The No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks (16-4) take on another blueblood in the Kentucky Wildcats (14-6) in Rupp Arena Saturday at 8 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Kansas vs. Kentucky odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Kansas enters on a 3-game losing streak, most recently falling 75-69 as a 2-point road underdog at No. 17 Baylor Monday. The defeat followed a rare home loss, 83-60 as a 7-point favorite to 11th-ranked TCU Jan. 21. It was just the 17th home loss under coach Bill Self. This is one more loss than the team has conference titles under Self. Kansas has never had a 4-game losing streak under Self. Saturday is an important test for the Jayhawks and National Player of the Year candidate F Jalen Wilson, who despite the struggles of the team has still managed to put up points (21.4 per game). He scored 23 on a 10-for-16 performance against Baylor.
Kentucky has been on a rollercoaster after opening the season ranked No. 4. The Wildcats have fallen completely out of the rankings but are looking to make a charge down the stretch. After losing 71-68 at home to South Carolina as 20-point favorites, the Wildcats ran off 4 straight wins, including a 63-56 road victory over then-No. 5, now-No. 4 Tennessee as 11-point underdogs in their next game. The victory over the Vols was followed by wins against Georgia, Texas A&M and most recently, a 69-53 triumph as 6-point road favorites at Vanderbilt Tuesday.
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Kansas at Kentucky odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:39 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Kansas +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Kentucky -150 (bet $150 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Kansas +2.5 (-110) | Kentucky -2.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 140.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
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Kansas at Kentucky picks and predictions
Prediction
Kansas 70, Kentucky 65
Moneyline
KANSAS (+125) is the way to go.
Kansas has been struggling of late for sure, but it has never lost 4 games in a row under Self. The Jayhawks and All-American Wilson will pull off a victory here for the first time in 2 weeks.
If Kentucky can make its 3-point shots, this game could go an entirely different direction. But the size of Kansas will make this difficult and Kentucky, which is shooting 36.9% behind the arc, will find it hard to hit at this high of a percentage Saturday. Kansas gets off the schneid and wins on the road.
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Against the spread
PASS.
If Kansas is going to cover, it’s going to win. No need to use the points here unless your feeling is that Kentucky will be the winning side. I’m fine with just playing the moneyline.
Over/Under
BACK UNDER 140.5 (-115).
The Jayhawks are 4-0 to the Under in their last 4 Saturday games and they’re also 4-0 to the Under in their last 4 against teams with winning records. Both factors are in effect in this Rupp Arena tilt.
On top of the Kansas trends, Kentucky is 4-0 to the Under in its last 4 games against teams with winning records. This game will be a battle down to the end as both teams will attempt to limit possessions and milk the clock.
Don’t expect a shootout. The 140.5 is just slightly too high.
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