Kansas State vs Kansas Odds, Lines, and Spread

• The Kansas State Wildcats (5-13, 1-8 Big 12) play the Kansas Jayhawks (11-6, 5-4 Big 12) on Tuesday, February 2
• Both teams are coming off of loses to SEC opponents
• See the odds, spread, analysis, and best bet below

The Kansas State Wildcats and #23 Kansas Jayhawks will meet for the first time this season at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas, on Tuesday (Feb. 2nd, 8:00 pm ET).

Both schools took a beating at the hands of a SEC school the last time they hit the hardwood. The Wildcats hung with Texas A&M for most of the game before ultimately falling 68-61. The same can’t be said for the Jayhawks who were manhandled by the Tennessee Volunteers 80-61 in a game that was never close from the opening tip.

The Jayhawks have owned the Wildcats recently winning nine of the last ten meeting between the programs. The current odds are showing Kansas as a 18 point favorite in this matchup.

Kansas State vs #23 Kansas Odds

Odds as of February 1st at FanDuel.

Kansas State Is Ice Cold

2021 has not quite gone the way the Wildcats had hoped. They entered the new year at 5-5 with hopes of doing damage in the Big 12. Eight straight losses later, Kansas State has yet to win in 2021 and their season has turned into a nightmare. That nightmare continued Saturday with a loss at home to Texas A&M 68-61.

Final #KStateMBB x #SECBig12 pic.twitter.com/j0McyvtUgX

— K-State Men's Basketball (@KStateMBB) January 30, 2021

This loss felt different for Kansas State as they have been making a habit out of getting beaten by double-digits so far in 2021. In their previous seven losses in the new year, six of them were of the double-digit variety with their last three being by more than 20 points. They were actually winning the game Saturday with less than three minutes left which is a step in the right direction. Nijel Pack did everything in his power to bring home the win pouring in a career-high 24 points but the Wildcats ultimately fell short.

2021 Has Not Been Kind To Kansas

Kansas entered 2021 with only one loss which came against top-ranked Gonzaga in their first game of the season. After the loss, they ripped off eight straight wins to close the book on 2020. The new year has been a bit of a disappointment as they Jayhawks have dropped five of eight games. The latest was Saturday’s 80-61 beatdown against the Tennessee Volunteers.

Final pic.twitter.com/VmtwqUlOxc

— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) January 31, 2021

The Jayhawks had lost three straight road games coming into Saturday’s contest and never really showed any fight in this one. They took a 14 point deficit into the locker rooms at halftime only to come out and get beat in the second half as well. If there was a bright spot for Kansas it was forward David McCormack who scored an efficient 17 points on an 8/12 shooting exhibition. Marcus Garrett also chipped in with 15 points in the losing effort.

Best Betting Angle

The Kansas State Wildcats play a slow, grind-it-out style of basketball that sets up perfectly for the Kansas Jayhawks. The Wildcats typically only see 65.5 possessions per 40 minutes (adjusted for opponent) according to KenPom. The slow pace is one of the reasons they only score 62.7 points per game which ranks 321 of 357 teams in the nation. The other is that they are incredibly inefficient on offense.

When looking deeper at the Jayhawks’ recent losses, one thing that sticks out is the fact that none them came against a team ranked worse than 89 in offensive efficiency. Kansas State is currently 192nd in the country in that metric. It’s hard to imagine that offense will be able to function against the Jayhawks’ 19th most efficient defense in the country. Given the current state of the Kansas program, we should expect them to come out with an edge at home on Tuesday night. This one could get ugly.

Pick: Kansas -18 (-118)