The fifth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks will look to stay red-hot when they host the eighth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in a Big 12 conference clash featuring a pair of Top 10 nationally-ranked championship hopefuls. Kansas has won seven straight since losing its regular season opener against top-ranked Gonzaga. West Virginia will also look to extend its own impressing winning streak after losing their only game of the season against….you guessed it – Gonzaga.
Kansas head coach Bill Self described this matchup – and the loaded Big 12 in general by telling reporters, “You know, we’ve said this multiple times, that this might be the best that I’ve seen the league. Well, I actually really mean it this time.”
With both streaking ballclubs looking to make a statement in this affair, let’s find out where the best NCAAB betting value lies in this highly intriguing affair so you can go and make your bets against their College Basketball odds.
NCAA Basketball Betting Predictions – No. 8 West Virginia at No. 5 Kansas
West Virginia Mountaineers (7-1) Vs Kansas Jayhawks (7-1)
- When: Tuesday, December 22, 2020 at 9:00 PM ET
- Where: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, KS
- NCAAB Odds: TBD
Why Bet On No. 7 West Virginia
West Virginia trailed 31-30 at half but outscored Iowa State 40-34 in the second half of their Big 12 opener to scratch out a hard-fought win on Friday to improve to 4-0 in their last four games.
“We’ve really had to grit and fight on our knuckles every game so far. We’ve never really just blown a team out of the water,” said 6-5 junior guard Derek Culver, after scoring a team-high 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting from the field. 6-2 sophomore guard Miles McBride added 18 points in the win and leads the Mountaineers in scoring (15.0 ppg).
Trends
- Mountaineers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Mountaineers are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 road games following three or more consecutive home games.
- Mountaineers are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 road games.
- Under is 4-1 in Mountaineers last 5 vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Under is 9-3 in Mountaineers last 12 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Why Bet On No. 5 Kansas
Kansas extended its winning streak to seven games by narrowly getting past an excellent Texas Tech team 58-57 on Thursday despite recording season lows in points, field goals, attempts, blocks and steals while also racking up season highs in fouls and turnovers.
Ochai Agbaji scored a team-high 23-points on a blistering 8-for-11 shooting while scoring the game-winning basket with 12.8 seconds remaining. The 6-5 junior guard averages a team-high 15.3-points per game while sophomore forward Jalen Wilson contributes 14.3 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per contest.
Trends
- Jayhawks are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Jayhawks are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS win.
- Under is 5-0 in Jayhawks last 5 overall.
- Under is 6-0 in Jayhawks last 6 games following a straight up win.
Expert Analysis and Prediction
While the college basketball betting odds for this aren’t up just yet, it looks like Kansas is going to be about a 5-point home favorite in this huge clash. If that’s the case, I’m going with West Virginia to cover the spread. The Mountaineers are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win and a bankroll-boosting 15-7 ATS in their last 22 games following a ATS loss.
While Kansas averages just over 2.5 points per game more than West Virginia and allows 2.1 fewer points per contest defensively, I’m expecting this matchup to be a low-scoring affair that literally comes down to the final possession as these two teams look eerily identical in many ways.
West Virginia has gone a perfect 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record and Kansas has recorded fur wins this season by four points or less including a 65-61 win over tiny North Dakota State on Dec. 5. The Under is 14-6 in the Mountaineers last 20 games following a straight up win and 6-5 in Kansas’ last 21 games against a team with a winning percentage above .600. While the home team is 14-5 ATS in the last 19 meetings, I’m going with West Virginia if the spread in this matchup exceeds three points at most!
Pick: Kansas 71 West Virginia 70
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