Midwest Region: Portland State (16) vs. Kansas (1)

The Portland State Vikings, winners of the Big Sky tournament and the No. 16 seed in the Midwest, face a daunting challenge in No. 1 Kansas. While the Jayhawks have been first-round upset losers before, this seems to be a more complete Kansas squad as it starts gunning for the Final Four Thursday at Qwest Center.

NewBodog oddsmakers currently have the Jayhawks listed as 23-point favorites versus the Vikings, while the game's total is sitting at 146.

The Jayhawks defeated Texas 84-74 as a 6.5-point favorite in the Big 12 Tournament final on Sunday. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (140).

Mario Chalmers scored a game-high 30 points for Kansas, while Brandon Rush added 19 points in the win.

Team records:
Portland State: 23-9 SU, 16-12-1 ATS
Kansas: 31-3 SU, 16-14-2 ATS

Portland State most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
After playing Northern Arizona are 5-5
After a win are 9-1

Kansas most recently:
When playing on Thursday are 9-1
After playing Texas are 9-1
After a win are 8-2

A few trends to consider:
Portland State is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Portland State's last 5 games
Portland State is 8-4 ATS in its last 12 games
Kansas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Kansas's last 7 games
Kansas is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Kansas is 4-9-1 ATS in its last 14 games

Stevie Vincent is the groundbreaking sports betting expert who conceived forensic handicapping. He has two of his highest rated Level 5 plays going Thursday at OffshoreInsiders.com. Get 5 NCAA Tournament winners for Thursday in all from Stevie Vincent Cli