The Kansas Jayhawks seem to have righted the ship after a disastrous run of play a couple weeks ago. Kansas lost virtual home games as a double-digit favorite to both Washington and Arizona State and nearly lost to Nebraska two weeks ago. However, they recovered with nice wins over Omaha and Stanford to close out their non-conference schedule. Kansas will start Big 12 play when it travels to take on the Texas Longhorns.
This war on the floor will go down Friday, December 29, 2017, at 9 p.m. ET at Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. 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 Friday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas comes into this game at 10-2 and has been a good team to bet on ATS. The Jayhawks are 7-4 ATS and easily covered the last two against Omaha and Stanford. This is one of the highest scoring teams in the country. Kansas is averaging 87.5 PPG, but that doesn’t mean over has been a solid wager in its games. Under is 7-4 in Jayhawks games this season.
Texas picked up a huge win when it knocked off Alabama on Friday. The Longhorns were 3.5-point underdogs in the game, but they ended up winning big by shutting down Alabama’s offense. Alabama was held to just 34.4 percent from the floor in that game. That continues a trend of unders as the under is 4-0-1 in Texas’ last five games.
Key Injury
Texas is still looking for a way to generate some offense without Andrew Jones. Jones was the team’s main offensive option for the first eight games of the season. He shot better than 52 percent from the field and was one of the few players on the team that could create his own shot.
However, he fractured his left wrist a couple weeks ago and will be out for the next several weeks. That means someone else needs to pick it up, and we have yet to see someone emerge.
We all knew who the Longhorns are hoping will step up. Mohamed Bamba is one of the most highly touted freshmen this season. He is a near seven-footer with an incredible wingspan and immense raw talent. Bamba was great against Alabama, yet had an awful game against Tennessee State and that almost led to the Longhorns losing.
Matchup to Watch
Watching Kansas try to beat Texas’ defense is going to be a treat. The Jayhawks are one of the most efficient offenses in the country and everyone on this team can shoot the ball. They are hitting 52.3 percent of their field goals this season and three of their starters are hitting 45 percent or more from three-point range.
Meanwhile, Texas has continued to be amazing at shutting down opposing offenses. The Longhorns have been great on defense since Shaka Smart took over and are limiting opponents to just 37.4 percent from the floor. That defense has been the key to their success all season and was the reason they were able to knock off opponents like VCU, Alabama, and Butler.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Home court has not been a great place for Texas so far this season. The Longhorns lost at home to Michigan and were nearly knocked off by Tennessee State just a week ago. If Bamba can’t score, it’s really hard for this offense to get going.
Texas is still coming together without Young, while Kansas seems to have gotten over its hiccup just a little bit ago. The Jayhawks have a really talented team that is hard to stop, even for a defense as good as the Longhorns’ defense. I expect Kansas to be able to get past Texas in this one.
College Basketball Odds: Kansas 74, Texas 65
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