Kansas plays host to Houston on Saturday afternoon at Allen Fieldhouse, a must win for the Jayhawks if the team wants to contend for a Big 12 regular season crown.
The Cougars bolster the best defense in the country, a team that gives up very little on the interior, how can that craft Bill Self's gameplan for this marquee matchup? With that in mind, I'm targeting both Johnny Furphy and KJ Adams in the player prop market
Here's two player props for this Big 12 matchup, courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook, who is giving all first time users $200 in bonus bets when they sign up below and win their first bet of just $5! Get started below.
Best College Basketball player props for Houston vs. Kansas
- Johnny Furphy OVER 10.5 points
- KJ Adams UNDER 10.5 points
Johnny Furphy OVER 10.5 points
The freshman forward has emerged as the floor spacer in the Kansas offense. He has played 30 or more minutes in five straight games and has scored double figures in all of them. He is a 42% three-point shooter while taking more than three per game.
Furphy is going to be relied upon heavily against Houston's agressive defense that traps ball handlers and forces the ball around the perimeter, yielding a near-43% opponent three-point rate. The Cougars allow nothing inside, which means Kansas is going to need to get going from three to hold up against the visitors, who are an elite rebounding unit.
With Furphy's ability to fire from beyond the arc, I believe he is the key to unlocking this Houston defense, so I'll count on an above average shot diet from him and for him to continue smashing double digits in his new role.
KJ Adams UNDER 10.5 points
As mentioned above, Houston lets up nothing inside. The team is seventh in average shot shot distance and 77th in field goal percentage allowed at the rim.
With that being said, this figures to be a poor matchup for the rim-reliant Adams, who has taken six three's in three seasons with the Jayhawks.
While he has been a consistent scoring threat for KU this season, he has scored in double figures in every Big 12 game this season, I don't believe the game plan will figure much of him given that the Cougars are so lockdown on the interior.
Houston plays at a bottom 20 tempo, slowing games to a crawl, so there will be limited possessions in this one, and I believe Adams' doesn't play a factor. I'll go under.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.