NCAAB: Jayhawks coughing up the cash

[Shame About Ray]

Kansas Jayhawks’ bettors have been getting a poor return on their betting dollar in recent weeks.

The #6 ranked Jayhawks are 25-3 overall and second in the Big 12 standings but they’ve been consistently losing cash, covering just one of their last eight spreads heading into Saturday’s game with their rival, the Kansas State Wildcats.

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Kansas State will gladly take the credit for the Jayhawks recent struggles. The Wildcats handed the Jayhawks their first straight up loss of the season with a surprising 84-75 victory on January 30th. Since then, Kansas has lost two more times and only covered one game.

Kansas’ most recent loss was a 61-60 decision against Oklahoma State as 11-point favorites. They responded with a 75-64 victory over Iowa State on Wednesday but, as 13-point favorites, it was hardly a convincing win against a Cyclones team that’s just 4-9 in conference play.

Kansas’ woes can partly be blamed on the nation’s 11th-ranked offense that’s sputtered during the recent stretch; only reaching the team’s 81.3 points scoring average twice in eight games. Prior to this week’s win over Iowa State, the Jayhawks had gone three-straight games in which they failed to reach the 70-point mark.

If they can’t get the offense on track in Saturday’s matchup, it could be another rough day for Kansas bettors as opponents have been scoring more often on the country’s 26th ranked defense. The Jayhawks ‘D’ is giving up just 61.3 points per game this season but that number jumps to 68.3 points per game over the last eight contests.

Kansas State is one of the teams to find success against the Kansas defense. Michael Beasley and Co. put up 85 points the last time these teams played as three Wildcats scored more than 20 points. Michael Beasley led all scorers with 25 points in that game while Bill Walker added 22 and Jacob Pullen scored 20.

That trio of freshmen is the reason Kansas State is third in the Big 12 at 8-5 and 8-2 ATS at home. The inexperience tends to show more on the road as they are just 2-6 ATS away from Bramlage Coliseum.

No matter where they play, the Wildcats have been a solid bet on the Over. The offense averages 79.8 points per game and, along with going Over in the previous meeting with Kansas, they’ve gone Over 15 times this season including six times in eight road games.

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