What Seed Is Kansas In The NCAA Tournament?

For the first time in a half-decade, the Kansas Jayhawks will be a fourth seed in the Big Dance, with Bill Self’s team skidding their way into March Madness having lost four of five and in need of a quick turnaround against 13th seed Samford in the first round. The Jayhawks got rocked in their lone Big 12 Tournament game last week across Kansas sports betting, with Cincinnati upsetting KU, 72-52, to send Self’s bunch to a 10th loss for the year, leading up to Sunday’s selection as the fourth seed in the Midwest region in Salt Lake City. Then came the news of star guard Kevin McCullar Jr.'s injury, which will keep him out of the tournament entirely.

The Bulldogs of Samford reached the tournament for the first time in 24 years by beating Mercer (70-57), Furman (84-77) and East Tennessee State (76-69) in successive days to capture the Southern Conference crown.

Now, the Jayhawks enter their first round showdown with the underdogs from Samford as a 7.5-point favorite on BetMGM Kansas, with a -300 moneyline for KU, to +250 for the 13th seeded Bulldogs.

All year long, BetKansas.com has updated the Jayhawks’ 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament seeding odds, with this week’s update reflecting KU’s one game Big 12 Tournament experience and setting the stage for this week’s opening round of the Big Dance.

Look for all KU odds here.

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Can KU Right The Ship In Salt Lake City?

The phrase March Madness is more of a pejorative than a positive this year in Lawrence, with KU skidding their way to a 1-3 record during the third month of the year this season, with losses to No. 15 Baylor (82-74), No. 1 Houston (76-46) and the unranked Bearcats (72-52) offset by a lone win over unranked Kansas State, who KU beat, 90-68, on March 5.

Now, Self and company need to find a way to flip the switch come Thursday, when KU and Samford will meet at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, with the winner playing either fifth seeded Gonzaga or 12th seed McNeese in the second round.

Kansas has been a fourth seed five times since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, losing in the first round once (to Bradley in 2006) and the second round once (to Auburn in 2019), while the Jayhawks reached the Sweet 16 before losing twice (to Purdue in 1994 and Illinois in 2001) and the Elite Eight once (losing to Georgia Tech in 2004).

This year, KU will look to go a few steps farther and bring home the program’s fifth national title in 2024, beginning with their opening round showdown against the Bulldogs of Samford in SLC on Thursday.

Check on the best Kansas betting apps here before the Madness begins Thursday.

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Author

Christopher Boan

@cgboan

Christopher Boan is a lead writer at BetKansas.com specializing in covering state issues. He covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years.