ZBlogS

Matchup: No. 4 Kansas vs. No. 13 Samford (Midwest Regional)

Details: Thursday at 9:55 p.m. ET (TBS), Salt Lake City

One-Sentence Synopsis: Kansas had better hope its backups are ready for this frantic battle with Bucky Ball.

Kansas Wins If: Hunter Dickinson can play and carry the team. Playing at less than full strength, Kansas lost by 20 to Cincinnati, by 29 to Texas Tech and by 30 to Houston, all within its last eight games. But this team was never built to play short-handed. Even at full strength, the Jayhawks have very little depth, and those games just got out of hand in a hurry. We already know Kevin McCullar Jr. won't be playing, but it sounds like Dickinson will try to give it a go. Hopefully for Kansas, his shoulder is good enough to carry a heavy load.

Samford Wins If: Threes are falling and steals are flowing. The Bulldogs average 10 made three-pointers and 10 steals per game, both of which are already areas of concern for a Kansas team that doesn't do a great job of defending the perimeter and that occasionally has significant issues in the turnover department. If Samford can push the pace and push a minimal-depth Kansas squad around a little bit in a physical game, watch out.

If I Had to Bet on Something: Samford +7. Maybe the Bulldogs fall short of the upset, but they're going to make things interesting. Kansas already had issues playing away from home before it also had health issues, and it's hard to see the Jayhawks running away with this one, given the stylistic concerns in this matchup.

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