The No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers (10-4, 0-2) in Morgantown Saturday at 6 p.m. ET (Big 12 Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Kansas vs. West Virginia odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
After slipping past Texas Tech 75-72 Tuesday as a 1-point favorite, Kansas will play its 2nd straight road tilt as it attempts to stay perfect in conference play and improve to an identical 3-0 on the road.
F Jalen Wilson (team-high 20.6 points per game) leads the attack for the Jayhawks as coach Bill Self will attempt to beat WVU coach Bob Huggins in this meeting between the 2 most tenured coaches in the conference.
Behind G Erik Stevenson (team-high 14.1 PPG), West Virginia will look to earn its 1st conference win of the season after losing its last outing 67-60 at Oklahoma State Monday as 3-point underdogs. Although the Mountaineers are 1-3 on the road, they are a perfect 7-0 at home.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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Kansas at West Virginia odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:16 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Kansas -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | West Virginia +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Kansas -1.5 (-110) | West Virginia +1.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 145.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Kansas at West Virginia picks and predictions
Prediction
Kansas 77, West Virginia 73
Moneyline
A wager of Kansas (-120) is acceptable in this tilt, but with the spread only being 1.5 points, this bet is not a needed safety net.
Although the Mountaineers are 7-0 at home, the Jayhawks come in after winning its first 2 conference games. Coach Self will have the Jayhawks ready and the safety of the moneyline is not needed.
Against the spread
BACK KANSAS -1.5 (-110).
Kansas is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games, while West Virginia is 0-4 ATS it its last 4, which included the Mountaineers’ first 2 Big 12 contests of the season. Another cover for Kansas and failure by West Virginia is the way to go.
Over/Under
OVER 145.5 (-110) is the play.
West Virginia is 14-3 to the Over in its last 17 games after an ATS loss. The Mountaineers have also gone Over in 4 of their last 5 home games against a team with a winning record. Both numbers serve us well in choosing OVER 145.5 in this one.
In Kansas’ last 6 Saturday games, the Over is 5-1. Kansas is also 4-1 to the Over following an ATS victory in its previous game. This number is too low and I will take the value offered.
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