Free Picks: Kansas Jayhawks vs Kansas State Wildcats

After beating up on its inner-state rival Kansas State Wildcats (5-17) earlier this month, the Kansas Jayhawks (15-7) will hope for more of the same in Wednesday’s road matchup. Kansas State hasn’t won a Big 12 conference game in two months, and nine of their 12 conference losses have come by 10 or more points. While Kansas has lofty aspirations this season, Wednesday will be one of the Wildcats’ final chances at glory in 2021.

Let this sink in for a moment: the Kansas State Wildcats have not won a basketball game this entire year.

OK, that’s a bit unfair to say, given that 2021 is merely a month and a half old — but the statement remains true. Since the calendar flipped, Kansas State has played 12 games and finished on the losing end each time. Their opponent on Wednesday, Kansas, dealt them one of those defeats back on Feb. 2

The spread was only five points for that game earlier this month, but we expect the latest NCAA basketball odds to reflect a larger spread when the line is revealed closer to tip off. For now, we’ll make our BetPicks prediction with the understanding that the Jayhawks are more likely looking at a spread in the range of 8-12 points.

If that proves true, it would be a good sign for Kansas, which has covered the spread in three consecutive matchups as a double-digit favorite. That includes two games in the past week, as 11.5-point and 13.5-point favorites in a home-and-home against Iowa State.

Funny we should mention Iowa State, because that’s the only Big 12 school Kansas State has beaten (way back on Dec. 15). That’s their best win all season, which isn’t saying much at all considering the Cyclones are 229^th in the NCAA’s NET rankings.

What can we say about Kansas State? They rank outside the top 200 in nearly every major offensive and defensive category. Heck, one of their most polarizing traits is that they shoot 3-pointers 41.6 percent of the time (74^th in NCAA Division I) … but they’re 293^rd in 3-pt. shooting percentage, so maybe they shouldn’t do that.

The Wildcats’ best chance to beat the Jayhawks (or at least cover) was if guard DaJuan Gordon (9.3 points, 5.8 rebounds per game) was returning from a foot injury. He’s listed as questionable, but one local report is suggesting he will not play. And with that, hope is lost for Kansas State to upset its rival.

• Kansas is 4-36ATS in its past 10 games
• The OVER has cashed in seven of the Jayhawls’ past 10 games
• Kansas State is 4-6 ATS in its past 10 games
• The OVER has cashed in five of the Wildcats’ past nine games