Pair of 7-1 Big 12 Teams Face Off At Allen Fieldhouse

A Tuesday night clash between the West Virginia Mountaineers and Kansas Jayhawks could offer a potential preview of the Big 12 championship game. In what has been a very lopsided series between these two teams the past few seasons, the Mountaineers look to win for the first time in their last nine games on the road against the Jayhawks.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

Kansas opened as a modest 3-point favorite at home looking for its eighth win in a row. Sharp money has pushed the line down to -2.5 and it may perhaps go down toward -2 by tipoff. The total opened at 140 amd has pushed a bit higher now to 140.5.

West Virginia News & Notes 

Bob Huggins’ Mountaineers (7-1) return a veteran roster led by fellow Ohioans Derek Culver (junior) and Miles McBride (sophomore). This team relies heavily on seniority, with not one freshman among the team’s top seven in scoring. Senior Taz Sherman may be the most improved player in the Big 12, averaging over 12 points per game and shooting a lights-out 46 percent from beyond the arc.

This balanced gritty team has lost only to No. 1 Gonzaga, in a game in which they led for all but just three minutes in the first half. Gonzaga also beat Kansas last month in what was a much more dominant double-digit victory. 

Kansas News & Notes

Coming off a magical 28-3 season, Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks (7-1) won’t simply waltz to another Big 12 title this season. Kansas holds the record for most consecutive conference titles with 14 from 2005 to 2018. In my opinion, though, Baylor and West Virginia are the top two teams in the Big 12 now after Kansas reigned over the past two decades.

The Jayhawks lost Big 12 player of the year and double-double machine Udoka Azubuike, not to mention Devon Dotson, who led the Big 12 in scoring last year. The two players could very well have been the most talented in the entire conference last season, combining for 42 percent of Kansas’ scoring.

Betting Pick: West Virginia +3 and ML +130

Looking at the most recent matchups and Big 12 history, Kansas looks like the no-brainer play. But this is a perfect time for West Virginia to steal a road victory at Allen Fieldhouse. The Mountaineers are the more experienced and battle-tested team in this matchup. We are fading the public (63%) and taking WVU to cover and win on the road.