Kansas Jayhawks vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders CBB Betting Picks

The 6-1 Kansas Jayhawks will go on the road Thursday night to face off with the 6-1 Texas Tech Red Raiders at 7:00 PM ET in the United Sprint Arena. The Red Raiders might be the lower-ranked team, but they’re favored by two points and we’re expecting solid defense on both sides with a 131.5 over/under. You can tune into the matchup on ESPN. Let’s dive into how this one will go down and who will end up covering the spread. Make sure to check out the rest of our CBB Picks and Predictions for the upcoming weekend slate of games.

• Jayhawks are 2-12 ATS in their last 14 games following a straight-up win of more than 20 points.
• Jayhawks are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight-up win.
• Under is 4-0 in Jayhawks last 4 overall.
• Under is 5-1 in Red Raiders last 6 overall.

The Jayhawks’ sole loss of the season came against the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first game of the season. They’ve since rattled off six consecutive victories and look like one of the best all-around teams in the country. They’re led by 6’8 freshman big man Jalen Wilson, who’s stepped onto the scene and has put up 15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game through seven. Guards Ochai Agbaji (14.1 pts, 3.9 reb, 2.6 ast) and Christian Braun (11.9 pts, 5.6 reb) rank second and third in scoring and Agbaji has been the best all-around player on the team.

Senior Marcus Garrett is coming off of a Defensive Player of the Year award and he’s moved over to point guard this season, putting up 8.6 points and 3.9 rebounds a night. He’s an extremely unselfish player that has no problem letting others get the praise while he does the hard work. The Jayhawks are an all-around solid squad and freshman Jalen Wilson has covered up a lot of the holes we expected to witness.

The Red Raiders have only been tested once this season, and they lost by 11 points to the 17th-ranked Houston Cougars in a game that was close throughout. They went cold in the second half and I am not sure it’s fair to judge the Red Raiders on just that one game. They’ve been great the rest of the season and they will have an opportunity to prove themselves here against the 5th-ranked team in the country. This is a well-balanced team with 10 players averaging at least three points per game. No one player has averaged 28+ minutes per game

Point guard Mac McClung leads the team with 14.1 points per game with 3.1 assists and 2.3 rebounds. He’s parked next to Kyler Edwards on the perimeter, who’s been cold to start the season, shooting just 39% from the field. He’s still putting up 11.3 points with five boards and 3.6 assists. Edwards and McClung will turn it on sooner than later and the offense will be a lot better when they do. In the paint, Marcus Santos-Silva puts up 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds. He must stay on the floor and out of foul trouble as Kansas can kill you in the paint.

The Red Raiders didn’t look great in the second half against Houston, but they looked like the better team for the majority of the ballgame. The Kansas Jayhawks have surprised after losing to Gonzaga and Jalen Wilson has been a big reason why. With that said, I expect Texas Tech to give Kansas trouble from the outside. Garrett is a solid defender, but Tech has three guards that can put up 20+ and two big men that play phenomenal defense. The lower-ranked team is favored here for a reason and I am a huge fan of laying the two points with Texas Tech.

Neither of these offenses are very efficient and both teams lean on their defense. This is a sharp number and I would much rather ride the Red Raiders against the spread. With that being said, I certainly prefer the under. Both teams rank outside the top 100 in adjusted tempo and neither will want to push the pace. Wilson has slowed this Kansas team down as the offense runs through him when on the floor. For Texas Tech, they play at an average pace but often hold the ball late into the shot clock. They also play tough defense.