Kansas Jayhawks at Texas Longhorns Game Preview, Odds, Picks & Predictions
Big12 Leaders Face Daunting Challenge on Road
Horns Hooking ‘Em at Home
The Kansas Jayhawks hope to continue their impressive form on the road against the always-tough Texas Longhorns.
Kansas leads the Big 12 Conference, and with March Madness betting markets starting to take shape, it’s an important fixture on the college basketball calendar.
The sportsbook has the Longhorns at +1½ despite a superior record at home.
Let’s check the latest college basketball news, stats, injury reports and college basketball lines for Jayhawks vs Longhorns. We’ve got plenty of NCAA basketball picks for you to consider.
Kansas Jayhawks at Texas Longhorns
- Game: Kansas Jayhawks (19-3) at Texas Longhorns (17-6)
- Location: Frank Erwin Center
- Day/Time: Monday, 9 p.m. ET
- Jayhawks vs Longhorns Live Stream: TBS.com
Jayhawks Rising to Occasion
We love it when teams respond to a loss and that’s what the Kansas Jayhawks have done over the last two games.
They could have dropped their heads after losing to Kentucky 80-62 at home, but instead they got back on the horse to produce two stellar victories.
The first win was a 70-61 victory against a high-quality Iowa State Cyclones outfit. Kansas then outplayed reigning national champion Baylor and came away with an 83-59 romp.
Bettors haven’t had as much success betting on the Jayhawks, who are 10-11-1 against the spread. However, the road team is 12-3-1 ATS in the last 16 meetings, so bettors should have confidence in that statistic.
Coming off such an emphatic victory over Baylor has their confidence soaring, which Jayhawks head coach Bill Self attributes to limiting the Bears to only 59 points.
“I thought we played pretty solid,” Self told ESPN. “We rebounded it. Our first-shot defense was good, and our ball-screen defense was excellent. I thought it was a good team outing.
“The job we did on (Adam) Flagler in the first half was also good. He got loose in the second half a few times. I thought our defense was probably as good as it’s been all year.”
NCAA basketball odds have the Jayhawks at -1½, which is a generous line for a top 10-ranked team. They haven’t been underdogs all season.
Longhorns Rolling Within Austin City Limits
One of the better home teams in the competition, the Texas Longhorns look to continue their dominance at Frank Erwin Center.
They are 14-1 at home, with the only loss coming to Kansas State in January. The Longhorns lost to Texas Tech on the road but bounced back with a 63-41 win over Iowa State.
It’s a similar form guide to the Jayhawks, who also defeated Iowa State, but the Longhorns held the Cyclones to 41 points.
The Texas defense ranks No. 1 in the country at 54.9 points per game, which is why betting online markets have the Longhorns favored to beat Kansas. If the Jayhawks aren’t knocking down shots, it will be hard to beat Texas.
The Longhorns need to play good defense because their offense is lacking. Timmy Allen is their top scorer with an average of 11.2 points per game, and the offense as a whole ranks 256th in points scored.
It’s not pretty, but they win their games on the defensive end. However, there are some betting trends going against them.
Texas is 1-4 ATS following a straight-up win and 3-11 ATS against teams with a winning road record.
Value With Jayhawks
It’s not easy to bet against the Longhorns at home, but we can’t turn down wagering on the Jayhawks as such small underdogs.
There is a sense of belief with the Jayhawks and they have no problem winning on the road with a 5-1 record.
We expect the odds to firm on game day, so lock in the value line.
