UConn vs Kansas Odds, Picks and Predictions: Defending the Nest

Friday night hoops feature each of the last two season’s National Champions, as the UConn Huskies take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence. 

The Huskies are off to a 7-0 start in their title defense, including wins over Indiana and Texas on neutral sites. The Jayhawks had a bit of a struggle in Maui with a loss to Marquette but are still 6-1 with wins over Kentucky and Tennessee. Will the Huskies be able to continue their undefeated run in their title defense and cover the college basketball odds this week? 

Here are our free college basketball picks and predictions for UConn vs. Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS on Friday, December 1. 

UConn vs Kansas best odds

UConn vs Kansas picks and predictions

The UConn Huskies have yet to be truly tested this season, as no opponent has finished within 10 points in the final score. However, they have also been favored by at least eight points in every single game this season. So, the Kansas Jayhawks will be by far the best opponent they have faced. 

Rutgers transfer Cam Spencer has been a key contributor this season for the Huskies, averaging 16.3 points, 3.7 assists, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game. Top recruit Stephon Castles is still out with a knee injury and will put a lot of pressure on Spencer and Tristen Newton to control the backcourt for UConn. 

The Jayhawks are title favorites this season despite their loss to Marquette in the Maui Invitational. The addition of Hunter Dickinson from Michigan has been the most important transfer in the country. Dickinson is averaging 21.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game. 

Dickinson has created an incredible inside-out game for the Jayhawks with guard Kevin McCullar, who is averaging 18.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. This is a big reason why the Jayhawks lead the country in both assists per game (24.1) and field goal percentage (54.0%). 

The Jayhawks are also excellent defensively, ranking fourth in KenPom’s defensive efficiency. They also rank seventh in opponent field goal percentage allowing foes to shoot 35.7% from the field. Only Kentucky and Marquette were able to even surpass 71 points against Kansas.  

If this game were on a neutral court, I would have a much more difficult time picking this game. However, at Kansas is a completely different beast. The Fieldhouse will be rocking on Friday night, where the Jayhawks went 15-1 last season and have not lost a non-conference game since Kentucky beat them in January of 2022. Give me Kansas to win and cover the spread.

My best bet: Kansas -2.5 (-115 at FanDuel)

UConn vs Kansas same-game parlay

Kansas -2.5

Hunter Dickinson Over 18.5 points

Donovan Clingan Under 14.5 points

+399 at FanDuel

Starting with Kansas to cover the 2.5-point spread, we will look at the big mismatch that I believe will be the key cog to a Kansas victory. 

Dickinson will be a tough guard for Donovan Clingan and the Huskies, and I like his chances of going Over his point total of 18.5 points. Only Marquette and Tennessee in Maui held him to below 18 points and those were the second and third games of back-to-back-to-back days. 

On the other end, I think Dickinson and the Jayhawks will put the clamps on the rim and keep Clingan from putting up numbers. He only scored seven points in each of the games against quality opponents in Indiana and Texas. I expect a similar performance against Kansas.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

UConn vs Kansas spread and Over/Under analysis

The two teams that have given Kansas the most trouble this season like to play very fast and attack with athleticism and shooting. UConn is a very efficient offense, but not a fast offense. They rank 189th in KenPom’s adjusted tempo and rank 260th in 3-point percentage (30.9%). This plays perfectly into the Jayhawks hands.

The total is currently sitting at 148.5 and that is a fair number. The Kentucky/Kansas game was set at a similar number and went well Over the total, but the Marquette/Kansas game was set at a higher number and went well Under. 

I think this game is going to be a slower pace like the Indiana/UConn game, where there were only 134 points scored. Kansas will not want to let UConn run fast as that is their weakness, but the Huskies do not do that typically. I would lean towards the Under. 

UConn vs Kansas betting trend to know

Kansas has won 25 of their last 26 games at home. Find more college basketball betting trends for UConn vs. Kansas.

UConn vs Kansas game info

UConn vs Kansas key injuries

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