The fifth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks will look record their sixth straight victory when they host tiny, Nebraska Omaha in a huge mismatch on Friday night. Championship hopeful Kansas has recorded a pair of narrow win in their last two games, but will take on an Omaha squad that picked up its own confidence-boosting win the last time out. Now, let’s find out which teams is offering the best value against their College Basketball odds in this matchup.
NCAA Basketball Predictions – Omaha at No. 5 Kansas
Omaha Mavericks (2-4) Vs Kansas Jayhawks (5-1)
- When: Friday, Dec. 11, 2020 at 7:00 PM ET
- Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kansas
- NCAAB Odds: OFF
Why Bet On Nebraska Omaha
The Summit League Mavericks snapped a three-game skid by getting past Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 65-63 on the road on Saturday. Omaha almost collapsed after going into the break up 35-24. Senior point guard Ayo Akinwole scored a game-high 16 points to lead the way to victory while 6-8 senior forward Matt Pile added 13 points in the win.
“I think we’re extremely deep,” said Akinwole. “We’ve got a lot of players who have shown they can play at a pretty good level. This non-conference (schedule), these first nine or 10 games, is going to show us what everything is all about.”
Nebraska Omaha has an experienced squad that features eight upperclassmen. The Mavericks average 63.7 points per game, but shoot just 40.1 percent from the field and a pitiful 28.0 percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, Omaha allows 74.2 points per contest on 45.3 percent shooting from the field and a blistering 40.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Why Bet On No. 5 Kansas
Kansas has won five straight since suffering a season-opening 102-90 loss against top-ranked Gonzaga on Nov. 26. The Jayhawks have had a difficult time in winning their last two games and needed a buzzer beater to pick up a win the last time out.
After narrowly squeaking past tiny North Dakota State 65-61 on Saturday, Kansas managed to get past No. 8 Creighton 73-72 as sophomore forward Jalen Wilson scored a team-high 23 points while nailing a game-winning three pointer with 42 seconds left in regulation.
“It’s getting to the point where we kind of expect him to produce,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “He has no fear. I didn’t think he had any (fear), but until you’ve actually coached him, once we started playing, I mean, this dude’s got no fear. He likes the moment. I look for him to continue to improve and give us more and more as we move on.”
Kansas averages 79.3 points per game to rank 89th in scoring while shooting 43.7 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from downtown. Defensively, the Jayhawks allow 70.5 points per gem on 42.5 percent shooting from the field and 31.3 percent from beyond the arc.
Expert Analysis and Prediction
After nearly suffering a huge upset loss against North Dakota State and barely getting past a very good Creighton team earlier this week, I’ve got to believe Kansas is going to be fully locked-in for this matchup against a far inferior Nebraska Omaha team. The Mavericks are 1-4 ATS in their last five games and just 204 ATS this season. While Kansas has also gone an uninspiring 1-4 ATS in its last five games, the Jayhawks have won 11 straight at Allen Fieldhouse.
While the spread for this matchup isn’t listed right now, Kansas should be somewhere around a 30-point home favorite. If that’s the case, I’m going with the Jayhawks to get the win, but Omaha to cover the spread against a Kansas team that still has some growing to do.
Pick: Kansas 86 Omaha 61
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