The Kansas Jayhawks entered Week 4 of the college basketball season undefeated, holding on to the No.2 ranking in the nation as Duke and Gonzaga switched sides around them. Now, Kansas will try and keep their undefeated season going as they ply hose to the Stanford Cardinal on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence.
With key wins against Michigan State and Tennessee already on the books, the 4-3 Stanford team seems a bit of a reprieve. Thus far, Stanford has failed to raise to the occasion against its tougher opponents here in the early going, but the program will get another chance on Saturday. Kansas, after all, represents the best team Stanford has played this season even with losses to UNC and Wisconsin behind them.
Stanford will look for a better showing against Kansas than it had against other ranked teams this year while the Jayhawks will enter the game heavy favorites, looking to payout ATS. For bettors, there will be a lot of exciting live betting opportunities in this game at BookMaker.eu.
NCAA Basketball Betting at Bookmaker.eu
Stanford Cardinal at Kansas Jayhawks
Date and Time: Saturday, December 1, 2018, 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas
College Basketball Odds: Check Back Later
Cardinal vs. Jayhawks TV Coverage: ESPN
It’s been a rough start to the season for Stanford who have faltered anytime they’ve been matched up against a legitimate college basketball program.
The Cardinal squad has some talented players. Daejon Davis and KZ Okpala were double-digit scorers last year as freshmen starters and provided a bit of experience inside, in Okpala’s case, and on the perimeter in the case of Davis.
Davis played well as the primary point guard last year, but has struggled a bit this season. Perhaps the pressure of being a team leader is taking its toll. The sophomore was an efficient shooter last year, but is sinking just 37-percent from the floor and 30.8-percent from three-point range.
Fortunately, freshman recruit Cormac Ryan has stepped up in the backcourt. He’s second on the team in scoring with 10.7 PPG and has provided solid rebounding and assist numbers, too. That said, he’s sinking only a third of his shots, too.
Inside the paint, Okpala’s stepped up to lead the team in scoring with 16.3 PPG, but even taking so many shots down low, he’s still only sinking 45.9-percent. This team has had early season efficiency issues leading to a meager 69 PPG.
When you actually examine some of the matchups in their first seven games, however, it gets worse. Wisconsin and Florida both held Stanford under 50 points. They were just 16-for-59 from the floor against the Badgers and 2-for-18 from beyond the arc. Okpala led the team in scoring in that game with 11-points and more than half of those came on free throws.
While Davis and Okpala are solid players and Ryan and Bryce Wills have promise, this team is very young, very inexperienced and has been, to this point, overmatched against the likes of Wisconsin, Florida and UNC, though they did at last score 72 against the Tar Heels.
Even so, Kansas has a better team than anyone Stanford has faced to this point. The Jayhawks are a much more veteran team given a stellar class of transfers. They’re also highly talented with their returned players and freshman class.
In the frontcourt, Kansas has size and skill that Stanford cannot match. Udoka Azubuike stands 7’1” and has 14.4 PPG, 6.0 RPG and 2.0 BPG through the team’s first five contests. His mere presence under the basket creates mismatches for the Cardinal inside. Add in Dedric Lawson who is averaging a double-double with 17.8 PPG and 10.4 RPG and there’s no doubt which team wins on the paint.
Meanwhile, on the perimeter, the team as a whole is shooting 44-percent from beyond the arc, much better than Stanford’s overall percentage from the floor. Lagerald Vick has been an amazing shot from deep while Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes have contributed quite a lot as well.
Vick has been the team leader so far with 19.6 PPG. Dotson and Grimes give Kansas five players with at least nine PPG.
And, while Stanford has failed to play up to its competition, Kansas has already showed its high ranking is more than just reputation. They topped Michigan State to open the season and followed up with wins over Marquette and Tennessee, beating the No.5 team in overtime as Lawson rose to the occasion to score 24 points and nab 13 rebounds.
Live Betting
With this game likely to get out of hand early given Stanford’s early season struggles, be sure to keep up with the live betting opportunities at BookMaker.eu to help stay engaged.
Count on Stanford’s shooting to continue to struggle and the Cardinal point total to remain low. If the team shows they find more efficiency shooting outside, perhaps they’ll be able to hang a bit closer, but early season indications of that aren’t promising.
On the inside, Okpala and center Josh Sharma will have their hands full against Lawson and Azubuike. At 7’0”, Sharma gives Stanford some size to combat Azubuike and both Okpala and Sharma are reasonable blockers, but they’re averaging five fewer boards per game than Kansas. That opens up a more efficient Kanas shooting attack to more opportunities. That’s a good combination for the Jayhawks and a bleak picture for the Cardinal.
Previous Matchup
These two teams faced each other a season ago when Kansas was ranked 12-spots lower and Stanford had Michael Humphrey and Reid Travis. On paper, these teams were a bit more evenly matched than this year and the game was even in Sacramento.
Despite all that, Kansas beat Stanford by 21-points, 75-54, and the Cardinal shot just 34.4-percent from the floor and 6-for-20 from three. The Cardinal did win the boards—narrowly—in the contest, but Kansas sank more than half their shots and more than a third from beyond the arc and thus got the easy win.
In that game, Davis and Okpala, the two returning starters for Stanford, combined for just eight points on 3-for-14 shooting.
For the Jayhawks, Azubuike led the way with 24 points. He shot 12-for-15 from the floor with seven rebounds and a pair of blocks. Lagerald Vick, the team’s highest scorer this year and current backcourt leader, had a solid night, too, with 13 points.
Cardinal vs. Jayhawks Live Betting
This shouldn’t be a tough game for the Jayhawks. Stanford has looked overmatched against good competition this year and—aside from Gonzaga and maybe Duke—there’s not really any better competition for the Cardinal than the Jayhawks.
Look for Kansas to dominate inside the paint and outshoot Stanford outside. It’s hard to find any facet of the game that the Cardinal can even come close to matching Kansas.
Count on Stanford to have trouble shooting and ultimately end up failing to put many points on the board. This team is lacking experience and leadership that’ll allow them to surprise in the game. They should fall behind early and Kansas should be able to cruise to an easy win.
Check out all of the live betting at BookMaker.eu for Saturday’s college basketball action.
NCAA Basketball Score Prediction: Kansas 86, Stanford 53
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
