Reality has set in for the Oklahoma State Cowboys over the course of the last several weeks. They've never really had a shot against some of the Big XII's elites, and they've dropped five straight conference games since pulling off the upset of the Kansas Jayhawks back on January 19. Odds have it, KU is going to be out for some serious revenge on ESPN's Big Monday.
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HOW THE OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
The Jayhawks were really off their game when they faced the Pokes back in January, but credit should be given to the Okie State backcourt for taking the game over on both sides of the court when opportunity presented itself. Jawun Evans had maybe the best game of his career with 22 points, eight assists and six rebounds, while Jeff Newberry put up 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
There's just one problem for the Cowboys now. Evans' season is likely over thanks to a shoulder injury, and in their first game without him, they were held to just 56 points against TCU.
In order to beat Kansas, you're going to have to score some serious points, and we just don't see the Cowboys being able to do that without their leading scorer. That leaves Newberry and Leyton Hammonds as the only other men on this team averaging more than nine points per game, and there are only four men averaging more than five points per game. Sure, if someone like Tyree Griffin or Joe Burton, men who combine to average just nine points per game can step up and score in the 20s, this could be a different outcome than what we're forecasting, but it's a stretch to think that's how this will play out.
HOW THE KANSAS JAYHAWKS CAN COVER THE SPREAD
Bill Self was absolutely irate with his team's defense in Stillwater a few weeks ago, and we have to imagine this is going to be a spot where he's ready to explode if his team can't slow down a team without any real discernible talent on the offensive end of the court.
The Jayhawks have one concern with this game, and that's the short turnaround time after the huge Top 10 battle at Oklahoma on Saturday. It's entirely possible that game is going to be incredibly fast and incredibly draining, and the idea of coming back and playing against Oklahoma State at home in less than 48 hours is tough.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
We didn't even bother listing the name of an elite Kansas player because we know it will have the best five players on the court for the most part at every single interval in this NCAAB game.
The real question isn't whether Kansas will score in the 70s in this one; that seems tremendously inevitable at this point. The real question is whether the Jayhawks will assert themselves defensively.
They've done so in three straight games, holding West Virginia, TCU and Kansas State to 65, 56 and 59 points respectively, and if they do something similar in this one, we have to think they're going to cover this spread with ease. We suspect this game will be done being competitive by halftime, as the Jayhawks exact a huge measure of revenge against their suddenly incompetent conference rivals.
Kansas 81, Oklahoma State 58
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