College Basketball Odds - Kansas at Stanford Game Preview

The Stanford Cardinal have only made the NCAA Tournament once in the last decade. Based on their performance thus far this season, it seems more likely that this team will finish below .500 than make it back to the Big Dance. Stanford is sitting at 6-6 and has some awful losses on its resume. The Cardinal have already lost to Eastern Washington, Portland State, and Long Beach State, and they have yet to beat anyone of note. They will try to score a big win over the Kansas Jayhawks on Thursday night, but that will be a very tough task.

This war on the floor will go down Thursday, December 21, 2017, at 11 p.m. ET at the Golden1 Center in Sacramento, California. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Thursday schedule.

Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu

Kansas looked like a juggernaut at the start of the year. The Jayhawks covered five of their first six games and were blasting opponents every time they stepped on the court. However, back-to-back losses to Washington and Arizona State as double-digit favorites reeled back a lot of that optimism, and a one-point victory over Nebraska shattered it. Kansas did crush a bad Omaha team earlier in the week, but there is a reason the Jayhawks were 33.5-point favorites there.

If you’ve been backing Stanford this season, you’ve lost a lot of money. The Cardinal are 4-8 ATS and have already lost three times as a 6.5-point favorite or more. Their offense has been pretty woeful for a power conference team. That has led to the under going 8-3-1 in Stanford games this season. Under has also cashed in each of the last six games.

Player to Watch

Stanford is all about Reid Travis. Travis leads the team with 22.2 PPG and is averaging double the points of anyone else on the roster.

This is Travis’ fourth year in the Bay Area, and his output has increased each season. The 6’8 junior from Minneapolis is the second-leading rebounder on the team as well as its most efficient shooter. He is hitting 53.4 percent of his field goals this season.

Travis has been particularly great over these last five games. In each outing, he shot at least 50 percent from the floor and finished with 20 points or more.

Key Stats

Whereas Stanford relies on one player to create offense, Kansas has a bevy of talented shooters.

Lagerald Vick leads the team in scoring and has been efficient with his shot selection this year. Vick is knocking down 55.4 percent of his field goals and 44.2 percent of his three-pointers. He fills the stat sheet in other ways too, and he is second on the team in both rebounds and assists.

Udoka Azubuike continues to be one of the most efficient players in the country. He is hitting a staggering 78 percent of his field goals this season, and it’s not like he has only taken a handful of shots per game. Unfortunately, he has not been as effective for the line and is only sinking 42.9 percent of his free throws. That’s a staggering disparity.

Free College Basketball ATS Picks

Kansas is likely to be a massive favorite in this game. However, it’s hard to trust the Jayhawks with how poorly they have played lately. There just seems to be something missing with this team and they haven’t had time to focus on any one thing as their schedule has been packed at this time of year.

It’s not a popular pick, but go ahead and take Stanford to cover the large number. The Cardinal will be able to keep it close enough and the Jayhawks only care about the W.

College Basketball Odds: Kansas 82, Stanford 71

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