Kentucky vs Kansas State Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 19 NCAA Tournament Game (Expect Close-Fought Battle)

Kentucky vs Kansas State Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
• Kentucky (22-11) vs. No. 15 Kansas State (24-9)
• Date: Sunday, March 19, 2023
• Time: 2:40 PM ET
• Venue: Greensboro Coliseum -- Greensboro, North Carolina
• Coverage: CBS

Sunday's 2022-23 NCAA Tournament schedule features some exciting Round of 32 matchups. One of the top matches in the East Regions sees the No. 6 Kentucky Wildcats going one-on-one with the No. 3 Kansas State Wildcats.

Both sides looked strong in their tournament-opening matchups. Kentucky shut down No. 11 Providence in a 61-53 victory where Oscar Tshiebwe led all players with 25 rebounds. On the other side, Kansas State hardly broke a sweat in its 77-65 win over No. 14 Montana State, never trailing by more than two points.

Which side will end its Round of 16 drought with a victory?

Kentucky vs Kansas State Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: UK: (-130) | KAN ST: (+108)
• Spread: UK: -1.5 (-118) | KAN ST: +1.5 (-104)
• Total: 145.5 -- Over: (-110) | Under: (-110)

Kentucky enters this contest as a slim favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 2:40 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 145.5 points with each side sitting at -110 odds.

Kentucky vs Kansas State Betting Trends

• Kentucky is 17-16-0 against the spread this season.
• As 0.5-point favorites or more, the Kentucky Wildcats are 13-13 against the spread.
• There have been 20 Kentucky's games (out of 33) that hit the over this season.
• Against the spread, Kansas State is 21-12-0 this season.
• Against the spread as 0.5-point underdogs or more, the Kansas State Wildcats are 6-8.
• There have been 17 Kansas State games (out of 33) that went over the total this year.

Kentucky Rank	Kentucky AVG		Kansas State AVG	Kansas State Rank
110th	74.6	Points Scored	75.5	84th
103rd	67.6	Points Allowed	68.9	141st
9th	36.5	Rebounds	32.2	149th
2nd	11.9	Off. Rebounds	8.7	161st
289th	6.3	3pt Made	7	220th
43rd	15.2	Assists	16.9	8th
71st	10.8	Turnovers	13.7	322nd

Kentucky vs Kansas State Prediction & Pick

With their team being anything special on the perimeter, I see this matchup coming down to who wins the paint battles. Keeping that in mind, I've got to side with Kentucky. While Kansas State averages 35.5 rebounds per game (T-No. 109), Kentucky ranks No. 10 with 39.2 RPG. With a beast like Tshiebwe, it's hard not to like what Kentucky does on the glass.

Kansas State tends to falter when the odds aren't in its favor, losing seven of its last nine games as the underdog. It's a small sample size, but Kentucky at least has a 61.5% winning percentage in its previous 13 outings as the favorite.

In what should be a hard-fought matchup between two hungry teams, expect Kentucky to win and make its first Sweet 16 appearance since 2019.

Final Score Prediction: Kentucky: 77 | Kansas State: 73

Kentucky vs Kansas State Best Bet

There shouldn't be any offensive shortages in this matchup. For starters, the OVER is 9-4 in Kentucky's last 13 games, as well as 14-4 in its last 18 times as the favorite. The OVER has also been hit in six of Kansas State's last seven games played in March while also being 10-7 in neutral site/away games this season.

With the odds being as close as they are on the spread and moneyline, I see Kentucky and Kansas State trading baskets all game, hitting the OVER in the process.

Bet: Over 145.5 Points (-110)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. 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.