Kansas will look to improve to 8-5 in Big 12 play against Iowa State.
A down year for blue bloods in college basketball has claimed plenty of victims. While the Kansas Jayhawks haven’t had it as bad as teams like Duke and Kentucky, Bill Self’s team finds itself unranked for the first time since 2009.
The Jayhawks have dropped five of their last eight games, and while all the defeats came to good competition the amount of losses they have accumulated has hurt their resume. There is no shot that Kansas can rally to win the Big 12’s regular-season title unless Baylor completely falls apart but there were some encouraging signs from Monday’s game against Oklahoma State.
Home-court advantage at Allen Fieldhouse played a huge factor as Kansas got revenge against a Cowboys team that beat them in Stillwater a few weeks ago. Cade Cunningham still managed to get 26 points for Oklahoma State but strong performances from the Jayhawks’ starting five, which scored all but two of Kansas’s 78 points and contributed three double-doubles, made the difference.
Next up for the Jayhawks is the first of two consecutive matchups against Iowa State, one of the Big 12’s cellar dwellers. The Cyclones are 2-12 overall and 0-9 in conference play but they have been playing competitive basketball of late, losing by just four against West Virginia and by six to Texas on the road.
This game is one that Self’s team should win easily but they have to be careful not to take Iowa State lightly. A loss to the Cyclones would add a major blemish to the Jayhawks’ resume that could seriously damage their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
How to bet and watch Iowa State at Kansas
- Date: Thursday, Feb. 11
- Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- Location: Lawrence, KS
- Venue: Allen Fieldhouse
- TV: ESPN
- Live Stream: WatchESPN
- Line: Kansas -14 (OddsShark)
- Prediction: Kansas 80, Iowa State 64
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