Kansas State Wildcats at Kansas Jayhawks Predictions
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It's the second straight game against a group of Wildcats, as the Kansas Jayhawks take on Kansas State in Lawrence tonight. After getting a big road win outside of conference play, Kansas is ready to dive back into a hotly contested conference race against the team that gave them their first conference loss.
And the Wildcats are coming off their own hot stretch, with a narrow loss to Iowa State turned around by a big win over the Florida Gators. They are looking to match Texas atop the conference standings ahead of their big game in Manhattan this weekend. Which team will be able to establish a winning streak? And just how tight will the game be? Our crew shares their thoughts below.
Do you disagree with our assessment? Make sure you read them all and then hop over to the Discord or on Twitter to share your own thoughts.
Kyle Davis
Check out our Kansas State Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.
Lucas Murphy
The Kansas Jayhawks got off the losing bandwagon and are going for redemption against the Kansas State Wildcats. This game has so much meaning. After Texas defeated Baylor they now sit atop the Big 12 in standings at 7-2, and for Kansas to catch up they need to defeat Kansas State inside a rowdy Allen Fieldhouse. The crowd is going to be next level and I anticipate Bill Self will have his players ready to play. Jalen Wilson has been having such a stellar year and needs to have yet again a near-perfect performance. This Jayhawks team needs to focus on not turning over the basketball, especially if they will be amped due to the crowd. I want to see Udeh log some quality minutes with the injury to Zuby. Kansas is getting this one.
Kansas 78, Kansas State 72.
Derek Noll
Let’s examine the last game, shall we? Kansas had three starters foul out in regulation, the starting point guard and nucleus of the team fell on his head, the team went a combined six for 29 from three, that arena was filled with foul mouthed KU hating farmers, and the Jayhawks still had a chance to win it on the last possession. I’m not saying that it will be easy in Allen Fieldhouse, it won’t. But after a big win in Lexington and a chance to climb near to or to the top of the standings in the next three games, I think you’ll see a home victory, hopefully the start of a typical Kansas February run.
Kansas 87, Kansas State 75.
Brendan Dzwierzynski
It feels like this should be a close game, unless you ask Vegas its opinion. This spread has continued to favor Kansas more heavily after opening at KU -6.5, so the wise guys like the Jayhawks plenty in this matchup. To be frank, I have a hard time seeing Kansas losing at home to K-State, even a really good K-State team, especially after how the game in Manhattan unfolded. If Kansas can continue getting all-around efforts on offense and doesn’t have to rely solely on The Jalen Wilson Show, it can build on the momentum from Saturday and ride that to a win in this matchup. K-State hasn’t swept KU in basketball and football combined since 1982-83, and I don’t see that changing today.
Kansas 80, Kansas State 73.
Andy Mitts
This is a puzzling game, because we've seen Kansas State play well against very good teams on the road. And as I said on the podcast, I don't think that Jerome Tang's team is going to be rattled coming into Allen Fieldhouse. That being said, the Vegas line is very puzzling. As Brendan mentioned, it opened at Kansas -6.5 and has continued to climb throughout the day. It seems like they know something we don't, so let's think about what that might be.
Kansas State kept the last game close, but it took a Herculean effort from Desi Sills, who has since gone into a huge slump. Malik Knowles didn't score much in the last game, but that was largely due to the decision to take him away with Dajuan Harris and Kevin McCullar's defense. I don't expect Jalen Wilson to have another 38 point outing, but he probably gets 25. Add in the extra help on the inside with Ernest Udeh and that gives the Wildcats something new to think about. And of course Bill Self won't get outcoached in this one.
Kansas 82, Kansas State 71.
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