Houston vs Kansas Odds & Picks: Jayhawks Have More Working In Their Favor

Kansas may get most of the attention when it comes to the Big 12, but let’s not forget it was Houston which claimed the league’s regular-season championship last year—and in its first season in the conference at that. The Cougars take another shot at the Jayhawks in a heavyweight showdown Saturday night in Phog Allen Field House, where Kansas is a 1.5-point favorite.

Seventh-ranked Houston (15-3 outright) is unbeaten through its first seven Big 12 games, and has covered the spread in five of those contests. No. 12 Kansas (14-4 outright) has won five of its last six and covered in four games over that span. The teams split a pair of contests last season, with each squad covering at home.

Houston vs Kansas Odds Today

Matchup Page: Houston vs Kansas, 6:30 PM ET

Odds as of January 24 at Sportsbook

Houston vs Kansas Picks Today

Kansas -1.5 (+100) & UNDER 129.5 (-110) at Sportsbook

While the Cougars said goodbye to first-team All-America Jamal Shead, they returned four starters off the team that spent the final three weeks of the regular season ranked No. 1 in the nation. And that stifling defense, the hallmark of coach Kelvin Sampson, remains—Houston is the top team in America in scoring defense, allowing opponents an average of 53.9 points per game.

And yet the Cougars started conference play with a fairly easy Big 12 slate, and are 0-3 against opponents in Quad 1 of the NCAA’s NET rankings. They’ve also played in just two games thus far with single-digit point spreads—against Alabama and Auburn—and failed to cover in each. Kansas meanwhile has played the seventh-toughest schedule to this point, according to KenPom.com, and is 3-3 in Quad 1 with quality victories over North Carolina and Duke.

The Jayhawks’ only loss so far in 2025 was at No. 3 Iowa State, and their scoring defense in conference games ranks second in the Big 12—right behind the Cougars. Kansas and Houston have nearly identical cover rates of around 55 percent on the season, according to TeamRankings.com, but the Jayhawks have done it against a more difficult schedule to this point.

Defense has been the key to Kansas’ performance this season, and it’s shown against the total—the Jayhawks have gone UNDER in 16 of their 18 games, an 88.9 percent rate that leads the nation according to TeamRankings.com. It’s a similar story for defensive-oriented Houston, which has gone UNDER in eight of its last 11. The total is a low one, but the trends here speak for themselves.

Houston vs Kansas News

Houston guard Emanuel Sharp, who is tied with L.C. Cryer for the team scoring lead at 13.8 points per game, missed the Cougars’ most recent contest against Utah on Wednesday with an ankle injury, according to the Houston Chronicle. His status for the Kansas game Saturday was unclear. Kansas meanwhile is adjusting to the absence of forward K.J. Adams, who according to Sports Illustrated is out “for an extended period” with a shoulder injury suffered Jan. 15 at Iowa State. Adams was averaging 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks. 

Houston vs Kansas Betting Trends