California Baptist Lancers vs Kansas Jayhawks Prediction, 3/20/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: California Baptist Lancers vs Kansas Jayhawks

Date: Friday, March 20, 2026

Location: Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas (-14)

The Kansas Jayhawks (23-10) are hosting the California Baptist Lancers (25-8) at Viejas Arena on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Kansas is 14-point favorites from oddsmakers. The total has been set at 138.

The California Baptist Lancers took the court against Utah Valley and walked away with a win by a score of 63-61 in their last contest. California Baptist wrapped up the game having earned a 37.9% field goal percentage (22 out of 58) and knocked down 9 out of their 26 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Lancers converted 10 of 11 shots for a percentage of 90.9%. In the matter of rebounding, they earned 29 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 9 dimes in this matchup as well as forcing 13 turnovers and earning 7 steals. Regarding defending, California Baptist allowed the other team to shoot 44.0% from the field on 22 out of 50 shooting. Utah Valley recorded 11 dimes and had 6 steals in this game. Additionally, Utah Valley pulled down 28 boards (8 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Utah Valley finished the game at 58.3% from the free throw line by converting 14 of their 24 attempts. They also made 3 of their 8 attempts from downtown. In reference to personal fouls, the Lancers ended up walking away with 20 while Utah Valley recorded 11 personal fouls.

Dominique Daniels Jr. is someone who was a major factor in this game. He walked away with 23 points on 7 out of 25 shooting. He played for 40 mins and also snagged 1 rebound. He ended up shooting 28.0% from the floor and totaled 3 dimes.

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California Baptist will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 25-8 this season. They are turning it over 12.4 times per contest and as a team are committing 18.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, California Baptist is snagging 39.9 boards per contest and has 341 dimes so far this season, which has them ranked 354th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Lancers are hitting 33.7% on 3-pointers (212 of 629) and 71.9% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 73.0 pts per contest (257th in college hoops) while hitting 43.2% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Lancers are able to force 11.7 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.0 fouls. They are 22nd in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 358 relinquished on the season. The Lancers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.7% (778 of 1,866) and they surrender 32.6 rebounds per contest as a group. They are giving up 29.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 37th in college hoops in PPG allowed (67.6).

When they last stepped on the court, the Kansas Jayhawks walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 69-47 against Houston. The Jayhawks earned 20 defensive boards and 13 offensive boards for a total of 33 in the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while recording 3 steals in the matchup. Houston committed 15 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Jayhawks to the free throw line for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to make 12 of those for a percentage of 66.7%. In the matter of shooting from 3-point land, Kansas made 7 of their 23 tries (30.4%). When the game finished, the Jayhawks shot 14 for 57 from the field which had them sitting at 24.6%. The Jayhawks allowed Houston to knock down 22 of their 53 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 41.5% for the game. They finished 55.6% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 10 out of 18 and ended up going 15 of 19 from the free throw line (78.9%). When talking about how they rebounded, Kansas permitted Houston to snag 40 in total (10 offensive).

Darryn Peterson was important for the Jayhawks in this contest. He made 3 out of 11 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 27.3%, and had 4 rebounds. He racked up 14 points in his 28 minutes of playing time and accumulated 1 assist in this contest.

Kansas has a mark of 23-10 this year. The Jayhawks are committing 14.4 fouls per game and they hit 76.7% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.3 times per game (147th in college) and they are giving up possession 10.7 times per game. Kansas has scored 2,496 points on the year (75.6 per contest) and they snag 38.8 boards per contest. As an offense, the Jayhawks are shooting 45.3% from the field, which ranks them 176th in the nation.

The Jayhawks on the defensive end are ranked 60th in college in PPG given up with 69.4. They have forced 9.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 38.8% from the field (6th in college). The Kansas defense concedes 30.7% on 3-pointers (269 of 877) and their opponents are knocking down 69.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 11.8 dimes and 36.6 rebounds per game, which ranks 57th and 308th in D-1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kansas (-14)

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