Syracuse vs. Kansas

Kansas is 4-2, but the Jayhawks' losses have come to fourth-ranked Duke and No. 16 North Carolina. Their victories have come in blowout fashion against lesser competition: Green Bay (90-54), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (77-46), and Princeton (76-57). Now, Kansas is in a great position to get a strong statement victory against Syracuse in this Day 2 matchup of the Players Era Festival tournament in Las Vegas. The Jayhawks defeated Notre Dame, 71-61, covering as 5.5-point favorites on Monday. The Irish could only make 4-of-24 shots from 3-point range. Syracuse had a much rougher first-round game on Monday, losing 78-74 in overtime to third-ranked Houston. The Orangemen nearly pulled off the upset despite not having Donnie Freeman, their 6-foot-9-inch scoring leader at 17.8 points per game and second-leading rebounder. He is out for the tournament. This is an afternoon start, which gives Syracuse even less time to recover. The Orange is one of the worst free-throw shooting teams in the country at 56.1 percent. That glaring weakness killed them against Houston, as they made only 12 of 29 free throws. Take Kansas.