The Oklahoma State Cowboys (12-5, 5-5 Big 12) get the #23 Kansas Jayhawks (12-7, 6-5 Big 12) on Monday night in Big 12 Conference action. Oklahoma State dropped the Jayhawks in Stillwater, 75-70, in mid-January in the first meeting between these two teams. Monday night’s tipoff is set for 9 p.m. EST inside Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS. Kansas is a 4.5-points in the conference rematch, according to oddsmakers.
What to Know – Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State has gone 9-3 since the calendar flipped to 2021 and are 3-1 over their last four contests. On Saturday, the Cowboys took down #6 Texas in double overtime, 75-67. The Cowboys sit in seventh place in the Big 12 standings and wrap up the season with five games against ranked opponents.
The Cowboys offense averages 76.8 points per game behind a 46.2% shooting effort from the field. Okie State’s defense holds opponents to 71.5 points per game and 40.3% shooting. OSU’s points per game, field goal percentage, and field goal percentage defense rank second in the league.
Leading the offense for the Cowboys is the talented freshman Cade Cunningham. Cunningham, a 6’8 guard and projected top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, averages a conference-best 18.2 points per game.
Okie State is 9-7-1 against the spread with a 5-2-1 record away from Stillwater. In conference play, the Cowboys are 6-4 ATS but just 2-4 ATS in their last six games against Kansas.
What to Know – Kansas Jayhawks
The Jayhawks rolled through the 2020 slate of games with an 8-1 record but have gone only 4-6 since the new year started. Kansas lost their fifth league loss on Saturday, falling 91-79 on the road to West Virginia. The defeat dropped the Jayhawks to sixth in the conference standings with seven games remaining.
Kansas scored 73.8 points per game offensively while allowing opponents to score 68.5 points per game defensively. The Jayhawks shoot 44.1% from the floor and hold teams to a 42.2% average on the defensive end.
The Jayhawks feature a balanced offensive attack with five players averaging 9.9 points or more per game. Junior guard Ochai Agbaji leads the way for KU, averaging 14.1 points per game.
Kansas comes into the new week with a 7-11 record ATS, including just 1-4 over their last five outings. The Jayhawks are 3-5 ATS on their home floor and 5-6 in games against Big 12 opponents.
The Pick is In
Kansas has not looked like a typical Jayhawks team in 2021 and has won their last three conference games at home. Okie State is rounding into form, and the upset over Texas has given the Cowboys momentum as they roll into the final weeks of the regular season.
The last time these two teams played, the Cowboys built up a 16-point lead before allowing the Jayhawks to pull within a possession in the closing seconds. Kansas shot just 5-of-21 (23.8%) from beyond the arc. Cunningham had a big game, scoring a team-high 18 points, and will once again be a factor in the Cowboys’ upset in this one.
The Pick: Oklahoma State +4.5
