The Kansas basketball team clashed with Houston two and a half weeks ago in Allen Fieldhouse, and the Jayhawks dominated the Cougars. If KU is to win the sequel in the T-Mobile Center in the semi-finals of the Big 12 tournament, it won't be that easy.
The two teams boast arguably the best coaches in the conference, if not the country. Kansas (23-9, 12-6) has Bill Self, and Houston (27-5, 14-4) is led by Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars are ranked fifth in the country.
Betting lines for Kansas vs. Houston in Big 12 tournament semi-finals
Oddsmakers are not putting much stock in Kansas' 12-point win against Houston in Allen Fieldhouse. According to BetMGM, the Jayhawks are hefty 6.5-point underdogs. The money lines aren't any kinder toward KU. The Cougars are -235 on the line, with Kansas sitting at +195.
The over/under line clearly takes stock in the previous meeting between these two ranked teams. In that game, only 125 points were scored. BetMGM's over/under line of 135.5 clearly indicates that another defensive battle is in store.
This makes sense because both coaches stress defense. Kansas allows an average of 69.4 points per game, while the Cougars give up 62.8 points. The difference in these defensive averages matches the spread of 6.5.
BetMGM has set the over/under mark for how many points KU will score at 64.5 and 70.5 for Houston.
The game features two superstar freshmen. Darryn Peterson is averaging 20.0 points per game for the Jayhawks, while Kingston Flemings drops in 16.5 a game for the Cougars.
Where to stream Kansas vs. Houston in the Big 12 Tournament
The game between the Kansas Jayhawks and the Houston Cougars is on ESPN at 8:30 p.m. CDT. The game can be streamed on FuboTV, Disney+, and Hulu.
This game should be a slugfest, but Kansas will need more efficient shooting from Peterson if the Jayhawks hope to pull off an upset. Over the last five games, Peterson has connected on just 31 of his 85 shots, for a paltry 36.4 percent. He's been even worse from behind the arc, hitting nine of his 32 attempts from three.
Peterson has seriously padded his scoring average from the line, where he is 33 out of 38, for 86.8 percent. KU needs him to continue his excellence from the free-throw line, but to be more accurate from the field.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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