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The Auburn vs. Kansas line was Jayhawks +2 and has moved between the 1 and 3 but action was balanced as of Saturday evening.
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Auburn and Kansas both played in their respective conference tournament championship games last weekend, but only the former seemed overly burdened by their recent chaotic schedule during its first-round victory in the NCAA Tournament. The fifth-seeded Tigers hope to recharge in time to make a push for their first Sweet 16 appearance since 2002-03 on Saturday when they square off in second-round action against the fourth-seeded Jayhawks in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Auburn buried 15 3-pointers and recorded 14 steals en route to securing its first SEC Tournament title since 1985 with Sunday's 84-64 rout of Tennessee - its fourth game in four days - but the collective wear-and-tear nearly caught up with the Tigers on Thursday when they escaped with a 78-77 victory over New Mexico State after nearly blowing a seven-point lead in the final minute.
In addition to scoring exactly 50 points in the paint for the second straight game, the Jayhawks set several season bests in Thursday's rout, including field-goal percentage for a half (70.4), field-goal percentage for a game (55.7) and field-goal percentage defense (28.7). Dedric Lawson (19.3 points, 10.3 rebounds) tallied 25 points and 11 boards in only 27 minutes to post his 21st double-double, moving him into a tie for the third most ever by a Kansas player in a single season.
These teams last met way back in 1985.
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- Dan Shapiro, Gambling911.com
