The No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks (2-0) and Kentucky Wildcats (2-0) meet Tuesday at United Center in Chicago, Illinois. Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET (ESPN). Let's analyze NCAA basketball odds around the Kansas vs. Kentucky odds and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions for the best bets.
Kentucky leads the all-time series 24-12. These teams have met 8 times in the past 10 years, with Kansas winning 6 of those games. That includes an 89-84 win on Nov. 14, 2023, in the most recent meeting, with Kentucky covering as a 7-point underdog as the Over (148) cashed. The Wildcats are 5-1 against the spread (ATS) in the past 6 games despite just 2 outright victories.
Kansas has 2 victories by at least 30 points, topping the Fordham Rams
(95-65) as a 22.5-point favorite as the Over (144.5) cashed, while blasting the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (89-45) as a 28.5-point favorite as the Under (156.5) came through. F Trey Kaufman-Renn paced KU with 17 points on an impressive 7 of 8 shooting against the Blue Raiders.
Kentucky has failed to cover both games, although it has won outright in each. The Wildcats beat the Manhattan Jaspers 85-57 as a 33.5-point favorite as the Under (158.5) cashed, while it barely escaped (89-80) against the James Madison Dukes, coming nowhere near a cover as a 23.5-point favorite as the Over (156.5) connected. G Zoom Diallo did a good job with 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assist and a 3-pointer against JMU, while G Alex Wilkins also chipped in with 16 points.
– Rankings: USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
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Kansas vs. Kentucky odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:42 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Kansas -200 (bet $200 to win $100) | Kentucky +164 (bet $100 to win $164)
- Against the spread (ATS): Kansas -4.5 (-110) | Kentucky +4.5 (-110)
- Over/Under (O/U): 155.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Kansas vs. Kentucky picks and predictions
Prediction
Kansas 81, Kentucky 73
Moneyline
Kansas (-200) will cost you 2 times your potential return, which is a little too steep for a singular play, even if you were to use a boost or a promo. If you toss the Jayhawks into a multi-leg parlay, that's quite all right, though.
PASS, and look to the spread instead.
Against the spread
KANSAS -4.5 (-110) has dominated this series over the past decade, but more importantly, it has been impressive against a couple of overmatched opponents, while Kentucky struggled with James Madison. It's 1 subpar game, but the Wildcats have only played 2 times, so we don't have much to go on. Kentucky looks like it is having some slight chemistry issues, too, so we'll trust what we've seen so far, and not overthink things.
Over/Under
UNDER 155.5 (-110) is the lean, but roll with a half-unit play at best.
Rock Chalk has split 1-1 on the Over-Under, while Big Blue is also 1-1 on the total. We'll trust the series trends, as the Under is 5-2 in the past 7 meetings. Of course, most of the personnel is completely different, so don't put a lot of stock into trends like that. However, we don't have much data on the new season, so let's go with that, and go lightly until current trends develop.
Betting odds calculator
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW. Follow Daniel Dobish on X at @danieledobish. Follow SportsbookWire on X at SportsBookWire and on Facebook.
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This article originally appeared on Sportsbook Wire: Kansas Jayhawks vs. Kentucky Wildcats odds, picks and predictions
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