Monday night features a Big 12 battle of top-25 teams as the No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks (22-5, 10-4) take on the No. 22 TCU Horned Frogs (18-9, 7-7). The Horned Frogs will host this one at the Ed & Rae Schollmaier Arena, with tipoff scheduled for 9:00 pm ET.
TCU comes into this one as the slight favorites playing at home. They are -125 to win, while the Jayhawks’ moneyline sits at +104. The spread features Kansas as 1.5-point underdogs, and the over/under for total points is 149.5.
Kansas Looks To Stay Atop Big 12 Rankings
At 10-4 in the conference, the Kansas Jayhawks sit tied with the Texas Longhorns atop the Big 12 rankings. Knowing that those two square off in the regular season finale, Kansas can’t afford to drop another conference matchup, including Monday night’s contest versus TCU.
The Jayhawks have won four in a row coming into this one, partially thanks to an offense that ranks 41st in the nation, averaging 77 points per game (73.8 on the road). They are led by junior forward Jalen Wilson, who is averaging 20.4 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.
Other major contributors include Gradey Dick (14.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.6 steals), K.J. Adams (10.8 points, 4.3 rebounds), and Kevin McCullar Jr (10.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.2 steals).
Defensively, Kansas ranks 120th in the nation, allowing opponents an average of 68.3 points per game.
TCU Looks For Signature Win At Home
Despite being ranked 22nd in the nation, the Horned Frogs are just sixth in their conference at 7-7. While that speaks volumes to the depth of the Big 12, TCU is looking for a signature win over Kansas at home, where they are 12-3 this season.
The Horned Frogs rank 87th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 67.3 points per game. They are even better at home, where they are allowing just 62.9 points per contest.
On offense, they rank 48th in the nation, averaging 76.5 points per game (79.4 at home). The offense is led by junior guard Mike Miles Jr, who is averaging 17.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game.
TCU has two other scorers who average double digits in guard Damion Baugh (13 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.9 assists) and Emanuel Miller (12.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2 assists).
Take Kansas To Win On The Road
Kansas is definitely playing their best basketball when it matters most. Not only have they won four in a row, but two of those wins have been over No. 9 Baylor (87-71) and No. 6 Texas (88-80). If they keep playing to the level they have, they will be a tough matchup for TCU, even with the Horned Frogs playing at home.
Looking at the trends, Kansas is 6-1 both straight up and against the spread in their last seven games.
Furthermore, they are 17-3 in their last 20 games against TCU.
As for the Horned Frogs, they are 1-4 both straight up and against the spread in their last five games. They are 1-8 in their last nine against the Jayhawks at home.
TCU is definitely a tough matchup, but there is a lot of value in Kansas as the underdog in this one. Feel free to take the points for some safety, but also don’t hesitate to take Kansas winning this one straight up on the road at +104.
