Texas vs Kansas Pick and Preview
Saturday, March 7 - 4 p.m. Eastern - CBS - Texas Longhorns (19-9) at Kansas Jayhawks (24-5)
The Texas Longhorns may have saved their basketball season and NCAA Tournament hopes with an upset win against #2 Oklahoma Feb. 21. If Texas could win at Kansas Saturday, though, the Longhorns might give themselves the confidence to do more in the NCAA Tournament than just qualify.
CBS will televise the Texas-Kansas game Saturday from Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. Because of the Big 12's unbalanced scheduling, it's the only scheduled meeting this season between the Longhorns and Jayhawks, who have combined to dominate the Big 12 Conference over the previous three seasons.
Season Results: Losing several key players after its national championship campaign, Kansas was expected to slip lower in the Big 12 standings this season, likely finishing behind a veteran Texas team. Kansas and Texas tied for the Big 12 regular-season championship last season.
Instead, the Jayhawks, with key late-season wins against Oklahoma and Missouri, have put themselves in position to claim at least a share of a fifth straight Big 12 regular-season championship with a win at Texas Tech Wednesday night. Should Tech upset Kansas, the Jayhawks still could clinch a share of the title with a win against Texas.
Although Texas was expected to challenge for the league title after starting 4-1 in the Big 12, the Longhorns had a rough month of February, falling to a fourth-place tie. Entering this week, Texas has won only four of its last nine games, and the Longhorns' only road win in February came at last-place Colorado, 85-76 in overtime. In February, Texas lost three road games to teams that will be fortunate to make the NCAA Tournament (Nebraska, Texas A&M, and Oklahoma State), as well as losing at home to Kansas State and Missouri.
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A young Kansas team, meanwhile, has shown tremendous improvement as the season has progressed. After ending non-conference play with a 75-62 loss at Michigan State Jan. 10, Kansas rolled to wins in 13 of its next 14 games, with its only loss coming on a last-second shot at Missouri Feb. 9, 62-60. Kansas avenged that loss Sunday by hammering Missouri, 90-65.
Both Texas and Kansas picked up recent wins against Oklahoma. However, Sooners star Blake Griffin suffered a concussion early in the game with Texas, causing him to miss most of that game, which Texas won, 73-68. Griffin then missed all of the next game, an 87-78 loss to visiting Kansas.
Point Spread Records: The Longhorns will almost certainly be an underdog in the Texas-Kansas game Saturday. The Longhorns are 1-2 ATS as an underdog this season, with all three games occurring on the road.
It hasn't mattered much for Kansas lately whether the Jayhawks have been favored or an underdog in terms of ATS records. Kansas enters this week having gone 7-0-1 ATS in its past eight games and 12-1-1 ATS in Big 12 games. The Jayhawks are 10-2-1 at home ATS this season.
Texas, meanwhile, enters this week having lost four of its last five games ATS and seven of its last nine. Before the Longhorns-Jayhawks matchup Saturday, Texas will host Baylor.
Texas and Kansas have met in the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game each of the past three seasons, with Kansas winning all three times. The Longhorns, however, have won two of the last three Texas-Kansas regular-season meetings. Texas has won ATS in four of the past six meetings with the Jayhawks.
2008*: Kansas (-5.5) 84, Texas 74
2008: Texas 72, Kansas (-5.5) 69
2007*: Kansas (-6) 88, Texas 84 (OT)
2007: Kansas (-9.5) 90, Texas 86
2006*: Kansas 80, Texas (-3) 68
2006: Texas (-6.5) 80, Kansas 55
*Big 12 Tournament Championship Game
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