Saturday’s college basketball slate has its sole top-10 battle in
primetime, with the No. 4 Missouri Tigers hosting the No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks.
Kansas is 4-1 straight up in their last 5 games on the road.
Missouri has cashed with a 4-2-1 spread record in its last seven
games, while the Jayhawks have seen the ‘under’ collect at 9-0 in all of their
spots away from home.
Sportsbooks opened Missouri as a three-point favorite, with early
betting steam on Kansas driving the spread south the 2.5. NCAA basketball Odds
makers first set the total at 147.5, remaining unchanged after mixed initial
wagers.
Dixon, Tigers hold off
Texas
Missouri survived a late surge in Monday’s 67-66 win as a
one-point road favorite against the Texas Longhorns. The Tigers held Texas to 42.1 percent field
shooting, including a sparse 2-for-12 from three-point land.
Tigers guard Michael Dixon notched a team-high 21 points off the
bench, hitting 9-of-10 field buckets in 27 minutes of action. Dixon’s mates Kim English and Marcus Demon united
for 11 rebounds, while Phil Pressey logged five of his squad’s 11 assists.
The tight affair’s combined 133 points dipped below the total of
144.5, bringing the under to 6-3 in the Tigers’ last nine games. Missouri sank 8-of-11 free throws, while
being outrebounded, 35-23.
Jayhawks pull away at
home
Kansas notched its 11th win in 12 games with
Wednesday’s 84-62 triumph as a 17-point home favorite against the Oklahoma
Sooners. The Jayhawks outscored Oklahoma
in the second half, 50-31, while connecting at 55.4 percent from the field.
Jayhawks forward Thomas Robinson piled in 20 points and 17
rebounds, finishing with his fifth double-double in seven games. Robinson’s mates Jeff Withey and Tyshawn
Taylor united for 36 points, including a dozen from a 12-of-13 night at the
foul line.
The lopsided battle’s combined 146 points leaped ‘over’ the total of 136.5. Kansas drained 6-of-20
from beyond the arc, while Robinson added two of his squad’s four blocks.
Back the Tigers as home
‘chalk’
Saturday’s matchup is scheduled to tip at 9 p.m. (ET), with ESPN
providing the national television coverage.
The network’s College GameDay crew is also slated to broadcast from
Mizzou Arena in its 11 a.m. (ET) slot.
This sports betting handicapper is backing Missouri, laying the short number at
home. The Tigers have held Big 12
Conference foes to 55.8 PPG in their last four home dates, while looking to end
a stretch of five straight losses against Kansas.
Missouri presently leads its nine other conference rivals in
scoring, putting up 81.2 PPG. Frank
Haith’s squad has hit field buckets at 51 percent from its home floor,
including a sizable 40.5 percent from three-point land.
Kansas has gone 0-2 ATS in its last pair of road games, including
a 72-64 defeat as seven-point chalk in a Jan. 28 spot at Iowa State. The Jayhawks were held that day to 35.3
percent field shooting, while allowing the Cyclones to drain 7-of-17 buckets
beyond the arc.
Missouri is 4-0-1 ATS in its last five games against foes with winning records,
while Kansas has a 2-5 spread mark in its last seven spots that followed a win
by more than 20 points. Look for the
Tigers to get the cover here at a low premium, with the home team going 3-1-1
ATS in the last five meetings between these foes.