Kansas Jayhawks basketball team opens Houston game as rare underdogs in Allen Fieldhouse

Allen Fieldhouse is widely regarded as one of, if not the best, college basketball venue to ever exist. It is one of many legendary staples of the Kansas basketball program. Opposing teams and players often describe the intangible "magic" present inside the arena.

Since landing the job in 2003, Bill Self and the Jayhawks hold an unreal 319-17 record at Allen Fieldhouse, good for a 94.9% win percentage. During that span, Kansas opened one game as an underdog — the 2021 meeting with Baylor, which KU would go on to win 71-58, even though that team might have been the worst in the program's recent history.

Despite Self's dominance in the Fieldhouse over the past two decades, sportsbooks don't think that is enough to put them over the top. According to DraftKings, when the Houston Cougars travel to Lawrence to play against Kansas at 3:00 p.m. CT, the Jayhawks will be 2.5-point underdogs on their home court.

Houston is arguably the best team in the nation this season, ranking No. 1 on KenPom and most defensive metrics. They are riding a 5-game winning streak and sit atop the Big 12 Conference with a 6-2 record in league play. However, seeing them favored over a No. 8 ranked Kansas team is something fans probably aren't used to.

Additionally, UH coach Kelvin Sampson is 0-7 at Allen Fieldhouse and is searching for his first win there. He coached Oklahoma from 1994-2006 and was never able to overcome KU, even in the 2001-02 season when OU finished 31-5 with a Final Four appearance.

This Kansas basketball team is not as good as Houston on paper, nor would they be favored on a neutral site. But it does seem out of the ordinary that sportsbooks are betting against one of the best coaches to ever do it at home.