Oklahoma was expected to take a step back this season after losing star Trae Young, but the Sooners are ranked 23rd in the country and 11-1 as they visit No. 5 Kansas, also 11-1, on Wednesday night in the Big 12 opener for both. KU is a home NCAAB odds because it’s always a home favorite.
How to Bet Oklahoma vs Kansas NCAA Basketball Odds & Game Info
“We’re playing with a lot more confidence. We’re playing together. We’re really locking into focus on defense.” – @JayMuni25 @RohdeOK breaks down the #Sooners 1️⃣1️⃣-1️⃣ start and big test tomorrow at KU ➡️ https://t.co/dnKeTEg7ll pic.twitter.com/3PaF1G2mi6
— Oklahoma Basketball (@OU_MBBall) 1 de enero de 2019
- When: Wednesday, 9 PM ET
- Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence
- TV: ESPN2
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Radio: TuneIn
- NCAA Basketball Odds: Kansas Jayhawks -8.5 (Total 150.5)
Last Season
The schools split. In Norman, OU won 85-80 behind 26 points and nine assists from Young. Christian James scored 15 points and Brady Manek added 14 for the Sooners. Devonte’ Graham, Kansas’ leading scorer, finished with 11 points on 4-of-19 shooting. Oklahoma effectively limited Kansas center Udoka Azubuike. The 7-footer scored nine points, all in the second half. He played with foul trouble and made just 1 of 7 free throws.
In Lawrence, Kansas won 104-74 behind 23 points and seven assists from Graham. KU jumped out to a 10-0 lead and never looked back. Young was just 3-for-13 for 11 points. It was the 300th all-time win in Big 12 play for the Jayhawks.
Team Records
- All: Oklahoma 11-1 / Kansas 11-1
- Home: Oklahoma 7-0 / Kansas 11-0
- Away: Oklahoma 4-1 / Kansas 0-1
- ATS: Oklahoma 10-1-1 / Kansas 6-6
- Over/Under: Oklahoma 4-8 / Kansas 9-3
Why Bet on Oklahoma?
OU enters off a 76-69 OT win at Northwestern way back on Dec. 21. Kristian Doolittle scored three straight key baskets late in overtime. Doolittle, who finished with a team-leading 14 points, connected on layups 50 seconds apart, then added a close-in jumper with 19 seconds left in overtime to make it 74-69. Miles Reynolds sealed it with a layup with three seconds remaining. Oklahoma’s only loss is to another Big Ten opponent. Wisconsin beat the Sooners 78-58 at Norman on Nov. 22.
The Sooners entered this week as the Division I leader in defensive rebounds (32.75) and seventh in total rebounds (43.17). OU also ranks 11th in field-goal percentage defense with opponents shooting just 37.5 percent so far. Last year, opponents shot 44.1 percent from the field.
Five players average between 17.9 and 7.2 points per game, led by senior shooting guard Christian James, who leads the Sooners in scoring (17.9), defensive rebounds (75), 3-point field goals (29) and double-doubles (4). Sophomore forward Brady Manek leads OU in rebounding (7.5) and is third in scoring (10.8).
The Sooners are 3-0 in true road games this season and aim to end a 25-year winning drought in Lawrence. Oklahoma has won five of the last nine meetings with KU when both the Sooners and Jayhawks are ranked in the AP Top 25 (dating back to 2002).
Oklahoma is off to its fourth start of 11-1 (or better) during Lon Kruger’s eight seasons as head coach (also third in the last four seasons). OU began the 2015-16 season 12-0 and saw a 12-1 start to its 2017-18 campaign. OU has won its last two games against top-five opponents (both came in 2017-18). The Sooners defeated then-No. 3 Wichita State on the road and then-No. 5 Kansas in Norman.
Why Bet on Kansas?
Kansas is the only Big 12 team with a winning all-time record against the Sooners, leading the series 147-67. The Jayhawks are 76-16 against the Sooners in Lawrence. Oklahoma will be looking for its first win in Allen Fieldhouse since 1993. The Jayhawks have defeated the Sooners in 17 straight games in Lawrence.
The Jayhawks are off an 87-63 rout of Eastern Michigan on Saturday. After a 25-day hiatus due to injury, junior center Udoka Azubuike showed little signs of rust with a game-high 23 points. Azubuike was joined by freshman guards Quentin Grimes and Devon Dotson to score in double-figures, tallying 16 and 15 points, respectively.
The Jayhawks connected on a season-high 55.4 percent (31-56) from the field and held the Eagles to 30 percent (21-70), including an 18.8 percent clip from beyond the 3-point line. Kansas also pulled down 33 defensive rebounds, the most by the Jayhawks in a game this season.
KU closed out the first two months of the season with one or fewer losses for the eighth time in Bill Self’s 16 seasons. KU has entered January undefeated on four occasions and with just one loss three times. Kansas is the only team in the Big 12 with two players ranked in the top five in the league in scoring. Junior Dedric Lawson is tied for second in scoring at 19.6 ppg, while senior Lagerald Vick is fifth at 15.8 ppg. Lawson has four double-doubles in his last five games and a Big 12-leading eight for the season, which is tied for fifth nationally.
Kansas is 68-for-85 (80.0 percent) from the free throw line in its last four games. For the season, KU is 68.8 percent from the line and prior to the last four contests, KU was shooting 64.2 percent from the line.
Kansas has won 27 straight conference openers dating back to the 1991-92 season with 10 of those in Allen Fieldhouse and 17 on the road. The last time KU lost a conference opener was at Oklahoma, 88-82, on Jan. 8, 1991. Since 1991-92, KU and OU have played twice in the KU league opener – 1993-94 at KU and 2013-14 at OU.
Oklahoma vs Kansas NCAA Basketball Betting Trends
- Sooners are 10-1-1 ATS in their last 12 games overall
- Sooners are 9-1-1 ATS in their last 11 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record
- Jayhawks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 vs. Big 12
- Jayhawks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points
- Oklahoma is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Oklahoma’s last 11 games
- Kansas is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 12 of Kansas’s last 15 games at hom
Expert NCAAB Betting Prediction for Oklahoma vs Kansas
Jayhawks win by 15, give the points.
