The Kansas Jayhawks have been blowing right through their foes this season, and Saturday's duel with the TCU Horned Frogs shouldn't be much of a problem either.
The big question isn't whether they'll win, rather whether they'll be able to cover one of the biggest point spreads you'll see all season long in the compact Big XII.
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SCHEDULING
Live bettors have to be aware of the fact that this is a bit of a sandwich game for the Jayhawks. They've got to deal with West Virginia on Tuesday night and Oklahoma State next Tuesday in a pair of road games. This is an easy one to look past for sure.
However, the bigger concern for live bettors is the fact that the Horned Frogs, who really only go eight men deep, have to play two really quick games in a row. If the Jayhawks get out and run a little bit, they might be able to take advantage of this TCU team which has to play against Baylor on the road on Wednesday. There isn't a heck of a lot of a tougher stretch imaginable for any team, especially not a team which is one of the worst in the Big XII.
KEY MATCHUP
The Horned Frogs aren't great at rebounding the basketball, and that could end up being a big hassle against a Kansas team which has five men who are always around the ball when it's bouncing off the rim. The Jayhawks outrebound their foes by 9.7 boards per game, and we don't see that number shrinking on Saturday.
Perry Ellis has the potential to be the real monster in this game. He's only 6-foot-8, but he plays like he's 7-feet. The men who the Horned Frogs are likely going to put up against him are Vladimir Brodziansky and Karviar Shepherd. Both of these men are tall at 6-foot-10, but they aren't going to be able to keep up with the speed of Ellis.
Thus far in conference play, Ellis has averaged 19.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, and we have a tough time seeing a situation in which he doesn't go for a double-double in this one. Live bettors will have to watch Ellis closely. If he's dominating as we suspect he will, the Jayhawks will continue to thrive for as long as he's on the court.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
It's worth remembering that Kansas has dominated in these games in which it has been a big favorite this year. The Jayhawks are 7-1 ATS when laying at least 9.5 points this season, and they're surely going to be bigger favorites in this game than in any other Big XII game, at least early on in the campaign.
TCU has really had a tough time in Big XII games of late. The Horned Frogs have scored fewer than 60 points in two of their three conference games this year. In all three of those games, the offense in the second half really struggled, scoring 24 points in two of the three affairs. Live bettors have to hate that when it comes to betting on the men in purple, especially playing here in the Phog.
Kansas turns it on in the second half all the time. If the Jayhawks were able to take a 44-44 game against Texas Tech in Lubbock and turn it into a 69-59 victory, we can only imagine what's possible at home against the Horned Frogs.
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