The No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (15-3) made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week, and they're set to return to the floor on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET against the Tennessee Volunteers (12-6) at Allen Fieldhouse as part of the 2020 Big 12/SEC Challenge. The Jayhawks will be without David McCormack and Silvio De Sousa after they were both suspended for their role in the Kansas-Kansas State fight that broke out at the end of Tuesday's matchup.
With most of their key players set to take the floor, however, the Jayhawks are 13.5-point favorites in the Kansas vs. Tennessee odds, while the over-under is set at 128.5, up four points from the opening line. Before entering any Tennessee vs. Kansas picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has crushed its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread the past three years, returning $2,770 to $100 players. It also enters Week 12 of the 2019-20 season on a 6-2 run on top-rated college basketball spread picks. Anybody who followed it during that span has seen handsome returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Kansas vs. Tennessee in the Big 12/SEC Challenge 2020. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Tennessee vs. Kansas:
- Kansas vs. Tennessee spread: KU -13.5
- Kansas vs. Tennessee over-under: 128.5 points
- Kansas vs. Tennessee money line: Kansas -1087; Tennessee +691
What you need to know about Kansas
Despite all the negative publicity, Kansas came out of this week's ugly incident with little harm in terms of lost on-court production. McCormack, who is suspended for two games, averages 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest. De Sousa, who is suspended 12 games, averages just 2.6 points. The trio of Devon Dotson (18.2 ppg), Udoka Azubuike (12.9 ppg) and Ochai Agbaji (10.3 ppg) have produced most of the scoring for KU this year, and though they may be called on for some extra minutes on Saturday, they've proven to be up to the task.
Kansas has won three straight and six of its last seven. Bill Self's squad ranks 15th nationally in scoring defense, giving up just 60.6 points per game. The Jayhawks are 11-6 against the spread this season.
What you need to know about Tennessee
Even so, the Jayhawks aren't guaranteed to cover the Kansas vs. Tennessee spread. Tennessee coach Rick Barnes coached in the Big 12 from 1998-2015 when he was at Texas and knows how to prepare his team for a trip to Allen Fieldhouse. And despite the loss of guard Lamonte Turner (shoulder) for the season, Barnes has the Vols trending up recently. They've won two straight and four of five overall.
Senior Jordan Bowden (12.3 ppg) leads the Vols in scoring, while veterans John Fulkerson and Yves Pons have settled into bigger roles this season for a program that lost three players to the 2019 NBA Draft. The Vols are just 8-10 overall against the spread, but they have covered in two straight and have a winning record against the spread on the road (4-3).
How to make Kansas vs. Tennessee picks
The model has simulated Kansas vs. Tennessee 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning over, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 60 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Tennessee vs. Kansas? And which side of the spread hits in well over 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the spread you need to jump on Saturday, all from the model that has crushed its college basketball picks.
