The Big 12 is always showcased on ESPN’s big Monday and the clear game of the night from that conference is when No. 12 Kansas visit No. 2 West Virginia, although those rankings are likely to change a bit when the new AP poll is released Monday. Kansas isn’t a betting underdog often but is here in the College Basketball lines.
Huggins has wins over 41 ranked teams at WVU, including 16 wins over Top 10 teams and three over No. 1. WVU is 10-7 in its last 17 games vs. AP Top 25 teams, with two wins over No. 1, one vs. No. 2, two wins over No. 6 and one win over No. 7.
Carter leads the country in steals with 61, and he has played in 124 career games, the second-most games played among active college basketball players this season. WVU ranks second in turnover margin (8.4), is third in forced turnovers (20.3), is sixth in steals per game (10.3) and is third in offensive rebounds per game (14.7). West Virginia is forcing its opponents to turn it over on 27.0 percent of their possessions, second in the country. West Virginia has nearly forced more turnovers (338) than its opponents’ made field goals (355).
The Mountaineers have won 71 of their last 73 games when holding opponents to 69 points or less. West Virginia is 64-4 under Huggins when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
How to Bet Kansas at WVU College Basketball Lines & Game Info
When: Monday, 9 PM ET Where: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown TV: ESPN Radio: 105.9 FM (Kansas) / Mountaineers Sports Network (West Virginia) Opening College Basketball Lines: WVU -4#KUbball set for the first of four ESPN Big Monday games. No. 2 West Virginia awaits in Morgantown. PREVIEW ⬇️https://t.co/CnVtLyHSgK pic.twitter.com/Wdi8EzrcaA
— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) January 14, 2018
Last Season
The schools split in 2016-17, each winning at home. In Morgantown, WVU rolled 85-69. Esa Ahmad had 27 points. He scored West Virginia’s first eight points and finished 10 of 17 from the field. Svi Mykhailiuk’s 3-pointer put the Jayhawks ahead 59-58 midway through the second half. But that was their last lead. Kansas then went nearly 3 minutes between field goals. Ahmad started and finished a 12-1 run with baskets to put the Mountaineers ahead 70-61 with 4:55 left. In Lawrence, KU won 84-80 in overtime. WVU was up 14 with less than three minutes to go in regulation. Frank Mason (now gone) poured in 24 points, including the two free throws that forced overtime, and Devonte Graham hit two of his five 3-pointers in the extra period and finished with 18 points. Ahmad scored 20 points and Tarik Phillip had 18 for the Mountaineers, who appeared to have the game won when they led 64-50 with 2:58 left in the second half. The KU-WVU contest will be the eighth-straight with both teams ranked. Kansas has a 4-3 edge in that span with WVU’s three victories all at home.Why Bet on Kansas?
This is an important game for the Big 12 regular season title. The Jayhawks will have a 46% chance to win the title outright with a win, 21% with a loss. The Mountaineers will have a 19% shot at the outright title with a win, 5% with a loss. KU (14-3, 4-1) is off a 73-72 win over Kansas State on Saturday. It took 23 points from Graham, and two go-ahead free throws from Malik Newman with 15 seconds left. It was the Jayhawks’ third Big 12 win by a combined 10 points. Udoka Azubuike added 18 points and eight rebounds for Kansas. Silvio De Souza, a 6-foot-9 forward from Angola, was cleared by the NCAA before tip to play for Kansas. The five-star prospect graduated high school last month and played 4 minutes on Saturday. Another five-star prospect, Billy Preston, remains sidelined while Kansas looks into the ownership of a car he was driving during an accident last fall. Kansas was outshot for just the fifth time this season. Kansas State held the Jayhawks to the fewest field goal attempts (49) and the Jayhawks’ 24 made field goals tied for the fewest against an opponent (Kentucky 11-14-17). Graham’s 23 points pushed him past Marcus Morris, Adonis Jordan and Richard Scott on the career scoring list. His 1,388 points is good for 26th in Kansas history and trails Wilt Chamberlin on the list by 45 points. It was the 15th time this season that Graham notched double-digit scoring efforts, including his ninth-straight double figure game. Graham is the only player in NCAA Division I to average 18.0-plus points, 7.0-plus assists, 2.0-plus steals and 3.0 or fewer turnovers per game. Sophomore C Udoka Azubuike leads the NCAA in field goal percentage at 77.3 percent. He is 18-for-20 in his last three games. Azubuike is one of only three players nationally to shoot 70 percent or better. Under Bill Self (since 2003-04) Kansas is 18-4 against teams ranked in the Associated Press top five. KU has won the last six meetings against AP top-five opponents with four of those being Big 12 foes.Why Bet on West Virginia?
WVU (15-2, 4-1) likely will fall a few spots in the polls as it lost 72-71 at No. 8 Texas Tech on Saturday to end a 15-game winning streak. The Mountaineers couldn’t hold an 11-point lead in the final 13 minutes. Jevon Carter scored 28 points — one off his career high — for West Virginia, which was denied its first 5-0 start in its sixth season in the Big 12. Ahmad added 18 in his season debut following an NCAA academic suspension. “He played well for not playing for 16 games,” Coach Bob Huggins said. “I thought he could have scored more. He’s a six-foot, eight- inch small forward that goes to rim. He doesn’t get the benefit that other people get because of his strength. I very easily thought he could have gone to the free throw line a whole lot more.” Could West Virginia be short-handed here? Video has circulated that shows Mountaineers player Wesley Harris throwing a punch at a Texas Tech fan who bumped into him. It also appears two other WVU players got into small dustups with opposing fans as well. West Virginia is 128-32 at the WVU Coliseum under Huggins, including a 64-28 mark in league games. WVU is 537-152 (.782) all-time at the WVU Coliseum and 169-38 at the WVU Coliseum in the last 14 seasons.
Huggins has wins over 41 ranked teams at WVU, including 16 wins over Top 10 teams and three over No. 1. WVU is 10-7 in its last 17 games vs. AP Top 25 teams, with two wins over No. 1, one vs. No. 2, two wins over No. 6 and one win over No. 7.
Carter leads the country in steals with 61, and he has played in 124 career games, the second-most games played among active college basketball players this season. WVU ranks second in turnover margin (8.4), is third in forced turnovers (20.3), is sixth in steals per game (10.3) and is third in offensive rebounds per game (14.7). West Virginia is forcing its opponents to turn it over on 27.0 percent of their possessions, second in the country. West Virginia has nearly forced more turnovers (338) than its opponents’ made field goals (355).
The Mountaineers have won 71 of their last 73 games when holding opponents to 69 points or less. West Virginia is 64-4 under Huggins when shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
Latest College Basketball Lines Trends
- Kansas is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
- Kansas is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Kansas’s last 5 games
- West Virginia is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
- West Virginia is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of West Virginia’s last 5 games
