Kansas Jayhawks vs. Rhode Island Rams Predictions, Picks and Preview – November 27, 2014

On Thanksgiving Day, the Kansas Jayhawks and the Rhode Island Rams will meet in the first round of the 2014 Orlando Classic. The game will be played at HP Field House located at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World resort in Florida.

The Jayhawks look to move further away from the humiliating loss they got at the start of this week against the Kentucky Wildcats, while the Rams are seeking another upset victory after taking down the Nebraska Cornhuskers last Saturday.

Also happening on the same day are the Thanksgiving Day games of the NFL. Check out our viewing guide for those games here.
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Kansas Jayhawks vs. Rhode Island Rams Betting Preview

Where: HP Field House, Kissimmee

When: Thursday, November 27, 2:00PM ET

Line: Kansas Jayhawks vs. Rhode Island Rams – view all NCAA Basketball lines

Betting on the Kansas Jayhawks

Days after absorbing a demoralizing 72-40 loss against the Kentucky Wildcats, the Jayhawks came back roaring and vented their frustrations on the hapless Rider Broncs, scoring a big 87-60 victory on Monday.

[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Unlike in their loss against Kentucky, where they shot just 11-for-56 (19.6%) from the field, the Jayhawks had a field day on offense against Rider. They made 31 of their 52 field goal attempts (59.6%) with Perry Ellis leading the way.

Ellis, who scored just four points in the Kentucky game, poured in 17 points. He’ll undoubtedly be the go-to-guy for the Jayhawks again against Rhode Island, as the days of hiding in the shadow of Andrew Wiggins and Joel Embiid are now long gone for the junior forward. Ellis is the team’s leading scorer (11.3 PPG) and third-best rebounder (5.0 RPG) thus far this season.

Guard Wayne Selden Jr. also had a great game against Rider. Although he shot just 0-for-4, he nonetheless impressed coach Bill Self with a career-high nine assists. The Jayhawks made a concerted effort to move the ball well in that game–they had 22 assists–something they need to continue doing against an upset-seeking Rhode Island team that likes to stifle opposing teams with their gritty defense.

Brannen Greene, meanwhile, had his best game of the season so far when he drained 17 points off the bench in 17 minutes of action against the Broncs. He didn’t score against Kentucky but that was because he didn’t get to see any playing time. Expect Self to give the 6-7 sophomore guard significant minutes again against Rhode Island.

The Jayhawks are 0-4 ATS in their last four games as the road team.

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Betting on the Rhode Island Rams

The Rams only have three ranked teams on their schedule right now, and they made their first game against such program an unforgettable one when they defeated the No. 21 Nebraska Cornhuskers, 66-62, in overtime last Saturday. It was the first time since 1998 that the Rams were able to beat a ranked team. They will now look to strike anew while the iron is hot when they go up against No. 11 Kansas this coming Thursday.

Despite a bad-shooting night for the Rams–they made 21 of their 61 (34.4%) shot attempts–their defense and rebounding kept them close with Nebraska.

Faced with the Rams’ frenetic defense, Nebraska’s gunners had a hard time producing buckets, as they made just 36.8% of their shots (21-for-57), a big step down from the their season average of 45.5%. Shutting down Kansas on offense isn’t going to be as easy, but the Rams seemed to have the aggressiveness to pull off a shocker. They are 54th in the nation in points allowed (27.3 PPG) and 27th in rebounding (30.0 RPG). In the Nebraska game, the Rams outrebounded their opponent 49-36, including 16 offensive rebounds.

Forward Hassan Martin tops the team in rebounding with 9.3 a game. He proved his mettle against quality opposition when he grabbed 12 boards and scored eight points against Nebraska.

On offense, guard E.C. Matthews is the team’s top scorer with 16.3 PPG. He went off for 26 points against the Cornhuskers, which included three huge triples in overtime that sealed the deal for the Rams.

The Rams are 5-1 SU in their last six games overall.

Writer’s Prediction

Kansas wins, 68-56.
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