The Big 12 is a grind night in and night out this season and the Saturday February 17th Kansas at Oklahoma matchup is no different. The #6 Jayhawks (19-6) are coming off a whopping 29 point loss at Texas Tech on Monday and are just 2-5 on the road this season yet are -2.5 favorites on the road at Norman.
#25 Oklahoma (18-7) is also coming off a big loss, falling 79-62 at Baylor on Tuesday night. OU hasn’t beaten Kansas since January of 2021 but with the Jayhawks being a bit beaten up and struggling on the road the timing is right to snap that skid. Public betting is split 50/50 for Saturday afternoon’s matchup at the Lloyd Noble Center.
Why Kansas Has Value at -2.5
It’s hard to envision the #6 Jayhawks getting blown out in dramatic fashion in consecutive games. KU’s 79-50 loss at Texas Tech on Monday came just two days after a hard fought 64-61 victory over Baylor so part of that poor performance in Lubbock could be blamed on the short turnaround and fatigue.
Kansas is well rested coming into Saturday’s meeting in Norman, which is especially beneficial for a team battling a slew of injuries right now. Leading scorer Kevin McCullar, Jr. (19.5 ppg) has missed the last two games with a knee injury and Dajuan Harris was gimpy against Texas Tech after hurting his ankle late in the win over Baylor last weekend.
McCullar, Jr. is listed as probable to return on Saturday for the Jayhawks, and he forms a formidable duo with Hunter Dickinson (18.2 ppg) when both are healthy. That was evidenced on January 12th when McCullar, Jr. had 21 points and Dickinson 24 points and 14 rebounds in KU’s 78-66 win over Oklahoma which covered the -6.5 point Jayhawks spread. Kansas has won six straight and 9 of the last 11 in the head to head series.
Why Oklahoma Has Value at +2.5
There might be no better time to beat Kansas then right now, as they’re having a very uncharacteristic road tilt going just 1-5 in conference road games this season. McCullar, Jr. is set to possibly be back for the Jayhawks, but then again KU has a week off after the meeting with the Sooners so it may be better off for him to rest one more game.
OU was all the way up to #9 in the country when they lost the previous 78-66 meeting with then #3 Kansas. The Jayhawks had a 21-9 run and another 9-0 run in the second half of that contest which doomed the Sooners, but they should be able to avoid that being at home in this game as they’ve gone 13-2 in Norman this season.
Besides their elite record at home, Oklahoma also brings the #3 defense in the Big 12 (67.5 ppg) into this game. OU has allowed 66 points or less in three of their last five home games which could also give the ‘under’ 142.5 value in this spot.
Free February 17th Kansas at Oklahoma Betting Pick
Kansas has been atrocious in Big 12 road play this season, which is a hard trend to go against in this game. The biggest difference is that the Jayhawks are recharged after a quick turnaround on Monday, and the Sooners could be without two key role players including 6’10”, 276 pound big man John Hugley IV which could be a huge loss up against KU’s Dickinson on the post.
Free Pick: Kansas -2.5
