The Omaha Mavericks and the No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks open their seasons Monday at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (Big 12 Network/ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Omaha vs. Kansas school odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The Mavericks stumbled to a 5-24 record last season, including a dismal 4-14 record in the Summit League. Omaha also dropped all 15 of its road games in 2021 and hasn’t tasted a road victory since winning a pair of games at Denver to close out the 2020 COVID season.
The defending national champion Jayhawks lost starters G Ochai Agbaji, G Christian Braun, F David McCormack and G Remy Martin, as well as bench specialists G Jalen Coleman-Lands and F Mitch Lightfoot.
While that sounds like a lot of production to replace, and it is, G Gradey Dick is a 5-star prospect expected to be a plug-and-play option, as is G MJ Rice, a four-star wing player. C Ernest Udeh Jr. is another 4-star player expected to have a prominent role, while G Kevin McCullar transfers in from Texas Tech to give KU some added experience.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
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Omaha at Kansas odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:10 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Omaha +1500 (bet $100 to win $1,500) | Kansas -10000 (bet $10,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Omaha +32.5 (-110) | Kansas -32.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 149 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Omaha at Kansas picks and predictions
Prediction
Kansas 93, Omaha 58
Moneyline
There’s no value at all on Kansas (-10000) despite that it will almost certainly win the game. PASS.
Against the spread
BET a HALF UNIT on KANSAS 32.5 (-115).
Omaha was terrible defensively in 2021-22, allowing 83.5 points per game (PPG), which ranked 358th in the nation. The opposition scored at will, and the Mavericks offered very little resistance on 2-point or 3-point buckets.
Kansas has a lot of new parts and some jelling to go among recruits and portal adds. However, unlike some prominent programs that are opening up against decent mid-level talent, the Jayhawks should be able to cruise to an easy win against an overmatched Summit team.
Over/Under
OVER 149 (-112) is the lean here, but like the spread, go with a HALF-UNIT PLAY until we get a better idea about this Kansas team and how its new faces fit in.
Still, with the firepower the Jayhawks added, along with some holdovers from the championship team, it isn’t hard envisioning this team hitting the century mark against one of the worst teams in America last season.
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