It’s not quite the matchup we envisioned at the start of Big 12 play but it’s a doozy nonetheless. The Kansas Jayhawks look to climb back to the top of the standings when they visit the No. 2 Baylor Bears on Monday night. The Jayhawks are two games back in the loss column and their run of conference titles will be in jeopardy if they lose this game. Baylor has dealt with a number of postponements and cancellations and is still unbeaten after dropping the hammer on TCU. Both teams have a scheduled game over the weekend ahead of this huge matchup.
The Big 12 tilt will air live on ESPN at 9 p.m. ET on Monday, January 18, 2021 from Ferrell Center in Waco, TX. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Monday schedule.
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Kansas Jayhawks (Check Back Later)
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Odds Analysis
Every game in league play is important, especially for the teams at the top of the standings. The Jayhawks were upset at Oklahoma State losing for the second time in four games, putting them in danger of falling further behind leaders Baylor and Texas. The first setback in the recent stretch was an 84-59 heartbreaker to Texas. The Jayhawks are confident they can go on the road and emerge victorious. They won in Waco last year as a 1.5-point dog, their second straight win and cover, and they are 7-1 SU and ATS in their last eight trips. For Baylor to win the regular season title it has to beat Kansas. The Bears will have to beat Texas, too, and they’ll get a chance next month after the first meeting was postponed. The Bears easily handled TCU 67-49 last time out moving to 11-0 SU and 9-2 ATS.
Kansas Jayhawks
There are no easy games in the Big 12 and the Jayhawks aren’t as talented as they’ve been, so they have to show up every night. It’s not that this group is bad they’ve just regressed to the mean making things all the more interesting at the top of the standings. We knew there were going to be some adjustments after the departure of leading scorers Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike from last season’s team. While this may be the deepest team Bill Self has had, it’s thin at the top of the roster. The depth got depleted last game when top reserve Bryce Thompson broke a finger. He’s expected to be out for a while.
Kansas certainly didn’t play well at Oklahoma State. They fell behind by as many as 16 points in the second half but battled back to take a late lead. The Jayhawks then gave up the final eight points to lose 75-70. “We didn’t deserve to win, but certainly we put ourselves in position that we could have won, and I thought our guys did compete and tired really hard for a stretch of the game, especially late,” Self said.
That inconsistent play won’t get it done against Baylor. A positive sign in the OSU game was the play of David McCormack, who scored 24 points. But the Jayhawks struggled from behind the arc making just 5 of 21 threes.
Baylor Bears
The season might look a whole lot different if COVID didn’t wipe out a bunch of games. They weren’t just any games, either. Several of the shelved matchups featured nationally ranked teams. The non-conference tilt with No. 1 Gonzaga would have been a battle, and the Bears also had games with top-15 Texas and West Virginia postponed. Those league games will likely be made up leaving Baylor with a tough slate to capture the league title.
Ranked teams or not the Bears have annihilated opponents winning a school-record 11 consecutive games by double digits. They have an average scoring margin of 27.8 points. The Bears showed how explosive they can be on offense in their win over TCU. Trailing at halftime for the first time this season they exploded in the second outscoring the Frogs 40-21. After a few subpar games, Jared Butler took over. The preseason All-American scored 28 points to lead the onslaught.
While they struggled offensively in the first half making only six of their first 21 shots, the Bears never lost focus on the other end. They rank among the top-20 nationally in scoring defense and held TCU to 33 percent shooting.
Kansas at Baylor Prediction
We typically see close games with these teams and this matchup shouldn’t be any different. Kansas has enjoyed success in Waco, but this isn’t your normal Jayhawks group, and the loss of Thompson will affect the bench. The Bears are worthy of their national ranking and have been stellar all season, despite dealing with numerous distractions. That only makes them stronger and a winner in this one.
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