The TCU Horned Frogs (16-13, 7-9) travel to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan., for a Big 12 matchup with the Kansas Jayhawks (26-3, 15-1) on Wednesday night.
Rock Chalk
Kansas enters this Big 12 meeting as a heavy favorite and rightfully so. There are a lot of big numbers out there tonight, but none bigger (in terms of games involving ranked teams) than the Jayhawks, who are laying 16 against TCU.
Kansas has reeled off 14 straight wins, ascending to the top spot in the Top 25 and are a consensus No. 1 seed come NCAA Tournament time. Their last loss came to Big 12 rival Baylor, which also happens to be their only loss at Allen Fieldhouse this season.
The Jayhawks have been a force at home, especially lately, winning their last four home tilts by an average of 18.3 points per game.
Road Weary
TCU is an interesting team that has a dab of Jekyll and Hyde to them lately. They currently sit in seventh place in the Big 12 and on the outside looking in of the Big Dance. On one hand, they’ve lost their last eight road games. On the other, they’ve knocked off West Virginia (ranked 17th at the time) and Baylor in two of their last three outings but sandwiched around a loss on the road to Iowa State.
They’ll certainly need to dethrone Kansas on Wednesday, close out their regular season by beating Oklahoma and still make noise in the Big 12 Tournament to warrant consideration for the field of 68.
Kansas’ eighth win during that aforementioned 14-game win streak was at the expense of these same Horned Frogs. TCU was mired in a six-game skid themselves, falling by 14 in Fort Worth. Udoka Azubuike led the way with 20 points and 15 rebounds to propel the Jayhawks to an NCAA record-tying 31st consecutive season with at least 20 wins.
That win also saw Bill Self become the second-youngest coach in NCAA history to notch his 700th career victory.
Kansas is the marquee draw in this matchup and moving forward. But this Big 12 battle will feature the top two scorers in the conference. Devon Dotson leads the Big 12 with 18.2 ppg, while Desmond Bane is right behind him with 16.1.
Dotson contributed 18 points and 11 assists, while Bane led TCU with 20 in that first meeting back on February 8.
Free Betting Pick
It’s tough to ignore TCU’s upset wins over West Virginia and Baylor, especially the latter. Add in the fact that Kansas barely squeaked by Kansas State on Saturday. However, TCU’s wins came at home, and the Jayhawks’ four-point win over the Wildcats was on the road.
TCU is 1-8 ATS on the road this season, which seals the pick for me. There’s a hint of a look-ahead factor for Kansas, with Texas Tech looming to close out their regular season, but I think Kansas will be motivated for their final home game and win this one by at least 20.
