has elite talent, big game experience and is peaking at the right time. That’s a recipe for success in the NCAA Tournament.
In nine Sweet 16 appearances since 2002, the Jayhawks are 7-2 SU and 3-5-1 ATS per the OddsShark College Basketball Database.
Maryland looked like one of the best teams in college basketball en route to a 22-3 SU and 12-11-1 ATS record through 25 games. But the Terrapins lost momentum down the stretch with a 3-5 SU and 3-4-1 ATS run over their last eight games before the tournament.
Maryland has made the most of its No. 5 seed to this point with wins over No. 12 South Dakota State and No. 13 Hawaii, but will face an opponent of a much higher caliber on Thursday against the Jayhawks.
Thursday’s total is set at 143.5 points at the sportsbooks. The UNDER is 3-1 in Maryland’s last four Sweet 16 appearances and 8-2 in Kansas’ last 10 Sweet 16 appearances.
Outside of a 2-3 SU and 0-5 ATS slump back in January, the Jayhawks have looked simply dominant all season long with a 32-4 SU and 23-11 ATS record overall. If anything, that slump probably helped the team refocus and get on track for its current 16-game winning streak.
Maryland doesn’t look like a legitimate threat to upset the Jayhawks, but in March Madness nothing can be taken for granted.
