NCAA Basketball Picks February 25 – Kansas State Wildcats at Kansas Jayhawks Betting
Winning the Big 12 regular season title is never easy, though the Kansas Jayhawks have made it look that way for the past 14 seasons.
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The following article is courtesy of Bookmaker
The Jayhawks are in jeopardy of having that streak snapped and a loss to rival and first place Kansas State Wildcats will all but end their hopes. The good news for Kansas heading into Monday night’s matchup is that they haven’t lost inside Allen Fieldhouse this season, and they haven’t dropped a home game to K-State since 2006.
Kansas State Wildcats at Kansas Jayhawks
Date and Time: Monday, February 25, 2019, 9 p.m. ET
Location: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS
Opening CBB Odds: Kansas -3.5, O/U 132.5
Kansas State at Kansas TV Coverage: ESPN
Odds Analysis
This might be the best chance the Wildcats have of ending their string of losses in Lawrence. They are a confident grout after snapping back from a tough loss to Iowa State by posting impressive wins over West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Sure, those teams are at the bottom of the Big 12 standings, but the Cats got the wins they needed. That’s unlike Kansas, which suffered a stunning loss in Blacksburg earlier in the season.
And the Wildcats have been a strong road team with a 6-1 mark in league play. Their only loss came in the opening road tilt of the league season when they fell to Texas Tech. The Cats are 6-0 since then and they’ve covered the closing line in all seven Big 12 roadies. There was a loss at Texas AM last month as part of the Big 12/SEC challenge. Overall, the Wildcats are 6-4 SU on the road and 7-3 ATS.
Despite the worst conference loss since Bill Self took over the program, the Jayhawks are a 3.5-point favorite on the opening betting line. Their stellar play at Allen Fieldhouse and dominance over their in-state rival played a major role in that number. The Jayhawks have won 18 straight games at the Phog, including all 15 this season, and they haven’t lost at home to the Wildcats since 2006. KU looks to keep its hopes of a 15th straight regular season title on the front page by bouncing back from a 91-62 loss at Texas Tech on Saturday.
Kansas State
The Wildcats were as good as the Jayhawks were bad on Saturday. K-State put a hurt on Oklahoma State for its second straight dominant win. If you thought the Wildcats were going to overlook the Cowboys with Kansas next on the docket, you were sorely mistaken. State scored the first 15 points while forcing five OSU turnovers in that stretch and the game quickly became a laugher.
With the Wildcats up by 24 points at halftime, the starters took a seat to gear up for Monday’s clash. With three seniors and two juniors starting, don’t expect the Wildcats to be overwhelmed by the situation. For the senior class this is their last opportunity to get a win at Kansas and Barry Brown is ready for his chance. Brown tops the Wildcats in scoring and anchors the top defensive unit with a Big 12 best 2.0 steals per game.
Kansas
The Jayhawks need a win to keep their hopes of stretching their string of won or shared Big 12 regular season titles to 15. It’s been a trying year for Bill Self and his group, suffering the loss of big man Udoka Azubuike to injury in early January then watching senior Lagerald Vick take a leave of absence from the program took 27.5 points per game off the floor. Not to mention the leadership they provided.
Working with a starting lineup that includes four freshmen, the Jayhawks experienced some good fortune. They won three straight with their youthful lineup until the meltdown on Saturday. The kids are talented, but they need to provide Dedric Lawson more help against a stifling K-State defense. Lawson has put together Big 12 Player of the Year numbers leading the league in scoring and rebounding. However, his mates offered no help at Texas Tech.
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No team in college basketball has a better homecourt advantage than Kansas, and they’ve used that to go undefeated this season and takedown their rivals in each of the last 12 meetings in Lawrence. State smothered the Jayhawks in the first meeting, forcing 23 turnovers and turning them into a sizable edge on the scoreboard. It resulted in a 7-point home win for the Wildcats. Something about the Phog gets the Jayhawks amped and playing their rival with a chance to close the gap is even more incentive. Expect the home team to play much crisper and this should be a close game, but the Jayhawks will pull away in the second half like they’ve done at home all season to get the victory.
CBB Score Prediction: Kansas 73, Kansas State 68
