Kansas vs Texas Tech: Odds, Prediction, and Best Bet for Monday, February 2

The Kansas Jayhawks will head south to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders in a Big 12 battle on Monday, February 2. Both teams have bona fide superstars, as JT Toppin and Darryn Peterson are two of the best players in the nation. Will we see plenty of thunderous dunks and wild shots from downtown in this one on ESPN at 9 PM Eastern?

How will this one play out? We’ll dive into which team has the edge in each statistical category. Get our predictions and best player prop below. Best of luck, sports betting family.

Opening Odds for Kansas vs Texas Tech

Oddsmakers are making Texas Tech a moderate favorite in this game, as the opening line priced the Red Raiders as a 3.5-point favorite on Monday morning. Money has poured in on the home favorite so far. Caesars has moved to -5, and all other sportsbooks are sitting at -4.5

The books are expecting a higher amount of scoring in this game. The opening total was 150.5, but tons of Over money has changed all of that. We’re now sitting at 154.5 at some online sportsbooks. The move to the Over is a bit shocking because of Kansas’s defensive prowess.

Will the Jayhawks Win 6 in a Row?

Kansas is a solid 16-5 on the season and 6-2 in Big 12 play. The Jayhawks have been hotter than a $2 pistol ever since their blowout loss to West Virginia back on January 10th. It’ll be interesting to see if Rock Chalk Jayhawk can pull off a road upset tonight in a rowdy Lubbock environment.

Darryn Peterson has only played in 11 games, but he’s more than lived up to the hype when he’s been on the floor. The future NBA lottery pick is averaging 21.3 points per game, even with Bill Self resting him in games regularly. Peterson gets a lot of help from Tre White (14.8 PPG) and Flory Bidunga (14.5 PPG).

Kansas’s defense will have to bring its A game tonight against this Texas Tech offense. Thankfully for Jayhawks fans, their team does a fantastic job of defending the paint, as KU ranks 10th in two-point defense. Kansas also ranks 3rd in opponent shooting percentage.

Can the Red Raiders Shake off the Weekend Loss?

Texas Tech has been rolling along quite nicely. The Red Raiders have the exact record as Kansas, both overall (16-5) and in conference play (6-2). Almost no one has been able to contain JT Toppin, who leads the team in scoring (22.4) and rebounding (10.9).

The Red Raiders have plenty of depth, as four of their players average 12.1 points per game or more. Donovan Atwell leads the team in three-pointers, and he’s a great kick out option when teams decide to double Toppin in the paint. Christian Anderson leads the team in assists with 7.5 per game.

Tech’s defensive metrics aren’t all that great, so they have to rely on outscoring teams. The Red Raiders rank 102nd in opponent shooting efficiency and 146th in two-point defense. Toppin leads the team with 1.6 blocks per game, and he’ll be looking to slow down Kansas’s big men with his wingspan.

Best Bet: Kansas +5 (-110) (Caesars) (1 Unit)

I get that this is a buy-low bounce-back spot for Texas Tech, but this line has gone up way too much from its opener of 2.5. Kansas has struggled on the road so far this year, but no one has been hotter than the Jayhawks lately, as they’ve won 5 straight ball games, one against No. 2 Iowa State and the other against No 13 BYU.

JT Toppin is a legitimate Player of the Year candidate, but I think Kansas has enough depth to slow him down just a tad. I made this line Texas Tech -2.5, and that was with giving them 4 points for home court advantage and an extra point for them being in a foul mood after losing on the road to UCF on Saturday.

Besides the modest amount of value, I love that KU has the better defense in this matchup. The Jayhawks are also better on the glass. Both of those metrics travel well. Give me the plus points, and I’m sprinkling that moneyline just a little. Good luck, my friends!