The Kansas Jayhawks can’t wait to get back onto the hardwood. Kansas was expected to paste Washington in its last game, but instead got dismantled despite being a 21.5-point favorite. It was one of the biggest upsets so far this season as this was the same Washington team that got throttled by 24 by Virginia Tech two weeks prior to that game. Kansas will get a shot to play spoiler to another team’s undefeated season when the Arizona State Sun Devils come to town.
This war on the floor will go down Sunday, December 10, 2017, at 2 p.m. ET at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Sunday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Arizona State is off to a nice start this season. The Sun Devils have been one of the best offenses in the country and have knocked off three opponents that turned some heads. They beat San Diego State, Kansas State, and Xavier, and scored at least 90 points against all three teams. They have been great for bettors this season, having covered six straight, and all but one of their games has gone over as well.
The Jayhawks laid an egg against Washington, but had been quite impressive prior to the loss. Kansas had won its first seven games to start the season and was 5-1 ATS. The team had showed it could play at multiple speeds and looked like a serious contender to win it all. That loss shakes things up though. Under has cashed in four straight Kansas games.
Matchup to Watch
Arizona State has one of the shallowest benches in basketball and only rotate seven guys regularly. The Sun Devils have four starters that are playing at least 30 minutes a game with Tra Holder and Shannon Evans II averaging over 35 minutes per game.
That means this team cannot afford injuries or getting into foul trouble in any game. If the Sun Devils do get into foul trouble things get really dicey, really quickly.
That could put the Sun Devils at a disadvantage in this one for another reason. Unlike Kansas, which has rested since the loss to Washington, Arizona State will play a home game against a tough St. John’s team on Friday night before traveling to Kansas on Saturday in order to face the Jayhawks on Sunday afternoon. That could lead to some tired legs as players have to travel and play two games in less than three days.
To be fair, the same goes for Kansas. The Jayhawks only use seven players on a regular basis, but Bill Self does even out the minutes a bit more.
Key Stat
Both of these teams can shoot the lights out, but while Arizona State doesn’t play good defense, Kansas has the potential to be great on D. The Jayhawks have long, athletic players that can keep opponents in check and have shut down some good offenses this season.
Kansas is limiting teams to just 62.9 PPG and allowing opponents to hit just 37 percent of their field goals. That has helped them beat some very good opponents.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
The best play here is probably going to be the over. Arizona State wants to run and play up tempo and I think Kansas will be more than happy to run with them. The Jayhawks have had more time to rest and prepare for the Sun Devils and the coaches have been able to scout more tendencies.
The spread in this one will be affected by what Arizona State does against St. John’s so I won’t hazard a guess there. I do think the game will come out with a total in the 160s though and believe the over is the right play.
College Basketball Odds: Kansas 92, Arizona State 83
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