It’s an early Big 12 top-10 test for the Texas Longhorns and Kansas Jayhawks when the 1-loss teams square off at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday. As long as No. 3 Kansas doesn’t have to play the No. 1 ranked team in the country they’ll do just fine. The Jayhawks have won eight straight since losing their opener to top-ranked Gonzaga. Half of those wins came against ranked opponents, including a decisive win over No. 7 West Virginia last time out. The schedule hasn’t been nearly as difficult for the No. 8 Longhorns, who have won seven of eight to start the campaign.
The game will air live on ESPN2 at 12 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 2, 2021 from Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
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Texas Longhorns (Check Back Later)
Kansas Jayhawks (Check Back Later)
Over/Under (Check Back Later)
Odds Analysis
Not many teams enjoy playing the Jayhawks since they’ve owned the Big 12 for like forever. You can put Texas near the top of the list. The Horns have lost three straight and 13 of the last 14 meetings between the schools, and they haven’t won in the Phog since the 2011 season. But they should be a confident bunch heading into the early season showdown having won three straight since dropping a close 68-64 game to Villanova in early December. The Horns are 7-1 SU and 4-4 ATS after failing to cover their last two. Kansas is on a heater with eight straight wins following a setback to Gonzaga in the opener. The Jayhawks opened league play with a win at No. 14 Texas Tech as a 3.5-point dog. They followed that with a 14-point payout win over West Virginia, a team that typically gives them problems.
Texas Longhorns
Texas did avoid the gauntlet of playing Baylor and Kansas in the first three conference games when the matchup with the No. 2 team in the country was postponed following a COVID outbreak in the Bears program. Unfortunately the Horns will have to make that game up down the road. Instead they opened Big 12 play with a 77-74 win over Oklahoma State. That followed victories over Sam Houston State and Texas State giving the Horns a three-game streak heading into the Kansas tilt.
If the Longhorns want to win at the Phog for the first time in over a decade they better play defense like they have been. They hold opponents to 27 percent shooting from behind the arc and have allowed more than 70 points in just two games. That’s led to the UNDER cashing in five of the last six games. “Defense is one thing that travels, and one thing we can control,” Shaka Smart said.
Look for Greg Brown to be a major contributor. The freshman has gotten better since the season started going for season-highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds in the win over OK State. He’s averaging nearly 20 points over the last three games after not scoring more than 11 points in the first five.
Kansas Jayhawks
We knew the Jayhawks had plenty of depth, we just didn’t know how good they’d be. It’s safe to say they are pretty good. After losing their opener to a more experienced Gonzaga squad, the Hawks ripped off eight straight wins with half of those against teams that were nationally ranked at the time. They just completed a stretch of two straight games against ranked foes to open league play, and it looks like the Jayhawks are once again the team to beat.
KU extended its streak of league opening victories to 30 with a 58-57 decision over No. 14 Texas Tech. Ochai Agbaji was 8 of 11 from the floor, including 4 of 7 on threes, for a game-high 23 points. Nine of the 10 players who saw action scored at least two points. Christian Braun was the guy against WVU hitting six treys and scoring 22 points. He was held scoreless by Tech but boosted loose in this one.
And there lies the problem for opponents. You can’t stop just one player with KU having so many options. Agbaji, Braun and Jalen Wilson do the bulk of the heavy lifting with each averaging double figures. David McCormack and Marcus Garrett each score more than 9.0 points per game. And the Jayhawks can shoot the basketball with a three-point percentage of nearly 40.
Texas vs. Kansas Prediction
It’s been nearly two weeks since the teams played a game so we could see some rust early on. The difference is Kansas’ bench. They can rotate guarding Brown while searching for scoring if one of their top-scorers has an off-night. The Phog is a tough place to play and Kansas uses the home court to its advantage. And besides, the Hawks are a better team making them a smart play.
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