Kansas Jayhawks Basketball Predictions: Kansas State Wildcats

The Kansas Jayhawks are in Manhattan, KS tonight for the first game in the Sunflower Showdown against the Kansas State Wildcats tonight. With first place in the conference on the line (at least until Baylor plays Texas tomorrow), will KU be able to get a big road win?

Editor’s Note: Despite the allegations surrounding him, we are confident that David will be cleared of all wrongdoing and have decided to let him participate moving forward. Unfortunately, the Jayhawks don’t have that same luxury with Silvio De Sousa.

Fizzle406: I don’t foree a scenario where Kansas wins this one. It’s gonna be ugly. There will be boos and Sandstorm blaring. Kansas won’t see a worse mauling all season (besides maybe the Hawkeye game in Iowa City). K-State 77, Kansas 42

dnoll5: After the Texas loss, I texted a K-State friend and asked him to give me a scenario in which KU can go into the Octagon and win. His response: “History tells me that there is still a good chance that KU walks away a winner in Manhattan. I expect the Hawks to be hot from three and as usual, the Cats O will be atrocious. So, yeah, I understand that you are not confident, but as a KSU alum, I’m anything but confident about the Cats chances too.” I responded that KU’s three point shooting isn’t like it’s been before, but he still expected KU to nail threes. Then the Tech game happened. Screw it, we’re winning, but it will be ugly. Kansas 60, K-State 55.

Kyle_Davis21: Not much about this game screams confidence. Marcus Garrett is out again. Kansas has been atrocious on the road. K-State’s defense is solid. I can’t see K-State blowing Kansas out with the offense it has. And while I feel like I should pick KU to lose, like dnoll5, Tech happened. And more scientifically, maybe if I stand firm in my stubbornness that KU will win on the road, it’ll start happening. Kansas 64, K-State 62

Mike.Plank: There’s just so much to unpack here. KU’s dominance in this game, in this building. K-State’s defense. Fourteen straight. KU’s recent struggles. K-State’s terrible offense. KU’s terrible offense. K-State’s annual Super Bowl. KU’s turnovers. Sandstorm. Missing Marcus Garrett. Spacedick. Will the real Vick please stand up? “(Rhymes with) Duck KU.” Stay classy. All of this to say, I don’t really know what to think. I could easily be talked into just about any outcome.

So what does Vegas say? Last I checked (mid-afternoon on Tuesday), I’m seeing K-State -4. That line confuses me a little. KU is still a top-15 team. K-State is #40 per KenPom. Although, KU is just 1-5 on the road this year, and they almost blew the one win. But then again, KSU has losses to Tulsa (13-10, 3-7 AAC) and Texas A&M (8-12, 1-7 SEC) team.

Six times this year, KSU has failed to break 60 points. This game shouldn’t be close. KU should win by 20. But as I’ve stated in the last two games, if a line doesn’t make sense, you gotta go with it, because Vegas knows more than you do. K-State 67, Kansas 59.

David: A road game against a team that plays great defense is not what the doctor ordered for a KU team trying to build on a great game against Tech. Kansas will struggle to score from start to finish, and KSU will hit just enough shots to avoid it being too close down the stretch. Kansas State 66, Kansas 60

Andy Mitts: The Jayhawks probably shouldn’t win this one, and the smart money is probably with the Vegas line, as Mike said above. But I just can’t get behind a K-State team that has lots of problems scoring, especially given that Kansas is a much better team overall than anyone that KSU has played. It’s not going to be pretty, but Ochai Agbaji is going to have another breakout game, Devon Dotson will be a steady presence at PG, and Dedric Lawson will have yet another “quiet” 30 as the Jayhawks get a convincing victory to make everyone wonder why they ever questioned KU in the first place. Kansas 78, Kansas State 59.