The Texas Longhorns won a 67-66 thriller over Texas Tech last night and will look to advance one step closer to the Big 12 championship with a victory over the Kansas Jayhawks on Friday night.
Kansas is fresh off a 69-62 win over Oklahoma but despite being the higher seed, college basketball betting lines opened with the Longhorns installed as 1-point favorites for this contest at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Here are our best free Texas vs. Kansas picks and predictions for Friday, March 12, with tipoff at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Texas Longhorns vs Kansas Jayhawks odds
Sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonThe line opened at Texas -1, with the total at 136. Early action favored Kansas, moving the line to a pick'em, with the Over/Under holding firm. Check back later for a full report from Patrick!
Check out the full line movement for this game
Texas Longhorns vs Kansas Jayhawks betting preview
Injuries
Texas: None.
Kansas: David McCormack F (Out), Tristan Enaruna G (Out).
Find our latest NCAA basketball injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 6-1 in the Jayhawks' last seven games. Find more NCAA betting trends for Texas Longhorns vs. Kansas Jayhawks.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
Texas won a terrific back-and-forth battle on Thursday against a very good defensive squad in the Red Raiders. The Longhorns shot a solid 45 percent from the floor and 42 percent from 3-point range in that contest and are now 4-0 SU and ATS in their last four games.
The Jayhawks' victory against the Sooners was a bit more bizarre. They had a 35-15 lead at half but allowed Oklahoma to cut the lead to three points with seven minutes left in the game. While Kansas held on for the win in the end, it was far from an impressive performance. One particular problem area stood out—the Sooners outrebounded the Jayhawks 33-27.
Oklahoma had the second-worst rebounding margin in the Big 12 during the regular season, while Kansas led the conference with a rebounding margin of plus-5.3 rebounds per game. But this swing was actually something we suspected might happen with Jayhawks big man David McCormack ruled out for the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols.
The 6-foot-10, 265-pound center was second on Kansas in both scoring and rebounding (13.4 points and 6.4 boards per game) and the Jayhawks will miss his inside presence against a Texas lineup with plenty of size and rebounding ability.
The Longhorns have already beaten the Jayhawks twice this season, including an 84-59 beatdown in Lawrence. While this game will likely be much closer, we still like the Longhorns to win against a Kansas squad struggling to shoot the ball consistently.
PREDICTION: Texas PK (-110)
Over/Under Pick
The Longhorns have looked good on offense this season but they have been held to fewer than 70 points in regulation in four of their last six contests. They are also very solid on the defensive end of the floor, where they hold opponents to just 40.9 percent shooting.
The Jayhawks have been absolute terrors on defense, led by guard Marcus Garrett. They rank second in the conference in points per game allowed (64.8 ppg) while ranking first in opponent field goal percentage (40 percent). That said, Bill Self's squad hasn't looked great with the ball in their hands lately, averaging just 67.5 ppg over the last six games.
With Kansas 6-1 to the Under in its last seven contests overall and the Longhorns 5-1 to the Under in their previous six neutral site games, back the Under tonight.
PREDICTION: Under 136 (-110)
Texas Longhorns vs Kansas Jayhawks betting card
- Texas PK (-110)
- Under 136 (-110)
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