Texas vs. Kansas Prediction, Odds and Key Players for Saturday, Feb. 24 (Jayhawks set for home win)
By Reed Wallach
The Kansas Jayhawks' seemingly chaotic schedule got a breather over the past week, inactive since last Saturday on the road against Oklahoma where the team pulled away in the second half to get a road victory.
Refreshed and back at home, Kansas will look to kick-start its postseason run against a formidable foe in Texas on Saturday night. KU has been dominant at home and will look to overpower a Texas team that has had its fair share of issues on the road.
Should we trust the Jayhawks to get it done at home?
Here's our full betting preview for Texas vs. Kansas on Saturday evening using FanDuel Sportsbook odds. If you sign up for FanDuel using the link below, you will get $150 in bonus bets if you win your first bet of just $5! What are you waiting for? Get started now!
Texas vs. Kansas Odds, Spread and Total
Kansas vs. Texas Betting Trends
- Texas is 9-17 against the spread (ATS) this season
- Kansas is 11-14-1 ATS this season
- Texas has gone OVER in five of eight games on the road this season
Texas vs. Kansas How to Watch
- Date: Saturday, February 24th
- Game Time: 6:00 PM EST
- Venue: Allen Fieldhouse
- How to Watch (TV): 6:00 PM EST
- Texas Record: 17-9
- Kansas Record: 20-6
Texas vs. Kansas Key Players to Watch
Texas
Max Abmas: Abmas will be checked by one of the best defenders in college basketball in guard Dajuan Harris, is the Oral Roberts transfer up to the task? He is off two quiet games, scoring 15 combined points in the last two games while making only one of his 10 three-point attempts. It won't get any easier against Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas
Kevin McCullar Jr.: McCullar played through the pain in Norman last Saturday, and now received a week off to heal up anymore. The Kansas wing has emerged as a downhill threat and fantastic playmaker for the Jayhawks' rim-reliant offense. The Texas defense has wings to slow him down, but the defense has fallen off quite a bit in Big 12 play, allowing the 10th-highest effective field goal percentage.
Texas vs. Kansas Prediction and Pick
Texas has been up and down in Big 12 play, splitting the team's last six games as it sits 6-7 in Big 12 play. The team has the talent to play up to the elite of the Big 12, taking Houston to overtime at home, but also can lose games to UCF at home as well.
I'm going to side with a bad performance on the way from Texas, which is 316th in Haslametrics away from home rating, and is facing Kansas, which is 25th in its home rating. Further, I believe that the Jayhawks can create a ton of efficient looks around the rim against a Texas defense that forces teams inside the paint, which is what KU wants to do.
Texas ranks 259th in average shot proximity on defense, so the team runs teams off the three-point line at a high level, but Kansas wants to put pressure on the rim, 33rd in that same metric on offense while shooting 67% at the rim (eighth highest in the country). Texas has an elite defense, 32nd in field goal percentage at the rim, but I'm going to side with Hunter Dickinson and the KU offense.
Meanwhile, the Kansas defense is the inverse, keeping teams out along the perimeter, 11th in average shot proximity allowed. I simply don't trust Texas to maintain its near-37% three-point shooting in Big 12 on the road. Considering the team struggles to get to the rim, Texas may be settling for contested jumpers all games long, which will lead to a considerable KU victory.
Lay it with the Jayhawks.
PICK: Kansas -7.5
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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