Check out our free Kansas State vs Kansas pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Lawrence. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.
Kansas State vs Kansas Pick & Preview: Tuesday, January 31st Betting Odds
Wildcats vs Jayhawks Matchup at a Glance
- Sport: NCAAB
- Teams: Kansas State Wildcats at Kansas Jayhawks
- Where: Lawrence at Allen Fieldhouse
- Date: Tuesday, January 31st
- Betting Odds: Kansas State +6.5, KANST +228 | KAN -287 O/U 146.5
Wildcats Preview:
Kansas State heads into this matchup having played 21 games and have an overall record sitting at 18-3. On the road, the Wildcats will be playing their 7th game of the season, having gone 4-3. So far, the Wildcats have been the underdog 6 times, going 3-3 straight up. Heading into today’s contest, they are the +6.5 underdogs on the spread.
Keyontae Johnson comes into today’s game as the Wildcats’ leading scorer at 18.05 points per contest. Not only has Johnson been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Kansas State’s top rebounder at 7.67 boards per contest. Behind Johnson, the team has benefited from the strong play of Markquis Nowell, who is second on the team in scoring at 16.86 points per game. Overall, he has hit 40.8% of his shots and is adding 3.48 boards per game.
Offensive production has been hard to come by for Kansas State this season, as they are currently ranked 266th in college basketball at 69.0 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Wildcats’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 34.6%, placing them 206th in the NCAA.
Jayhawks Preview:
The Kansas Jayhawks head into today’s game in what will be their 22nd game of the season, posting a record of 17-4. So far this season, Kansas has played 13 games at home, sitting with a record of 12-1. At the time of this article, the oddsmakers have the Jayhawks as the -6.5 point favorites. The Jayhawks have been favored 17 times, going 15-2 straight up.
Jalen Wilson comes into today’s game as the Jayhawks’ leading scorer at 21.38 points per contest. Not only has Wilson been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Kansas’ top rebounder at 8.57 boards per contest. Behind Wilson, the team has benefited from the strong play of Gradey Dick, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.76 points per game. Overall, he has hit 44.9% of his shots and is adding 5.19 boards per game.
So far this season, Kansas has put together a strong scoring offense at 78.6 points per game (31st). This strong figure has come despite the Jayhawks playing at a slow tempo compared to other schools. For the season, they have hit 35.5% of their shots from outside, which is closer to the NCAA average. Kansas’ overall field goal percentage currently sits at 48.1%
Free Spread Prediction: Kansas Jayhawks -6.5
Leading into this matchup, the Kansas Jayhawks are currently the favorites to pick up the win, with a spread sitting at -6.5. According to our analysis, we anticipate a strong offensive effort from the Jayhawks’ shooters to be enough to pull out the win and cover the spread. For the season, Kansas has a field goal percentage of 48.1, good for 33rd in college basketball. Although Kansas hasn’t been excellent vs the spread at home of late, 5-5, we see their still being plenty of value in grabbing them at -6.5.
