Texas Longhorns at Kansas Jayhawks Betting Preview
Big 12 rivals will square off in the regular-season finale as the No. 21 Texas Longhorns (21-9, 10-7) take on the No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks (24-6, 13-4). The Jayhawks will host this one at the Allen Fieldhouse, with tipoff scheduled for 4:00 pm ET.
This is the second time these two have squared off this season after Texas beat Kansas at home 79-76 back on February 7. The Jayhawks will look to return the favor Saturday as they play host.
For Texas, they come in having lost in their last game as they fell to No. 3 Baylor 68-61. In the loss, Christian Bishop had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
After suffering back-to-back losses, the Jayhawks bounced back in their last outing with a 72-68 win over TCU. Ochai Agbaji had a game-high 22 points in the victory.
Kansas is the favorite in this one playing at home. They are -255 to win while the Longhorns’ moneyline sits at +205. The spread features Texas +6, and the over/under for total points is 137.5.
More Odds
Kansas currently has the seventh-best odds of winning the National Championship at +1600. The Longhorns are +8000 to win it all.
By The Numbers
Offensively, Kansas has one of the best offenses in college basketball. They rank 15th overall averaging 78.9 points per game (81.7 at home). The Longhorns rank 216th averaging just 68.8 points per game.
While they struggle on offense, Texas has one of the best defenses in the nation. They rank fifth overall, allowing opponents just 59.1 points per game, although that number swells to 69.9 on the road. Kansas ranks 154th, allowing 68.8 points per game.
Texas Looks For Season Sweep
The Longhorns already got the Jayhawks once, and on Saturday, they will look to finish the season sweep. At 21-9 overall, another signature win over a top-ranked opponent could do wonders for Texas’ postseason resume.
Leading Texas this season is senior forward Timmy Allen. On the season, he is averaging a team-high 12.3 points on 52.5% shooting. He is also chipping in 6.5 rebounds, two assists, and 1.2 steals per game.
The Longhorns have two others averaging double digits in guards Marcus Carr (11.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists) and Andrew Jones (10.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.1 steals).
Kansas Still Competing For Regular Season Title
At 13-4 in the conference, the Jayhawks are tied with the Baylor Bears for the first in the Big 12. Given that the two teams split their regular-season games, a win on Saturday would ensure that, at worst, the Jayhawks would be a co-Big 12 conference regular-season champion.
Leading head coach Bill Self’s offense is senior guard Ochai Agbaji. He has been sensational this season, averaging 20.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists.
Guard Christian Braun has also been spectacular, putting up 15 points per game on 51.4% shooting. He is also pulling down six rebounds per game.
Other contributors include Jalen Wilson (10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds), David McCormack (9.7 points, 7.1 rebounds), and Remy Martin (7.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists).
Take Texas And The Points
As they fight for a share of the conference title, Kansas certainly has more to play for in this game; however, they have been shaky at best as of late.
Not only have they lost two of their last three games, but they only beat unranked TCU by four at home in their last game. That was after losing to TCU by 10 in their previous contest. With such inconsistency, six seems like a lot to be spotting Texas.
Granted, the Longhorns don’t shoot it well, but they can play defense with the best of them. Expect this one to be close throughout, and for that reason, take Texas and the points.
