Free College Basketball Picks: Kansas at Kansas State Odds
by George Monroy - 2/10/2014
The Kansas Jayhawks rattled off seven straight conference wins before finally losing to the then-No. 25 Texas Longhorns last week. The No. 8 squad in the nation is two games ahead of Texas for the Big 12 lead with a 9-1 record and remains the favorite to win this year’s national title with +600 odds, according to Sportsbook.ag. Kansas is set to face three Top-25 teams later in the month but first must face a formidable test against an in-state rival on Monday night.
The Kansas State Wildcats started out Big 12 Conference play with a 4-1 record but have since fallen on difficult times since as the squad dropped three of its last five matchups over the last two weeks. The Wildcats will have a chance to redeem themselves, however, by beating their second straight ranked team when they match up against the Jayhawks. Kansas State earned a huge win over Texas on Saturday and will be looking to continue that trend with a win over Kansas tonight. Let’s take a closer look at the matchup with predictions and analysis.
Kansas at Kansas State Betting Story Lines
Kansas is coming off a dominant 14-point victory over West Virginia on Saturday. Andrew Wiggins lead the way with 19 points and four rebounds while going 7-10 from the free-throw line. Center Joel Embiid had a quiet night with only 11 points on eight shot attempts, but did grab 12 rebounds for the team. The Jayhawks held West Virginia to 39 percent shooting from the field and 26 percent from the three-point line. The squad also out-rebounded its opponent by nine boards and produced 17 assists on its 28 made shots.
Kansas has not been a great ATS team over the course of the season and currently sits at 12-10-1. The team, however, has covered four of its last five spreads, with three of them being by 7.5 points or more. Overall, Kansas averages 79.3 points per game, which is ranked 29th in the nation; 38.5 rebounds, which is ranked 37th; and 16 assists per game, which is ranked 24th.
Kansas State has a slew of big games left on its schedule, and after Monday night’s game against the Jayhawks the team will play Baylor later in the week. The Wildcats still have matchups against No. 21 Oklahoma, No. 16 Iowa State and No. 19 Oklahoma State left on their schedule, and if they do not begin to turn things around soon the squad might be on the outside looking in when the NCAA Tournament begins in March.
Kansas State is coming off a huge 17-point win over Texas this past weekend. Marcus Foster scored a career-high 34 points on only 16 shots for the night while adding three rebounds and three assists. The team also shot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line. The Wildcats covered their last spread but are only 1-2 over the last three matchups
Kansas at Kansas State NCAA Betting Odds and Key Trends
Kansas opened as a 3.5-point favorite over the underdog Wildcats at BetOnline. Kansas is 4-1-1 ATS in its last six Monday games and 4-1 ATS in its last five road games. The team is also 4-1-1 ATS in its last six overall games and 4-1 ATS in its last five road games against teams with a winning home record. Kansas is 3-1-1 ATS in its last five games following a SU win.
Kansas State is 8-1 ATS in its last nine home games and 12-2 ATS in its last 14 home games versus teams with winning SU records. The team is also 8-2 ATS in its last 10 games following a SU win and in its last 10 following an ATS win. Kansas State is 11-3 ATS in its last 14 overall games. Head-to-head, the home team is 9-2 ATS over the last 11 meetings between the schools, while Kansas it 11-3 ATS over the last 14 matchups at Kansas State.
Free College Basketball Picks: Kansas at Kansas State Predictions
The Jayhawks have dominated Big 12 play and already beat the Wildcats by 26 points the last time the two teams met in early January. Since that time, Kansas has only gotten better, while Kansas State has struggled to produce consistent results during conference play. Tonight’s matchup might be a close one, but the Jayhawks are an excellent perimeter team and should be able to score points even if they do not get any help from the referees at the foul line. Kansas will also have the rebounding advantage as Embiid dominates in the middle. Take the Jayhawks minus the points.
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