It's done unintentionally, but the fact that the Big XII is one of the deepest (yet smallest) conferences in America often provides teams with massive problems spots from a scheduling standpoint. The Texas Longhorns have their hands full as it is on Saturday with Oklahoma. The last thing they needed was a game against the Kansas Jayhawks on Monday to follow that up.
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HOW THE KANSAS JAYHAWKS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Kansas has to just keep riding this wave that it's on at the moment. The Jayhawks have won and covered eight straight overall, and it's largely due to their defense. They've held teams under their team total in seven games in a row, and Saturday's game against Texas Tech feels like it might be another such game.
The reasons Kansas is 18-8 ATS and will almost certainly be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament are numerous. This offense is incredibly efficient, hitting 49.0 percent of its shots and 42.3 percent from long range, while the defense is virtually impossible to score upon in the half court. The Jayhawks are allowing teams to shoot just 40.1 percent from the field and 33.2 percent from deep.
Bill Self has a 10-deep team, and there are a ton of vets on the roster like Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden Jr., Frank Mason and Devonte' Graham. One or more of those guys could have off days, and the Jayhawks can still have one of the best teams in the nation.
HOW THE TEXAS LONGHORNS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Texas picked up a big win on Monday over Kansas State, and if it can take out Oklahoma, it will still have an outside chance of capturing a share of the Big XII regular season title.
The Longhorns have really done a nice job evolving over the year, proof that the Shaka Smart hiring was worth every penny of his lucrative contract.
Smart has his men playing aggressive basketball, and that's demonstrated perfectly by the play of Isaiah Taylor. Taylor is just 6-foot-1 and 170 pounds, but he averages 15.4 points per game in spite of the fact that he's only hit 14 threes this entire season. He drives to the hoop a ton and is a great distributor when he gets there, but he's going to have to finish at the rack a ton as well to give the Longhorns a shot to cover this spread.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
We have a feeling this could end up being a really big 48 hours for Texas. The Longhorns have a history of playing up to the level of their opponents, and there isn't another challenge quite like playing against what we perceive to be the best team in America. Texas already has wins over North Carolina, West Virginia and Iowa State at home, and we'd bet that at least one of the two, if not both of Oklahoma and Kansas will get added to that last.
Kansas struggles at times with these aggressive teams. Guards like Buddy Hield and Jaysean Paige have led their teams to great games against the Jayhawks. Sure, in most of those cases, KU has come out on top, but the trips have all come against teams with big time guards, too.
Look for Taylor and Javan Felix to lead the way for the Longhorns at home on Monday night en route to the biggest win of the season.
Texas 73, Kansas 70
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