Updated March 20, 2026, 6:41 p.m. ET

The California Baptist Lancers (25-8) and No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks (23-10) tussle Friday in a NCAA Tournament West Region game in San Diego, California. The contest at Viejas Arena is slated for a 9:45 p.m. ET (CBS) tipoff. Let’s analyze NCAA basketball odds around the California Baptist vs. Kansas odds and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions for the best bets.

California Baptist makes its NCAA Tournament debut as the Western Athletic Conference champion. The 13-seed in the West swept 2 games in the March 13-15 WAC Tournament and overall has won 6 in a row straight up and against the spread (ATS). Cal Baptist sports a small lineup and struggles to keep foes out of the paint, but the Lancers have excellent defensive numbers overall. They are especially adept in defending the 3-ball. Per BartTorvik, CBU ranks sixth in 3-point defense and eighth in 3-point frequency allowed.

Kansas, a high-ranking at-large from the 8-bid Big 12, is tabbed as the No. 4 seed in the West Region. Like the Lancers, the Jayhawks are a defense-forward squad: They rank 11th in overall defensive efficiency and sixth in defending 2-pointers (BartTorvik).

Friday’s contest will mark the first meeting between the schools.

– Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

Watch NCAA basketball on Fubo!California Baptist vs. Kansas odds

Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:51 a.m. ET.

Moneyline (ML): California Baptist +760 (bet $100 to win $760) | Kansas -1600 (bet $1,600 to win $100)Against the spread (ATS): California Baptist +14.5 (-115) | Kansas -14.5 (-105)Over/Under (O/U): 140.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)

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California Baptist vs. Kansas picks and predictionsPrediction

Kansas 74, California Baptist 62

No interest; PASS.

Cal Baptist has played just 1 Quad I game this season and the Lancers were routed 91-60 by the BYU Cougars Dec. 3. So, this game is certainly a jump in class for CBU. And the Lancers are undersized, so there are a couple angles on a David & Goliath motif in this first-round game. But this David can play defense, and with a slow enough pace against a struggling-over-the-last-6-weeks Kansas offense, Cal Baptist can grind this game down to a deficit less than the 2 touchdowns required for the Jayhawks to cover.

The Lancers have a go-to guy in G Dominique Daniels Jr., who scored 41 points in a WAC semifinal, and averages 23.2 points per game. He leads a veteran rotation; look for that group — one playing only about 100 miles from its home in Riverside, California — to make a statement Friday.

CALIFORNIA BAPTIST +14.5 (-115) is the value side of this one.

The Under is 4-2 in KU’s last 6 games. In Kansas games played away from home, the Under has gone 8-1 since Jan. 20.

The defenses are the lead edge of this one, and neither offense gets much input on the point-spiral factors of frees and 3s. Mix in the fact that Jayhawks shooters own a lackluster 39.8% field-goal accuracy mark over the team’s last 10 games. Put all that in a blender with an expected slower-than-average pace, and the UNDER 140.5 (-105) is a solid play.

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