Kansas Jayhawks vs Wichita State Shockers Prediction, 12/30/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas Jayhawks vs Wichita State Shockers

Date: Saturday, December 30, 2023

Location: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO

TV: ESPN

The Wichita State Shockers (8-4) will try to defeat the Kansas Jayhawks (11-1) at T-Mobile Center on Saturday.

The Kansas Jayhawks played Yale and walked away with a win by a score of 75-60 in their last game. Kansas wrapped up the contest with a 47.4% field goal percentage (27 of 57) and buried 9 out of their 20 3-pointers. When they shot from the free throw line, the Jayhawks converted 12 of 12 shots for a rate of 100.0%. In relation to rebounding, they collected 27 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 18 dimes for this contest while forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and having 10 steals. When talking about defense, Kansas allowed their opponent to shoot 42.6% from the floor on 23 of 54 shooting. Yale distributed 13 dimes and had 7 steals in the matchup. On top of that, Yale grabbed 23 rebounds (7 offensive, 16 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Yale walked away from this one shooting 75.0% when shooting free throws by knocking down 6 of 8 shots. They also made 8 of their 21 tries from beyond the arc. When talking about personal fouls, the Jayhawks left the arena with 12 while Yale accounted for 10 personal fouls.

Kevin McCullar is one player who was a major contributor for this game. He notched 34 points on 11 out of 18 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 38 minutes and also snagged 6 rebounds. He finished the contest at 61.1% from the floor and dished out 4 dimes.

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Kansas heads into this matchup with a mark of 11-1 this season. They average 79.1 points per game (88th in the nation) while going 51.4% from the field. The Jayhawks are connecting on 38.4% on shots beyond the perimeter (81 of 211) and 72.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Kansas is snagging 38.2 boards per game and has totaled 257 dimes for the year, which is 3rd in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 12.5 times per game and as a group are committing 13.9 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Jayhawks are forcing their opponents into 12.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.0 personal fouls. They currently rank 77th in the country in giving up assists with 133 surrendered on the season. The Jayhawks are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 37.9% (284 of 749) and they surrender 32.6 boards per game as a group. They relinquish 30.9% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 57th in college hoops in opponents PPG (65.2).

The last time they took the court, the Wichita State Shockers took a loss by a score of 69-60 against Kansas State. The Shockers pulled down 19 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 30 in this matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 13 times, while getting 9 steals for the contest. Kansas State had 17 personal fouls in this game which took the Shockers to the free throw line for a total of 9 tries. They were able to convert 5 of the free throw tries for a rate of 55.6%. With respect to shots from 3-point land, Wichita State converted 3 out of their 19 tries (15.8%). Overall, the Shockers shot 26 for 63 from the field which had them sitting at 41.3%. The Shockers allowed Kansas State to convert 20 out of 50 tries from the floor which left them shooting 40.0% for the contest. They finished 33.3% from beyond the arc by connecting on 6 of 18 and ended up shooting 23 of 29 from the free throw line (79.3%). In reference to how they cleaned up the glass, Wichita State permitted Kansas State to collect 36 in total (13 offensive).

Quincy Ballard ended up being important for the Shockers in this matchup. He racked up 13 points in his 34 mins of playing time, but didn't record an assist. He buried 5 out of 6 in the game for a field goal rate of 83.3%, and accounted for 7 rebounds.

Wichita State has a mark of 8-4 this season. The Shockers commit 14.7 personal fouls per contest and they go 71.0% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 11.8 times per game (303rd in the nation) and they turn it over 11.3 times per game. Wichita State has scored 912 points for the season (76.0 per contest) and they pull down 43.5 boards per contest. As an offense, the Shockers are connecting on 44.3% from the floor, which ranks 212th in the nation.

The Shockers on the defensive end are ranked 175th in the country in PPG surrendered with 70.6. They are forcing 10.0 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 39.5% from the field (42nd in college basketball). The Wichita State defense allows 29.8% on shots from behind the 3-point line (98 of 329) and opponents are connecting on 73.3% of their foul shots. They have allowed 13.6 assists and 35.1 boards every game, which has them ranked 254th and 192nd in those categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Wichita State

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