Kansas vs Arkansas Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 18 NCAA Tournament Game (Trust the Jayhawks to Start Hot)

Kansas vs Arkansas Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
• No. 4 Kansas (28-7) vs. Arkansas (21-13)
• Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
• Time: 5:15 PM ET
• Venue: Wells Fargo Arena -- Des Moines, Iowa
• Coverage: CBS

The 2023 NCAA Tournament continues on Saturday with a great Round of 32 matchup between the No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks and No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks. Arkansas will be aiming to earn its third straight Sweet 16 appearance, while Kansas will be looking to get past Round 2 for the 32nd time.

Arkansas cruised past Illinois by a final score of 73-63 in the first round as Ricky Council IV posted a double-double (18 points & 10 rebounds). Meanwhile, Kansas took care of business in a 96-68 win against Howard as the Jayhawks shot 52.1% overall and saw all five starters score at least 10 points.

Kansas vs Arkansas Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: KANSAS: (-164) | ARK: (+136)
• Spread: KANSAS: -3.5 (-110) | ARK: +3.5 (-110)
• Total: 143.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Kansas enters this contest as a small favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 5:15 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 143.5 points, which is above average compared to Saturday's projected totals.

Kansas vs Arkansas Betting Trends

• Kansas is 17-18-0 against the spread this year.
• The Jayhawks have an ATS record of 10-12 as 3.5-point favorites or greater.
• Out of 35 Kansas' games so far this season, 16 have gone over the total.
• Against the spread, Arkansas is 17-17-0 this season.
• Against the spread as 3.5-point underdogs or more, the Razorbacks are 3-2.
• This season, 14 of Arkansas' 34 games have gone over the point total.

Kansas Rank	Kansas AVG		Arkansas AVG	Arkansas Rank
85th	75.5	Points Scored	74.4	117th
114th	67.9	Points Allowed	67.3	96th
87th	33.3	Rebounds	32.6	120th
178th	8.6	Off. Rebounds	8.7	162nd
221st	7	3pt Made	5	350th
12th	16.6	Assists	13.1	171st
211th	12.1	Turnovers	12.5	245th

Kansas vs Arkansas Prediction & Pick

Thursday seemed like just another game for both Arkansas and Kansas. Each team led for the entire second half and leaned on its veteran scorers to build an insurmountable lead. It is worth noting that the Razorbacks earned only its third win of the year (3-9) when shooting under 45% overall, though.

Those shooting woes cannot continue if they want to take down the top-seeded Jayhawks. Kansas is a team that knows how to score as it averages 75.5 points per game (No. 63 in NCAA) on a shooting mark of 46.7% (No. 38 in NCAA). It is 28-2 on the year when it scores at least 62 points in a contest.

Arkansas defends the three-point line with dominance (No. 22 in opponent three-point shooting percentage), but it commits a ridiculous 19.1 personal fouls per game (No. 319 in NCAA). Kansas is going to see a lot of opportunities from the free throw line if it drives to the rim over and over again.

Final Score Prediction: Kansas: 76 | Arkansas: 70

Kansas vs Arkansas Best Bet

Kansas came of the gate firing the first half on Thursday and entered halftime with a 13-point lead. It wasn't a shocking outcome due to the fact that the Jayhawks rank 30th in first half points per game (36.9) and 37th in first half average scoring margin (+4.4) this season. They have been dominating.

Kansas has been down at the half in only two of its last eight games and now faces an Arkansas team that ranks 115th in first half points per game (34.4). Look for leaders like Jalen Wilson and Dajuan Harris Jr. to stress to younger players like Gradey Dick that getting out to an early lead is essential.

Bet: Kansas Jayhawks First Half -1.5 (-105)

Larry Rupp is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Larry Rupp also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username phillyfan424. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel. 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.