Kansas is the foundation of college basketball.
It’s been playing for 128 seasons, won four national titles, is playing in its 54th NCAA Tournament, and is the essence of a blueblood college basketball program.
California Baptist has been around for eight seasons as a college basketball school, and this is its first ever trip to the NCAA Tournament after getting through the WAC tournament.
The Jayhawks are expected to be in the national title mix around possible No. 1 overall draft pick Darryn Peterson, but the mix hasn’t worked as well as it should have.
The Lancers are on a 16-2 run to close out the season, pushed Colorado and Utah earlier in the year, beat Oregon State, and are the true underdogs in this.
The winner gets either St. John’s or Northern Iowa.
Kansas vs California Baptist Game Preview: Is This When Darryn Peterson Takes Over?
Kansas vs California Baptist How To Watch
Date: Friday, March 20
Venue: Viejas Arena, San Diego, CA
Time: 9:45 pm ET
TV: CBS
Streaming: March Madness Live App, Paramount+, HBO Max
Teams: (4) Kansas 23-10, (13) California Baptist 25-8
Kansas Rankings: KenPom 21 | NET 21
California Baptist Rankings: KenPom 106 | NET 98
College Football Programs: Kansas is coming off a disappointing season, even with a refurbished stadium and an experienced team, and this year might be even rougher.
Cal Baptist is just getting going as a basketball school – it doesn’t play football.
– CFN NCAA Tournament Schedule, Previews
Key Stats
– The Kansas defense is tremendous – it’s fifth in the nation and first in the Big 12, allowing teams to make just 39% of their shots.
– California Baptist is ninth in the nation at stopping the three, allowing teams to make fewer than 30% of their shots.
Why California Baptist Will Win: The Lancers Have To Hit the Boards Hard
There’s decent size across the Lancers, and they attack the offensive glass hard – mostly because they have to.
They’re not great at shooting, and they don’t do anything from three or on the move.
What they are able to do is crank up the aggressive defense and fight and claw their way to second-chance points, steals, and anything that manufactures points. However …
Why Kansas Will Win: The Jayhawks Can Really Rebound
Not to program-shame, but if you’re Cal Baptist, and you need to win the boards to beat a team like Kansas, there’s a major problem.
The Jayhawks might not be consistent offensively, and they’re shockingly thin on the bench, but this bunch gets after it on the boards.
They don’t do a whole lot when it comes to offensive rebounds, mostly because they shoot well inside, but when they’re humming, every opposing possession is a one-and-done.
The Kansas defense won’t allow a thing from the outside, and if it comes up with its normal 29 defensive rebounds per game, that’s it.
Kansas vs California Baptist Prediction, Betting Lines
Oh yeah, and Kansas might have the best player in college basketball.
The Darryn Peterson saga has been fascinating. He has all the talent in the world, but he’s been on a minutes restriction as he waits until he gets to go play in the NBA.
However, when he’s on, he can take over a whole game by himself.
This is a mood game for the Jayhawks.
It’s good enough to win this by 30 if the defensive intensity is there, and it’s flaky enough to get knocked out if everything is discombobulated, like it was in blowout losses to Iowa State and Cincinnati in February.
Kansas will need a half, and then it’ll put it all together.
Prediction: Kansas 80, California Baptist 65
Consensus Line: Kansas -14.5, o/u: 137.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
Meet the NCAA Tournament Seeds
No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 6
No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 10 | No. 11
No. 12 | No. 13 | No. 14 | No. 15 | No. 16
Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Related: UCLA vs UCF Prediction and Preview: NCAA Tournament First Round
This story was originally published by College Football News on Mar 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Basketball section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.