The No. 12 Kansas Jayhawks will host the No. 7 Houston Cougars in a top-15 matchup in Big 12 action on Saturday. Kansas is 14-4 overall, including 5-2 in the Big 12. Houston is 15-3 overall, including 7-0 in the Big 12. The Jayhawks are coming off a 74-61 win over TCU on Wednesday. The Cougars are coming off a 70-36 win over Utah on Wednesday for their 11th straight victory. This is their first meeting this year and Houston and Kansas split their two matchups last season with the home team winning each time.
Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday from Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kan. Houston is favored by 1.5 points in the latest Houston vs. Kansas odds, while the over/under is 127.5 points per SportsLine consensus. Before entering any Kansas vs. Houston picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the proven model at SportsLine.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters Week 12 of the 2024-25 season on a 199-138 betting roll (+2692) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. Anyone following at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
The model has set its sights on Kansas vs. Houston. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball betting lines for the Houston vs. Kansas game:
The Cougars are 3-0 in true road games this season and covered the spread as the favorite in two of those three contests. Houston enters on an 11-game winning streak following a slow 4-3 start to the season with a challenging non-conference schedule and some new pieces forming chemistry. The Cougars did return leading scorer L.J. Cryer, a fifth-year senior who is averaging 13.8 points per game this season after averaging 15.5 ppg last year.
Houston has the No. 1 scoring defense in the nation, holding teams to 53.9 ppg while also leading the country in field goal defense (35.3%). Opposing teams are shooting just 39.6% on 2-point attempts this season, the lowest in college basketball, as the Cougars are allowing just 17.9 field goals per game. The stout Houston defense plays well on the road, allowing 57.3 ppg in three Big 12 road games this season. Even with Houston entering a hostile environment like Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas may have difficulty creating open looks on Saturday. See which team to pick here.
The Jayhawks haven’t suffered more than one home loss in a season since the 2017-18 college basketball season, but Kansas already has a loss in Allen Fieldhouse in a 62-61 final against West Virginia on Dec. 31. Kansas bounced back with a 74-55 victory over Arizona State in its ensuing home game and most recently defeated Kansas State, 84-74, in Lawrence to regain home-court supremacy. Saturday could be just the third time since the start of the 2020-21 college basketball season that Kansas is a home underdog and the Jayhawks covered the spread in each of those contests.
Hunter Dickinson, a fifth-year senior, is averaging 15.8 points and 10.2 rebounds this season after averaging 17.9 points and 10.9 rebounds last year as a second-team All-American selection. The 7-foot-2 center has led Kansas in scoring in three of the last four games and had 16 points and nine rebounds in a 74-61 win over TCU on Wednesday. Senior guard Zeke Mayo is adding 14.9 ppg this season and Kansas also has one of the best defenses in the country. The Jayhawks rank 11th in scoring defense at 63.3 ppg this season. See which team to pick here.
The model has simulated Houston vs. Kansas 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in almost 70% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Houston vs. Kansas, and which side of the spread hits almost 70% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Kansas vs. Houston spread you need to jump on, all from the model that is on an 199-138 roll on top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
