It’s odd not seeing the Kansas Jayhawks on top of the Big 12 standings this late in the regular season, but they’ve been performing admirably despite the personnel challenges they’re having. The Baylor Bears are looking to even the score with the Jayhawks, who beat them in Waco earlier this year. Going into the game, NCAA Futures give Kansas +2,800 odds to win the 2019 national championship, while Baylor has much longer odds at +20,000.
Betting on the Baylor Bears (19-11 Overall / 10-7 Conference)
The Bears’ offense can be pretty too hot to handle for any given opponent. Plenty of teams in the Big 12 could attest to that, as Baylor owns the second-best offense in Big 12 play. According to KenPom, the Bears are averaging 111.5 points per 100 possessions. They are especially lethal from deep, with a 39.3 3-point shooting percentage. In their 73-68 loss in Waco against the Jayhawks last January , the Bears matched Kansas’ total of nine 3-pointers. They started slow in the game, as they went into the halftime trailing Kansas by 10 points before getting their offense going in the final 20 minutes of the contest. One huge positive takeaway for Baylor from that game was its mammoth 26-4 and 49-30 advantages in offensive and total rebounds, respectively. The Bears are tops in the Big 12 with a 39.9 offensive rebounding percentage.
The Bears, who arrive in Lawrence coming off a 67-64 home loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys. They are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 road games against Kansas.
Betting on the Kansas Jayhawks (22-8 Overall / 11-6 Conference)
Kansas isn’t dominating the Big 12 like it used to in recent years, but it’s still a force to reckon with in the conference. They still have plenty of talented players left to man the fort for the Jayhawks, who are missing some of their best operators because of various reasons. For the most part this season, Dedric Lawson and Devon Dotson have been fantastic for Bill Self’s team. Lawson is arguably the best player in the conference. He is averaging 19.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Against Baylor, he had 17 points and flashed his defensive chops in the form of five steals. Dotson, on the other hand, had 14 points to go with five assists, and five rebounds in 33 minutes. Kansas’ offense will have to step up, though, especially with the Jayhawks missing Lagerald Vick due to an undisclosed reason. In the win over Baylor, the Jayhawks’ second unit got outscored, 24-13.
Kansas is coming of an 81-68 crushing at the hands of the Oklahoma Sooners, and is 10-0 straight up (SU) and 7-3 ATS in its last 10 home games.
