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College basketball predictions: Ride with favorites Kansas, Houston

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College basketball predictions: Ride with favorites Kansas, Houston


This is the best Saturday of college basketball this season by a country mile. Three top-10 matchups litter the card and a handful of mid-major battles stand out, as well.

Here are two that have my attention:

No. 4 Houston at No. 8 Kansas

If Kansas being installed as a home underdog made you do a double-take, you’re not alone.

Over the last 34 years, Kansas has closed as an underdog on its home court just twice — in February 1989 as a short ’dog to top-ranked Oklahoma, and in February 2021 as a 4.5-point underdog to second-ranked Baylor.

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They split those two games, losing in overtime to OU’s dynamic duo of Mookie Blaylock and Stacey King while upsetting Baylor by 13 at Phog Allen.

So why are the Jayhawks an underdog in this spot? Injuries and defense.

The Jayhawks have become a three-man team in the past month, relying heavily on Hunter Dickinson, Kevin McCullar Jr. and freshman Johnny Furphy. But now McCullar has a bone bruise on his knee.

The Jayhawks’ wing is averaging nearly 20/6/5 this season on 47 percent shooting from the field. Indications from coach Bill Self are that McCullar will play Saturday, but he won’t be 100 percent returning from that painful injury.

Kansas has fallen off defensively since the start of the new year. According to Bart Torvik’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric, KU is ranked 65th nationally since Jan. 1. In the first two months of the season, KU resided in the top 20. That’s good news for a Houston offense that is susceptible to scoring lulls.

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Center Hunter Dickinson is one of the key contributors for Kansas. AP

When Kansas is trying to crack Houston’s defense, all I can say is “good luck.” The Cougars have the highest-rated defense in the country by a big margin. They lead the nation in effective field goal percentage defense, turn opponents over on 22 percent of their possessions (third) and rank third in three-point shooting defense (28.3 percent).

If you want to find a decent comp, you need to look at 2019 Texas Tech, which nearly won the national championship, or the 38-1 Kentucky Wildcats from 2015. That’s the rarefied air of this Houston defense.

Evan Miya’s rating of the top 25 most impactful defenders in the nation features four Cougars, including the top two in the nation (Jamal Shead, Ja’Vier Francis).

And finally, if you’re going to hand KU a loss on its home floor, you’re going to need to quiet the crowd, and Houston has a special weapon in that department.

The Cougars lead the nation in kill shots, which are runs of 10-0 or better. So far they’ve produced 27 of them this season while only conceding four. That’s the best margin of any team in the country and helps Kelvin Sampson’s teams destroy opponents’ will to win.

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Recommendation: Houston -2.

Binghamton at Vermont

The Catamounts have long been the class of the America East, and as the conference bully, they’ve constantly picked on Binghamton. In their last 10 wins over this rival, Vermont has won by an average of 24 points per game.

Betting on College Basketball?

This season, after a sleepy start, the Cats have come alive with six straight wins, including three in a row on the road. Coach John Becker has credited his team’s depth for its turnaround.

This season, the conference pivoted to a Thursday/Saturday conference schedule, so depth has mattered more than usual. Nine Catamounts play 14-plus minutes per game for Becker and eight players have led UVM in scoring in the past nine games.

I would play this up to UVM -16.5.

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Recommendation: Vermont -14.



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Injury Report: Designations ahead of Buffalo Bills-Kansas City Chiefs | Sporting News

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Injury Report: Designations ahead of Buffalo Bills-Kansas City Chiefs | Sporting News


Kansas City Chiefs

Out: RB Isiah Pacheco (IR), DE Charles Omenihu (IR), K Harrison Butker (IR)

Questionable: None

Active: QB Patrick Mahomes, WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, WR DeAndre Hopkins, WR Mecole Hardman, OL Wanya Morris, DE George Karlaftis, DE Mike Danna, DT Derrick Nnadi

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Takeaway: The Chiefs luck out by having several of their top offensive weapons ready to go, despite shake-ups in the last few weeks. Patrick Mahomes has dealt with an ankle injury throughout the season, but he’s played through it and will once again do so against the Bills.

Harrison Butker is on injured reserve after undergoing knee surgery this week. Former Jets kicker Spencer Shrader will fill in for Butker. Defensively, Kansas City will have just about all of their core guys, including George Karlaftis and Derrick Nnadi.

Buffalo Bills

Out: WR Keon Coleman, TE Dalton Kincaid, LB Matt Milano (IR)

Questionable: WR Amari Cooper, OL Spencer Brown

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Active: QB Josh Allen, WR Mack Hollins, WR Curtis Samuel, CB Christian Benford, LB Terrel Bernard, CB Kaiir Elam, FB Reggie Gilliam, DT DaQuan Jones, TE Quintin Morris, S Taylor Rapp, DE Casey Toohill, LB Dorian Williams

Takeaway: Keon Coleman and Dalton Kincaid will be huge losses for the Bills in Sunday’s game. Because of that, Josh Allen will be forced to find new targets. Guys like Mack Hollins, Curtis Samuel and Khalil Shakir will likely see more volume than usual, and the Bills will likely utilize their running game heavily.

Defensively, the Bills are fairly healthy. Starters like Taylor Rapp, Christian Benford and Terrel Bernard being active helps Buffalo greatly in stopping the Chiefs’ high-powered, Mahomes-led offense.



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Shocking Week 12 Kansas-BYU result gives Cougars’ matchup with Arizona State unforeseen College Football Playoff implications | Sporting News

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Shocking Week 12 Kansas-BYU result gives Cougars’ matchup with Arizona State unforeseen College Football Playoff implications | Sporting News


BYU’s perfect season was spoiled in Week 12 and their College Football Playoff fate now hangs in the balance. After a 17-13 loss to Kansas, the Cougars’ November 23 matchup with Arizona State is now a CFP eliminator.

Once one of the top stories in the sport, BYU now faces the possibility of their first losing streak all season ending their title hopes at the most inopportune of times.

“We’ve got ourselves a CFP elimination game next week in Tempe when BYU visits ASU. A sentence never before written,” The Athletic’s Stewart Mandel.

Kalani Sitake took a measured and even inspirational tone during the postgame press conference, complimenting his Cougars’ effort and giving the Jayhawks their due.

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“Well, obviously disappointing result, but a lot of credit to Kansas. They had a really good game plan. And looking at the stats, just didn’t really make enough plays and made way too many mistakes for us to come up with the victory,” Sitake said in the early hours of November 17 (h/t ESPN 960’s Benjamin Criddle).

“We have a lot more to play for. This is not the end.”

BYU could still make the College Football Playoff with a Cougars Big 12 Championship win

The Big 12 Championship is still a direct path for the Cougars into the College Football Playoff. Colorado would likely be on the schedule if Kansas doesn’t strike again next week and/or Oklahoma State upsets the Buffs in Week 14.

Of course, the alternative is suddenly the sickening feeling Provo, Utah must collectively feel right now after such a downer of a loss against a six-loss team.

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Kansas vs. BYU FREE LIVE STREAM (11/16/24): Watch college football, Week 12 online | Time, TV, channel

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Kansas vs. BYU FREE LIVE STREAM (11/16/24): Watch college football, Week 12 online | Time, TV, channel


The Kansas Jayhawks, led by quarterback Jalon Daniels, face the No. 6 BYU Cougars, led by quarterback Jake Retzlaff on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024 (11/16/24) at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free via a trial of DirecTV Stream or fuboTV. You can also watch via a subscription to Sling TV, which is offering half off your first month.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: NCAA Football, Week 12

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Who: Kansas vs. BYU

When: Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024

Where: LaVell Edwards Stadium

Time: 10:15 p.m. ET

TV: ESPN

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Live stream: fuboTV (free trial), DirecTV Stream (free trial)

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Here are the best streaming options for college football this season:

Fubo TV (free trial): fuboTV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS.

DirecTV Stream (free trial): DirecTV Stream carries ESPN, FOX, NBC and CBS.

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Sling TV ($25 off the first month)– Sling TV carries ESPN, FOX, ABC and NBC.

ESPN+($9.99 a month): ESPN+ carries college football games each weekend for only $9.99 a month. These games are exclusive to the platform.

Peacock TV ($5.99 a month): Peacock will simulstream all of NBC Sports’ college football games airing on the NBC broadcast network this season, including Big Ten Saturday Night. Peacock will also stream Notre Dame home games. Certain games will be streamed exclusively on Peacock this year as well.

Paramount+ (free trial): Paramount Plus will live stream college football games airing on CBS this year.

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Here’s a preview capsule via the Associated Press:

Kansas (3-6, 2-4 Big 12) at No. 7 BYU (9-0, 6-0, No. 6 CFP), Saturday, 10:15 p.m. EST (ESPN)

BetMGM College Football Odds: BYU by 3.

Series record: Kansas leads 2-0

WHAT’S AT STAKE?

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BYU can clinch a spot in the Big 12 Championship game with two victories in its next three games. Only Colorado is within a game of the Cougars in the league standings. Kansas is looking to win games against ranked opponents in back-to-back weeks for the first time in school history.

KEY MATCHUP

BYU’s defense has a penchant for getting burned by chunk plays on the ground. Running the ball is an offensive strength for Kansas, which churns out 213.6 yards rushing per game. Both Jalon Daniels and Devin Neal can get to the second level and put the Cougars on their heels. On the other side, Jake Retzlaff can exploit a mediocre Kansas pass defense allowing 282.7 yards per game through the air against Big 12 opponents.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kansas: Neal broke Kansas’ all-time records for career rushing yards and career rushing touchdowns in the Jayhawks’ 45-36 win over Iowa State after rushing for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries. Neal has 3,951 career rushing yards to go with 43 career rushing TDs and will likely surpass the 4,000-yard plateau on Saturday.

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BYU: Retzlaff had a rough outing in the Cougars’ 22-21 win over Utah. Retzlaff had his fifth straight 200-yard game after throwing for 219 yards, but he also completed a season-low 45.5% of his passes. BYU has won by double digits in five of the six games where he’s had a completion percentage of 56% or better.

FACTS & FIGURES

BYU leads the Big 12 in turnovers gained (21), interceptions (16), and turnover margin (1.11). The Cougars rank in the Top 10 among FBS teams in all three categories. … Kansas leads the Big 12 in sacks allowed per game (0.89). … Kansas cornerbacks Mello Dotson and Cobee Bryant are tied for first atop the Big 12 with four interceptions apiece. BYU cornerback Jakob Robinson is tied for fifth in the league with three interceptions. … BYU kicker Will Ferrin leads the Big 12 with 17 made field goals. … Kansas is 1-1 all-time in the state of Utah. This is the first trip to Provo for the Jayhawks. They previously beat Utah in Salt Lake City in 1950 and lost there to the Utes in 1996.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report)

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