The Texas Longhorns host the Kansas Jayhawks at the Frank C. Erwin, Jr. Center in Austin, Texas, in Tuesday night Big 12 basketball. The Longhorns are currently favored by 2.5-points, up from 1.5-points at the opening.
The Jayhawks have won 5-straight entering this contest as they were able to take out a ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders squad by 6-points last Saturday. And while the offense continued to struggle shooting only 41% as a team along with 31% from deep, the defense for Kansas only allowed 61 points to the Red Raiders and have failed to give up more than 66 points during their winning streak. The Jayhawks also covered for the 5th-straight outing as 2-point favorites versus the Red Raiders.
The Longhorns have dropped 4 of 6 as they were spotted a 10-point lead at the half versus the West Virginia Mountaineers only to be outscored 41-29 in the 2nd to fall for the 6th loss of the year. Leading scorer Andrew Jones struggled in the contest scoring 9 points (6 turnovers); However, Matt Coleman III along with Courtney Ramey paced the offense, which shot over 50% both from the field as well as from long-range. The Longhorns are only 2-8 ATS in their last 10 outings, including failing to cover as 2.5-favorites versus the Mountaineers.
Kansas has picked up wins in all but 2 of their last 10 matchups versus Texas, including 3 of their last 4 at the Erwin Center. However, Texas has had the advantage against the spread going 6-4 during this time while winning ATS in only 1 of their last 4 at home.
Jayhawks on a roll as season comes to close
Kansas was able to keep the struggling Texas Tech offense at bay for much of the game allowing just 42% shooting along with 33% from long-range in the 6-point home win last Saturday. The offense for Kansas, which has also struggled on the year, was able to post just 67 points on 41% shooting; However, all 5 starters posted double-digits led by David McCormack (13 ppg, 6 rebs) with 17 points and 8 boards on 7-10 shooting. Leading scorer Ochai Agbaji (14 ppg, 4 rebs) rebounded from 2 consecutive single-digit performances to finish with 14 points, albeit on 4-11 shooting (3-8 3FG).Take 5 minutes out of your day.
— Kansas Basketball (@KUHoops) January 30, 2021
Watch this. pic.twitter.com/2tolksdvQE
Agbaji was one of only two double-digit scorers for Kansas in their last matchup versus the Longhorns early last month posting 11 points on 5-14 FG while missing 5 of 6 attempts from long-range. Jalen Wilson (13 ppg, 8 rebs) led the way for the Jayhawks with 20 points and 7 boards while going 6-8 from the free-throw line in the 25-point home loss. Marcus Garrett (10 ppg, 4 rebs), Christian Braun (10 ppg, 5rebs), along with McCormack combined to go 5-23 from the floor along with 0-6 from deep for 18 points as the team shot a miserable 31% FG while making just 3 of 23 attempts from 3-point range.
Longhorns cool down in 2nd-half collapse
Despite shooting 54% both from the floor as well as from long-range versus the Mountaineers, the fact is that Texas posted just 29 points in the 2nd-half while its solid defense gave up 41 points as West Virginia was able to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit to pick up the 2-point win. Coleman III (13 ppg) along with Ramey (14 ppg) combined for 11 of the team's 14 3-pointers while finishing with 20 and 28 points to lead the team. For the season, Coleman III and Ramey are shooting 38 and 45% from long-range.11x @NBA All-Star. That's our guy. 🤘@KDTrey5 | #HookEm pic.twitter.com/Oy9LYqMQET
— Texas Men's Basketball (@TexasMBB) February 23, 2021
Leading scorer Andrew Jones (15 ppg, 5 rebs) struggled with just 9 points and 8 boards for the Longhorns as he is shooting just 41% from the floor on the year. Jones also struggled versus the Jayhawks last month posting 14 points on 5-14 shooting while missing 4 of 6 from long-range. On the other hand, Ramey along with Coleman III led the way with 18 and 13 points while combining for 4 of the team's 12 treys. Texas shot 49% on this night while posting 84 points. Important to add, however, that the Longhorns failed to reach the 60-point mark in 3 games versus Kansas prior to their January loss.
Stats & Trends
- Jayhawks are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Jayhawks are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a ATS win.
- Jayhawks are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win.
- Road team is 12-2 ATS in the last 14 meetings.
- Longhorns are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss.
- Longhorns are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Tuesday games.
- Longhorns are 2-8 ATS in last 10 games.
The Pick
While I know that the Longhorns will possess a ton of focus and intensity for this home matchup versus the Jayhawks, the fact is that their defense, which has been its strength throughout the year, has struggled during their current rough patch allowing 75 points or more in 5 of 6 outings. The Jayhawks are not only 3-1 ATS in their last 4 roadies versus Texas while the Longhorns have been horrible against the number at the Erwin Center going just 1-6 ATS in their last 7, overall.