In an exciting, cross-conference matchup, the surging Kentucky Wildcats will play host to a fellow top-10 team in the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday night at the Rupp Arena. Both teams will be looking for a big, resume-building win in this one, but only one will emerge victorious.
It’s been a strong season for both teams to this point, but a tough one on the road for Kansas who has just a single road win in four true road games. The team most recently lost to the Mountaineers in West Virginia. Can the Jayhawks bounce back from that and show their worth in a much more hostile environment?
On the flip side, can Kentucky continue a strong run? The team’s won five in a row now and finally seems to be emerging as the elite-level team many expected in the preseason. The team’s losses to Seton Hall and Alabama are well in the rearview mirror. Now, can they maintain their recent surge against a similarly ranked Kansas team?
NCAA Basketball Betting at Bookmaker.eu
Kansas Jayhawks vs. Kentucky Wildcats
Date and Time: Saturday, January 26, 2019, 6 p.m. ET
Location: Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Jayhawks vs. Wildcats TV Coverage: ESPN
Kansas may embrace a game outside the Big-12 in this SEC/Big-12 matchup showdown after the team’s dismal loss to the West Virginia Mountaineers last Saturday.
While the Jayhawks did collect a win at home against Iowa State since the embarrassing loss, this trip to Lexington is their first road game since that bad road loss.
In the loss, the Mountaineers who were previously winless in conference held Kansas to just 64-points, inching them out for the win by one. The defense wasn’t to blame for Kansas as much as the offense which went flat. The game before and after West Virginia, Kansas scored 80 each.
All in all, the Jayhawks just didn’t shoot well against the Mountaineers. Overall, this team is scoring 78 PPG and shooting 48.1-percent from the floor and 35.6-percent from three-point range. Kansas fell well short of both those numbers a week ago.
Despite the bad loss, Kansas is still ranked as a top-10 team according to KenPom as well as both the AP and Coaches Poll, indicating the loss was likely little more than a fluke.
Defensively, Kansas is a strong team even without Udoka Azubuike. While that does leave the team a bit short inside, the Jayhawks have generally overcome the loss.
Dedric Lawson is the new team leader in blocks and is the main source of rebounds on the team. He’s also the team’s top scorer, the forward can do it all. He’s being asked to do it all, too, as he’s often accompanied by a four-guard set on the floor.
Lawson has 19.5 PPG along with 10.9 RPG, 1.1 BPG and is even contributing on steals and assists. He’s a great inside shooter and respectable on the perimeter as well.
The former Memphis forward is coming off back-to-back double-doubles and most recently hung 29-points and 15 boards against Iowa State.
On the outside, Kansas has a plethora of talented guards. Lagerald Vick is the top scorer not named Lawson with 15 PPG and is a prolific outside shot much like Devon Dotson. Ochai Agbaji continues to show growth after the redshirt label was removed while Quentin Grimes and Marcus Garrett round out a pretty dynamic six-man rotation.
On the home end of the court, playing some of its best basketball of the year. The team has won five straight after its own tough loss, falling to Alabama.
Most recently, the Wildcats took down a ranked Mississippi State team, 76-55. The game was in the Rupp Center where Kentucky is 11-0, but so is Saturday night’s showdown with Kansas.
In the win, Kentucky got 21 points form PJ Washington and 18 more from Tyler Herro as those two took center stage. Both sank three shots from beyond the arc as the team was 50-percent on threes.
Along with Herro and Washington, Keldon Johnson and Reid Travis are two other dynamic players, forming a fearsome foursome with at least 12 PPG a piece.
Johnson and Travis didn’t score as well last game, but Johnson is the team’s leading scorer overall and Travis is the squad’s main answer for Lawson though save a big game against Auburn, he’s regress quite a bit of late.
Despite that, Kentucky is still rolling. The team ranks right there with Kansas on defensive efficiency and several places ahead offensively. Kentucky is scoring 80 PPG while shooting marginally better than Kansas both from the floor and from three.
Live Betting
This is one of the weekend’s premiere games as two top-10 teams and college basketball powerhouse teams prepare for a showdown.
Watch how both teams fare inside the paint and on the glass early. The team able to win the battle of the boards puts itself in a good position as both teams are comparable defensively and both are shooting nearly identical both from the floor and beyond the arc. Kentucky is the better free-throw shooting team so watch how well Kansas shoots from the line early as well.
As the game inches closes keep an eye on the latest odds and totals at BookMaker.eu and even after tipoff, keep tuned to BookMaker.eu for a ton of live betting opportunities.
Key Player
Lawson is a dynamic player and the main threat inside for Kansas. He helps open up the outside for the Jayhawks as teams need to be wear of Lawson who brings a ton of athleticism and a diverse skill set to the court. Earlier this season, the same could easily be said about Reid Travis.
With Azubuike down for Kansas, Lawson is lacking in help inside while Travis has some on the boards in PJ Washington and defensively with EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards both strong defenders who each play a few key minutes per game.
Given that, the Wildcats should be better inside and have an edge on the glass and defending the rim, but Travis is a key factor in that. The forward needs to return to form.
Travis has 12.6 PPG and 6.7 RPG, but he’s regressed greatly in his last five games. He’s scored more than six just once in that span—putting up 17 against Auburn. He did nab 12 rebounds against Mississippi State last game and is still contributing on the boards, but he’s no longer as dynamic a scoring threat. In fact, he was just 1-for-6 from the floor last time out, scoring more than half of his five points from the free-throw line.
Jayhawks vs. Wildcats Live Betting
Look for a close game on Saturday with the hometown Wildcats walking away with the win, extending the team’s winning streak to six.
Kansas’s loss to West Virginia is still concerning as the team lost its ability to shoot against a rather poor defense. The Jayhawks should bounce back in a big way and Lawson will likely have a big game inside, but don’t expect Vick, Dotson or Grimes to step enough on the perimeter.
Meanwhile, Kentucky will do the little things it needs to win. Travis may not be a big scorer again, but he’ll help lead the team to a victory on the boards while the team wins this on the free-throw line as much as anywhere else.
In the end, the venue swings this in the Wildcats’ favor as the Jayhawks haven’t shown the ability to top tough opponents on the road this season.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for this weekend’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Kentucky 77, Kansas 74
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