The Kansas Jayhawks and Arkansas Razorbacks face off in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament in what will be a showdown between two elite coaches. Bill Self and Kansas are looking to make up for a putrid regular season with a signature win while John Calipari and Arkansas look to continue their recent success seen from 2021-24 in the NCAA Tournament.
Below, we will preview this March Madness college basketball game, giving the Kansas vs Arkansas overview, trends and our expert pick! Which school will win and keep their hopes of winning the championship trophy alive?
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Kansas vs Arkansas Prediction and March Madness Expert Picks
2025 NCAA Tournament
No. 7 Kansas Jayhawks (21-12) vs. No. 10 Arkansas Razorbacks (20-13)
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Time: 7:10 PM EST
Venue: Amica Mutual Pavilion — Providence, RI
Coverage: CBS
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Kansas vs Arkansas March Madness Odds
All college basketball betting odds for Kansas vs Arkansas can be found at BetUS Sportsbook.
Moneyline: KU: (-219) | ARK: (+180)
Point Spread: KU: -5.5 (-105) | ARK: +5.5 (-115)
Total: 145.5 — Over: (-111) | Under: (-111)
KenPom Rankings | Bracketology
KenPom Rankings are from KenPom.com
| Team | Rk | AdjO | AdjD | AdjT |
| Kansas | 21 | 116.0 (48) | 92.7 (11) | 68.4 (113) |
| Arkansas | 106 | 113.0 (73) | 95.2 (18) | 69.3 (68) |
Kansas vs Arkansas College Basketball Trends
- Kansas is 2-3 in its last five games.
- Arkansas is 3-2 in its last five games.
- Kansas is 10-3 in non-conference play this season.
- Arkansas is 12-3 in non-conference play this season.
- Arkansas beat Kansas, 72-71, in the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament (their most recent meeting).
- Kansas has made the Sweet 16 just once in their last five NCAA Tournament appearances.
Kansas vs Arkansas Prediction | March Madness Expert Picks
Kansas came into the season as the top-ranked team in the country with the addition of Wisconsin transfer AJ Storr. Since then, it’s been all downhill for the Jayhawks. Not only was their play ugly throughout the season, but they ended poorly as well, losing three of their last five. While those three losses came to ranked teams, they lost those three games by a combined 22 points. While this would all normally be a precursor to a meltdown during March Madness, with a coach of Bill Self’s caliber and one of the most experienced teams in the nation, a deep run is still very much in play.
Much like Kansas, Arkansas looked completely dead in the middle of the season. They were 12-8 and just 1-6 in the SEC after a home loss to Kentucky. Since then, the Hogs have gone 8-5. While that may seem poor, three of those losses were to top-10 teams and three of those eight wins were against ranked teams. The Hogs defend the three well and will get a huge boost from the return of guard Boogie Fland who has been out the past two months and averages over 15 points per game.
While this game might not be the best game of the day, it will definitely be the one that people are most excited about for the coaching matchup alone. While Boogie Fland’s return is a huge boost for Arkansas, he’ll certainly have some rust to shake off which will be the difference in this game.
For our Kansas vs Arkansas prediction, we are picking the Kansas Jayhawks to win and move on in the NCAA Tournament.
