Two high profile conferences take a break from league play to compete in the made for TV Big 12/SEC Challenge. A featured matchup has the Kansas Jayhawks visiting the Kentucky Wildcats in a battle of college basketball blue bloods. A few weeks ago many would have viewed this as a laugher. The Jayhawks were 16-1 and ranked No. 2 in the country while diehards in Lexington were calling for John Calipari’s head after an embarrassing home loss to South Carolina. The worm has turned with KU losing three in a row and the Cats on a 4-game SU and ATS winning streak.
This College Basketball game will go down Saturday, January 28, 2023 at 8 p.m. ET at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. The game will be televised live on ESPN. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball schedule.
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Odds Analysis
It hasn’t happened often, but it has happened. For the fourth time in the Bill Self era the Jayhawks dropped three straight games. Playing as a 2-point road dog against Baylor on Monday, the Jayhawks failed to cover in the 75-69 setback, their fifth straight ATS loss and seventh in the last nine games. KU opened the campaign with 16 wins in 17 games with their only defeat to highly ranked Tennessee. Before you start writing their obituary, though, consider their past three opponents. Many had Baylor as the favorite to win the Big 12 and they were favored. KU lost a tough OT game at now No. 5 Kansas State and didn’t show up in a 23-point loss to top-20 TCU. You could say the Big 12 is loaded and you’d be right.
The Wildcats turned things around winning four straight and going 4-0 ATS. The streak started with a road win over No. 5 Tennessee that seemed unlikely after what happened in UK’s previous games. The Cats lost by 26 points to No. 7 Alabama and were upset, 71-68, by South Carolina as a 20-point home favorite. It took just one game to shift the narrative, and what a game it was. Catching 11 points against the Vols, UK put together arguably its best game of the season in the 63-56 decision. The momentum carried over with the Cats beating Georgia, Texas AM and Vanderbilt by an average of 13 points.
Kansas Jayhawks
With all four losses to nationally-ranked opponents it’s premature to write off the Jayhawks. And recent results will likely impact the line when it surfaces. Though they lost by six to Baylor, the matchup of the last two national champions was much closer. Kansas grabbed the lead a little more than halfway through the second half, but couldn’t hold on. “Our league is that good, it’s going to be a grind,” Self said.
That the Jayhawks went 16-1 to start the season was a little surprising. We knew they were going to be good – they always are – but this is a different squad from last season. They lack a difference-maker in the post and the roster was overhauled significantly. There is plenty of talent, though. Jalen Wilson leads the Big 12 with 21.4 points per game and Gradey Dick knocks down a league-best 43.7 percent of his triples. Beating Kentucky will do wonders for their confidence.
Kentucky Wildcats
It’s all about winning at Kentucky. Folks in them parts don’t take kindly to losing basketball, which is why many questioned if Coach Cal wore out his welcome. A rare loss to South Carolina, in Rupp Arena no less, had the faithful clamoring. The Cats knew what they had and as long as Oscar Tshiebwe was on the floor wins would follow. The reigning national player of the year did his part to snap the skid against Tennessee scoring 15 points with 13 rebounds. For the season Tshiebwe is averaging 16.6 points on 58.7 percent shooting and 13.9 rebounds.
He’s also received plenty of help with Jacob Toppin back in the lineup and Antonio Reeves regaining his scoring touch. Reeves averaged 17 points during the winning streak while the mere presence of Toppin was a boost. After going 0-9-1 ATS in 10 games before the winning streak, the Cats have payouts in all four. And they’ve been solid defensively holding opponents to an average of 61.8 points during the streak.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
The teams are surprisingly good defensively, which has me backing the UNDER. And we haven’t seen the Jayhawks lose four in a row in three decades, so expect them to come out charging. Kentucky won big in Lawrence last season and the Jayhawks, though they’re down, they are not out, and I anticipate a better start giving them a chance at covering and winning.
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