Gonzaga vs Kansas Odds, Lines and Spread
- Gonzaga and Kansas, two of college basketball’s premier programs, begin their seasons with a Thanksgiving Day game in Fort Myers, Florida
- Gonzaga, a 4.5-point favorite, is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press media poll and second in the USA Today coaches’ poll
- Read below for odds, analysis, and our best bet for this matchup between Gonzaga and Kansas
Thanksgiving is usually associated with football, but the holiday will include a very intriguing college basketball game this year.
Gonzaga takes on Kansas at 1:30 p.m. ET Thursday at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers, Fla. It will be the season opener for a pair of teams with national championship aspirations.
#1 Gonzaga vs #6 Kansas Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | -240 | -5.5 (-106) | N/A |
| Kansas | +198 | +5.5 (-114) | N/A |
Odds taken Nov. 25 at FanDuel
Both teams will be in action again Friday on the final day of the two-day Rocket Mortgage Fort Myers Tip-Off. Gonzaga will play Auburn, and Kansas squares off against Saint Joseph’s.
Hawks have landed 🙌 pic.twitter.com/uJiU2cMD5r
— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) November 24, 2020
Kispert Leads Gonzaga
Gonzaga enters the season ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press media poll, just ahead of Baylor. The Bulldogs are second in the USA Today coaches’ poll behind the Bears.
Coach Mark Few’s team went 31-2 last season and won the West Coast Conference regular-season and tournament championships. Gonzaga’s losses were to Michigan and BYU.
Gonzaga would have participated in its 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament if March Madness had not been wiped out by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Senior forward Corey Kispert, a preseason All-American after foregoing the NBA Draft, is the top returnee. He averaged 13.9 points while shooting 43.8 on 3-point attempts and 81 percent on free throws.
Check in with @TheAndyKatz as he sits down with @ZagMBB, @corey_kispert and @joel_ayayi ‼️#WCChoops pic.twitter.com/nEWdMbtkgq
— WCC Basketball (@WCChoops) November 15, 2020
The other starter back from last season’s squad is junior guard Joel Ayayi. He had a fine all-around season with averages of 10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists.
Sophomore forward Drew Timme moves into the lineup after scoring 9.8 points a game off the bench a year ago.
Gonzaga will look to highly touted freshman Jalen Suggs to step in and make an immediate impact. Suggs and Florida transfer, Andrew Nembhard, should make for a lethal duo.
Depth is Kansas Strength
Big man Udoka Azubuike and point guard Devon Dotson were big losses for Kansas from a team that had a 28-3 record, won the Big 12 regular-season title, and likely would have been the top seed in the NCAAs.
However, what the Jayhawks may lack in star power, they make up for in depth. Coach Bill Self should be able to utilize a rotation that could go 10 players deep.
Kansas is ranked fifth in the coaches’ poll and No. 6 in the media poll.
One proven commodity for Kansas is senior guard Marcus Garrett, who is arguably the best defender in college basketball. Last season, he averaged 9.2 points, 4.6 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 1.8 steals a game
Marcus Garrett steal –> transition finish #kubball pic.twitter.com/ziAnZIWckq
— 580 Sports Talk (@580Sportstalk) November 26, 2019
Junior forward David McCormick figures to be the Jayhawks’ top frontcourt player. He is coming off a season in which he averaged 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds.
After scoring 10.0 points a game in 2019-20, junior guard Ochai Agbaji will provide both strong offense and defense on the perimeter.
Being a blueblood program, Kansas rarely takes on junior college players but made an exception for Tyon Grant-Foster. The junior guard is expected to make an immediate impact.
Grant-Foster was lightly recruited as a high school player in Kansas City, Kansas, but blossomed at Indian Hills Community College.
Very Little History
Somewhat surprisingly considering the programs’ pedigrees, the schools will be meeting for just the second time.
That came in the 1998-99 season opener with Kansas winning 80-66 at home at Allen Field House in Lawrence.
The matchup was so long ago that Roy Williams was coaching the Jayhawks and Dan Monson guided Gonzaga to a 28-7 record in his final season in Spokane.
Monson left for Minnesota after starting the Bulldogs on their long streak of NCAA Tournament appearances. Few replaced Monson and will record his 600th career victory if Gonzaga can beat Kansas.
My pre season # 1 @ZagMBB GONZAGA is going to give future Hall of Famer MARK FEW A milestone W as his next W will be win 600 . Trust me many more will come !
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) June 15, 2020
Reaching that milestone will be difficult, though, as this game figures to go to the wire.
Pick: Kansas +5.5 (-114)
John Perrotto has been covering and writing about sports for various outlets for over 40 years. His work has appeared in the likes of USA TODAY, ESPN.com, SI.com, Forbes.com, The Associated Press, Baseball Digest, and more. John is based out of Beaver Falls, PA.
