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Kansas State vs Kansas Odds, Spread & Picks (Jan. 31)

Jack Magruder

by Jack Magruder in College Basketball

Updated Apr 11, 2023 · 4:35 PM PDT

Kansas redshirt junior forward Jalen Wilson gestures to the crowd
Kansas redshirt junior forward Jalen Wilson (10) celebrates their 62-60 win over Iowa State Saturday inside Allen Fieldhouse.
  • Bitter rivals Kansas and Kansas State meet for Big 12 supremacy on Tuesday, January 31
  • No. 8 Kansas is a 6.5-point home favorite over No. 7 Kansas State at Allen Fieldhouse.
  • Read below for Kansas State vs Kansas odds and prediction.

No. 8 Kansas (17-4, 5-3 Big 12) is a 6.5-point home favorite over Kansas State in a Big 12 game at 8 pm ET Tuesday on the Big 12 Network/ESPN+. The Jayhawks broke a three-game skid by beating Kentucky in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Saturday.

No. 7 Kansas State (18-3, 6-2 Big 12) has lost two of its last five after a nine-game winning streak vaulted it into the national spotlight. The Wildcats broke a seven-game series losing streak in their 83-82 overtime victory at home Jan. 17.

Kansas State vs Kansas Odds

Team Spread Moneyline Total
Kansas State Wildcats +6.5 (-102) +240 Over 146.5 (-110)
Kansas Jayhawks -6.5 (-120) -300 Under 146.5 (-110)

Odds from FanDuel on Jan. 30. Claim the FanDuel promo code

Kansas is a 6.5-point home favorite over Kansas State in a series the Jayhawks have dominated in the last dozen years. Kansas is 15-2 SU and 10-6-1 ATS since the 2015-16 season. The Jayhawks are 16-0 SU and 13-3 ATS in the series in Lawrence since 2006, all but twice as a favorite of eight points or more.

 

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Kansas State is 16-5 ATS this season, a cover percentage that trails only Florida Atlantic (15-4-1). The Wildcats are 4-2 ATS on the road. Kansas is 8-13 ATS this season, 3-8 at home. The “over” is 12-9 for both teams. The last three games in the series have gone over, and the over is 6-4 in the last 10.

Kansas Looks for Revenge

The Jayhawks broke only the fourth three-game losing streak in Bill Self’s career on Mount Oread in their relatively easy 77-68 victory at Kentucky on Saturday. Now, they look to re-establish series dominance over Kansas State. The Jayhawks had a seven-game series winning streak broken under unusual circumstances in their last meeting. When the offense appeared to stall, Self called a timeout with 40 seconds remaining in overtime, a split-second before forward Jalen Wilson hit a 3-pointer that would have given the Hawks an 84-81 lead.

Wilson missed a 3-pointer after the timeout, Kansas State took the lead on its next possession, and the Jayhawks could not get off a shot in the final seconds. Junior 6’8 Wilson has become a consensus first-team All-American (21.4 points, 8.6 rebounds) while almost doubling his scoring average and expanding his range with 47 3-pointers. For all that, freshman wing 6’8 Gradey Dick (14.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 53 threes) is considered the better NBA prospect and is projected to be a lottery pick in the 2023 NBA draft.

Forward 6’7 KT Adams (10.7 points) and Texas Tech transfer 6’6 Kevin McCullar Jr. (10.4 points. 7.5 rebounds) contribute, and a disruptive defense limits opponents to 41.0 percent from the floor and average 8.9 steals per game. The Jayhawks shot 42 percent from the floor (26 percent from distance) in their losing streak but shot 49.2 percent at Kentucky.

Kansas State Rolls On

New coach Jerome Tang remade the Wildcats around fifth-year senior point guard Markquis Nowell and physical transfer Keyontae Johnson this season, and the results have been spectacular. High-energy 5’7 Nowell (16.9 points, 8.2 assists), in his second year in the program after three seasons at Little Rock, is second in Division I in assists per game and has made 49 three-pointers while shooting 38.9 percent distance.

Johnson (18.0 points, 7.7 rebounds) played only five games at Florida the last two seasons, not medically cleared by the school after collapsing on the court in 2020.

Johnson hit the go-ahead basket in overtime on an alley-oop from Nowell in the first game against Kansas. Johnson and Arkansas State transfer reserve guard Desi Sills had 24 points apiece against the Jayhawks, and Chipola College transfer 6’10 Nae’Quan Tomlin had a 15/10 double-double. Tang, a long-time Baylor assistant, is a top candidate for the national coach of the year. Kansas State and Kansas have very similar shooting, rebounding, assists and turnover numbers.

Kansas State vs Kansas Prediction

Defending national champion Kansas lost its 16-game home winning streak against TCU on Jan. 21, two days after losing to Kansas State on the road, and this is the Jayhawks’ first home game since. In a game that will have the intensity of an Elite Eight matchup, look for the Jayhawks to take a slice of revenge here, as good as Kansas State is.

  • Pick: Kansas -6.5 (-120)
  • Season CBK: 28-16 ATS
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