Coming off a tough home loss to Baylor, Kansas dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 in the country. The Jayhawks will look to rebound against Oklahoma, having beaten the Sooners in 16 of their last 20 meetings. Kansas opened as a sizable road favorite but it is still a smart play on Tuesday.
- Date/Time: January 14, 9 p.m. ET
- Arena: Lloyd Noble Center
- TV Coverage: ESPN
- Sportsbook Odds: Kansas -6.5 | O/U 139.5
- Kansas vs Oklahoma Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
Oklahoma has won six straight home games but has yet to face a ranked opponent this season. The Jayhawks, meanwhile, have faced five ranked programs already and are 16-4 SU in their last 20 against the Sooners, so they open as 6.5-point road favorites. Both teams possess offensive talent, averaging more than 151 points per game combined, but the total has gone UNDER in each of their last five meetings, so the total for this game opened a little below that at 139.5 points.
Kansas News & Notes
All good things come to an end, even a home winning streak over a conference rival that dated back to the 1960s. In losing 67-55 to Baylor on Saturday, Kansas’ perfect 17-0 SU record at home against the Bears was snapped.
The Jayhawks can be forgiven somewhat against one of the country’s premier defenses, as leading scorer Devon Dotson missed a large chunk of the game due to a hip injury. Kansas was also unable to get big men Udoka Azubuike and David McCormack going, as the duo normally averages 20.8 points per game but combined for just six points in the loss.
The good news for Kansas is that Dotson returned to the game on Saturday and is probable to play against Oklahoma on Tuesday. Even better is that the Sooners sit 200th in the nation in scoring defense.
Oklahoma News & Notes
Oklahoma has started the season with a strong 11-4 record (2-1 within the Big 12). But it is coming off an ugly 81-68 loss to Iowa State and has not been overly convincing in its wins — it has covered the spread just once in its last eight games and only twice in its past 12 contests.
Senior forward Kristian Doolittle, who leads the team with 17.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game this season, has been particularly hot of late, scoring at least 19 points in five of his last seven games. While he’s been leading the offense, Oklahoma needs someone to step up on defense, as it allows 69.5 points per game, is among the worst teams in the nation in forcing turnovers and allows opponents to shoot three-pointers at a high frequency.
That doesn’t bode well facing a Kansas team that’s one of the better three-point shooting teams — and overall offenses — in the nation. The Sooners have covered the spread in five of their last six games against Kansas, but with the Jayhawks again one of the country’s powerhouse programs, Oklahoma will be in tough on Tuesday.
Betting Pick: Kansas -6.5
The Jayhawks can’t be happy losing at home to stingy Baylor. They get to rebound against a much softer Oklahoma defense, and I think their dynamic offense takes advantage.
- Kansas is 7-3 ATS in its last 10 games.
- The UNDER is 5-2 in Oklahoma’s last 7 games vs Kansas.
- Oklahoma is 2-9-1 ATS in its last 12 games.
