David McCormack and Kansas Basketball faces Evan Mobley and USC Trojans

Third-seeded Kansas Basketball will have to “dig in” if they have any intentions of advancing past the sixth-seeded USC Trojans and onto the Sweet 16 for the ninth time in the last 10 trips to the NCAA Tournament. KU and USC get the late game as they are not slated to tipoff until 9:45 p.m. (ET) at Hinkle Fieldhouse, with CBS televising the event.

Kansas (21-8) scored 55 points in the second half to overcome an eight-point halftime deficit to defeat Eastern Washington. The Jayhawks also turned the ball over a season-low five times and drained 12 3-pointers. David McCormack, who was among three Jayhawks to score 20 points, led the way with 22 points along with nine rebounds (five offensive).

Meanwhile, USC is in the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 20017. USC defeated Drake as the Trojans pulled away in the second half, holding the Bulldogs to just 19 points on just seven field goals after halftime. The Trojans shot 50% from the field and received a combined 32 points and 16 rebounds from Evan and Isiah Mobley.

I expect this game will be a “brawl” as both teams are defensive-oriented and long on the interior. Kansas (21-8), which has won four straight and nine of the last 10 games, enters the game against USC (23-7) as a 1.0-to-1.5 point underdog. The Jayhawks are expected to have Jalen Wilson (Covid) back after he missed their 93-84 victory over Eastern Washington.

Kansas has won the last seven meetings against USC and leads the all-time series 11-5. However, the programs have not met since Dec. 2011.