Kansas Missouri Betting – Jayhawks Go Inside To Win At Mizzou
Online betting players are getting ready to make their Final Four picks, and you will likely see Kansas near the top of most lists because of their depth, skill and experience. They can play either an up-tempo game or a run-and-gun shootout, which served them well in their first meeting with Missouri. They will head to Columbia for the regular-season finale, and this time, the Jayhawks will show off their inside game to slow down the Tigers.
- What: NCAA Basketball Betting
- When: Saturday, March 5th, 12:00 PM ET
- Where: Mizzou Arena, Columbia, MO
- Pick: Kansas Jayhawks
Why Bet On Kansas (27-2, 12-2 Big 12, as of Wednesday)
The No.2 Jayhawks still have a tough visit from Texas A&M on Wednesday night before ending the regular season in Columbia, and while they still don’t have suspended junior guard Tyshawn Taylor (8.8 points, 4.7 assists), they have the depth in the backcourt to make up for it. Sophomore guard Elijah Robinson (3.9 points, 2.0 assists) stepped into the starting role but was hurt in a win at Oklahoma. That doesn’t matter to Kansas, as they still have the senior duo of Brady Morningstar (6.5 points, 3.1 assists) and Tyrel Reed (9.8 points, 2.9 rebounds), and don’t forget about freshman Josh Selby (10.4 points, 3.0 assists), although he has been relegated to the bench. With the Morris brothers up front, the Jayhawks lead the country in field-goal percentage, assists, they’re 14th in assists-to-turnover ratio and 10th in rebounding. Defensively, Kansas is ninth in three-point defense, 19th in field-goal defense and 27th in steals. Even though the Jayhawks are 83rd in points allowed, they make teams work.
Kansas’ main flaws are free-throw shooting (215th in the country) and turnovers (158th), and those are two things they need to work on before the NCAA Tournament, because they have everything else needed to win the Big Dance.
Why Bet On Missouri (22-8, 8-7 Big 12, as of Wednesday)
The Tigers are ranked 22nd in the top 25, and college basketball betting players know that, if nothing else, you’re going to get an exciting game when you watch Mizzou as they are sixth in points scored, but 246th points allowed. Junior guard Marcus Denmon (16.7 points, 3.5 boards) has three 20-point efforts in his last four games ahead of Mizzou’s visit to Nebraska on Wednesday. He is one of five Tigers to average over 10 points, and they shoot a high percentage from three-point land (37.6%, 48th in the country). Junior forwards Laurence Bowers (11.6 points, 6.0 rebounds) and Ricardo Ratcliffe (11.1 points, 6.4 boards) give the Tigers an inside presence, so Mizzou isn’t just a perimeter team. The Tigers are also a better defensive team at home, and they have active hands, ranking third in the NCAA in steals. Their gambling style makes things difficult sometimes, but the Tigers sure are fun to watch from a neutral standpoint.
As we said, their style can bite them, and the Tigers are 163rd in the league in field-goal defense, and they’re 248th in personal fouls. Mizzou is also not as good on the boards as they should be (209th in rebound margin),and they were destroyed on the glass in their first meeting with Kansas, who had a 38-20 rebounding edge. This was the main reason that the Tigers were romped 103-86 in Lawrence on February 7th.
How The Game Will Play Out
The Tigers should be the NCAA basketball betting favorites at Mizzou Arena, even though they’re 2-3 SU and ATS in their last five at home against the Jayhawks, who are 4-6 ATS away from home. Mizzou is 8-4 ATS at home, and they’re won 17 in a row there, so this will be a stiff test for the Jayhawks, who have only lost at Kansas State this season. The Jayhawks are going to have to take care of the ball against the Tigers on the perimeter, but the fact of the matter is Kansas is a better halfcourt team than Mizzou, and they can get out and run with them as well. The Tigers will be better defensively than they were at Kansas in the first meeting, but when the game slows down in the second half, look for the Jayhawks to pull away for a sports betting win.
Kansas Missouri Betting Pick: Kansas Jayhawks
