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The Omaha Mavericks are still looking to find their footing during their transition to Division I. Omaha only gained full admittance to Division I three years ago and Darrin Hansen is slowly starting to make something out of this team. Hansen led the Mavericks to their second straight winning season and second straight winning record in Summit League play. This team is slowly getting better, but is still probably going to be no match for the Kansas Jayhawks.
This war on the floor will go down Monday, December 18, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. 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 Monday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Kansas came into the season as one of the most hyped teams in the country. The Jayhawks were seen as one of a handful teams with a legitimate chance to win it all and started the year strong. They picked up wins over teams like Kentucky and Syracuse and were 5-1 ATS in their first seven. However, lately things have not gone so well for Kansas. The Jayhawks lost to both Washington and Arizona State as a double-digit favorite.
The Mavericks have followed the path of most teams when transitioning to a higher level of basketball and are signing up for guarantee games against big name opponents in which they are likely to get slaughtered. They are 2-10 this season and have yet to win one of these road tilts.
However, their style of basketball makes the team exciting to watch. Omaha will run and gun and that has led to them being somewhat competitive. The Mavericks’ totals are lined very high and that has led to the under doing 8-4 this year.
Key Stats
Omaha has one of the nation’s worst defenses. The Mavericks up-tempo style of play leads to a lot of easy transition baskets as they turn the ball over quite a bit. Omaha is turning the ball over 16 times per game and that is one of the higher totals you will find in the country.
Additionally, opponents are able to score at will on this team. Omaha is allowing an average of 87.5 PPG and teams are hitting 48.8 percent of their field goals against this squad.
That’s music to the ears of Kansas. The Jayhawks are extremely efficient on the offensive end of the floor and should be able to find plenty of open looks. Every starter on the team is hitting at least 44.3 percent of their field goals and all but Udoka Azubuike are knocking down at least 40 percent of their threes.
Player to Watch
With Kansas’ great trio of guards leaving it was time for someone else to step up and Lagerald Vick has done just that for the Jayhawks. Vick leads the team in scoring and has been a lights out shooter too, especially for a guard.
Shooting better than 50 percent from the floor is considered fantastic for a guard, but Vick has been even better than that. He is draining 56.2 percent of his shots this year and is hitting 45 percent of his threes.
Vick does it all. He is also averaging 6.8 RPG and 4.3 APG and has been a complete player on this team.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Kansas is going to blow Omaha out of the water. The Jayhawks are just too good and too talented and will thrive playing the pace that the Mavericks set. There’s a decent chance they end up topping 100 points in this game as Kansas’ players might use this game to air out some frustration. Look for the spread to be large in this one, but I think Kansas will take its foot off the pedal enough for Omaha to get a backdoor cover.
College Basketball Odds: Kansas 97, Omaha 78
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