Kansas Eyeing 11th Home Win
Kansas began to resemble a national contender again when the Jayhawks headed to Rupp Arena and returned home with a 77-68 win over Kentucky. Now the Jayhawks look to build on that time against Big 12 rival Kansas State.
The Wildcats can move back into a tie for first place with Texas in the Big 12 with a win. Meanwhile, Kansas can pull even with K-State in the conference race by coming away with the victory.
The teams will have a hard time topping the 83-82 overtime win by the Wildcats in the first meeting between the rivals this season. Keyontae Johnson’s dunk gave Kansas State the lead with 24 seconds to play and a steal by Ismael Massoud clinched the win for the Wildcats.
The game featured 49 fouls and 69 free throw attempts. The teams will look for a more free-flowing affair in the rematch.
Kansas State dropped one spot to No. 6 in the coaches’ poll and went from fifth to seventh in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Kansas moved up from ninth to eighth in both national rankings.
According to the college basketball odds, Kansas (+250) is tied for second in the odds to reach the Final Four. Kansas (+250) is favored in the odds to win the Big 12 title while Kansas State (+375) is tied for second.
Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports and college basketball lines for Kansas vs Kansas State. We’ve got plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.
Nowell Playing Big Role
Don’t be caught off guard by Markquis Nowell’s 5-foot-8 inch frame because there are few Big 12 players on more of an offensive roll right now than the Kansas State senior guard.
Nowell has scored at least 20 points in six of his last nine games. The only time he was held under 10 points during that stretch came in the last meeting with Kansas.
He was 0 of 4 from 3-point range in that game. Even with that tough shooting performance against the Jayhawks, Nowell is 27 of 58 from 3-point range over the last nine games.
Nowell averaged 12.4 points in his first season at Kansas State after transferring in from Little Rock. His shooting percentage has improved from the field, on 3-pointers and at the foul line. He is also handing out 8.2 assists per game, up from 5.0 a season ago.
Kansas State has covered against the college basketball betting lines in eight of its last nine games as well as in five of its last six road games against Syracuse.
Adams Makes Presence Felt
Kansas snapped a three-game losing streak in glorious fashion as the Jayhawks went into Rupp Arena and left with a nine-point win over a Kentucky team that had won four games in a row.
Sophomore forward K.J. Adams had just four points on 2-of-11 shooting in the previous two games and that played a huge role in the losses to Texas Christian and Baylor.
It was a different story on Saturday as he hit 8 of his 10 shots to finish with 17 points and two steals.
we see you @kj_atx 👀 pic.twitter.com/yZ9oGdrL4s
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) January 29, 2023
Adams is averaging 14.3 points on the road after the Kentucky game but is only at 9.3 at home so he will be looking to change that on Tuesday. He had 17 points as he was 6 of 6 from the field in the first meeting with Kansas State and will be looking for more of the same.
Kansas has covered against the Las Vegas odds in just one of its last six games and is 0-5 against the spread in the previous five games at home.
Kansas vs Kansas State Game Injuries
Kansas State vs Kansas Head-to-Head
Each of the last three meetings between the Wildcats and Jayhawks finished over the total. That included Kansas State’s 83-82 overtime win on Jan. 17 when visiting Kansas was favored by 1½ points. Johnson had 24 points to lead the Wildcats while Jalen Wilson had 38 points for Kansas.
Kansas has won the last 16 home games against the Wildcats. The last five times Kansas State came to Lawrence, the host Jayhawks won by double digits.
Kansas State has covered in two of the last three meetings and is looking to win back-to-back games against the Jayhawks since 1993 and 1994.
Kansas State vs Kansas Game Information
- Game: Kansas State (15-6, 6-2 Big 12) vs Kansas (14-8, 5-3)
- Location: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS
- Day/Time: Tuesday, Jan. 31, 8:00 p.m. ET
- Kansas vs Kansas State Live stream: TBS.com
Kansas State vs Kansas Betting Lines
Kansas State vs Kansas Picks and Prediction
Winning in Lawrence has been a major struggle for the Kansas State program. However, this is a much better squad than most of the ones that headed to play the rival Jayhawks in recent years.
There’s not much to separate these two teams. Kansas State averages 77.1 points compared to 76 for Kansas while the Wildcats allow 67.3 points and the Jayhawks 67.5.
Kansas State leads the Big 12 in 3-point percentage defense and that was evident in the first meeting as the Jayhawks were 6 of 29 from distance.
The total has gone over in seven of the last 10 games played by Kansas State with the total set at 146½ for this meeting.
Based on what has happened this season and how the first matchup played out, seeing Kansas favored by 7½ points seems a bit on the high side.
Kansas has covered in just three of its 11 home games while Kansas State is 4-2 against the spread in true road games.
Kansas is 16-2 when listed by the sportsbook as the favorite. Kansas State is just 3-3 as an underdog.
Kansas State is listed at +282 in our Vegas college basketball lines. This means that if you wager $100 on the Wildcats, you have a chance to win $282. Kansas is -355, offering a chance to win $28 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Kansas State a 26.18% chance to win, with Kansas at 78.02%
Kansas vs Kansas State Trends
Kansas vs Kansas State Edge
Kansas vs Kansas State Results
Kansas vs Kansas State Game Summary
