No. 19 Kansas visits Kansas State on Saturday night for the 304th edition of the in-state rivalry at Bramlage Coliseum, with tip set for 7 p.m. CT on FOX.
Game-day update: Kansas will be without Darryn Peterson after it was announced Saturday afternoon that he is out with a sprained ankle.
The Jayhawks (14-5, 4-2 Big 12) have won three straight games since knocking off No. 2 Iowa State at Allen Fieldhouse last week, while the Wildcats snapped a five-game losing streak with an 81-78 home win over Utah on Tuesday night.
Kansas vs. Kansas State Odds and Over/Under
The spread opened up at Kansas -5.5 points and an over/under of 160.5. The line has moved by Saturday morning to Kansas -4.5 points, but the over/under has remained steady at 160.5 points. As of Saturday afternoon, after the announcement that Peterson would not play, the line didn’t move much, as Kansas is still a 4-point favorite, however the over/under moved down to 157.5.
Top Storyline: Bill Self Returns for the Jayhawks
Hospitalized on Monday, Bill Self didn’t travel with Kansas to Colorado on Tuesday, instead opting for Jacque Vaughn to lead a 75-69 win in Boulder. KUSports.com reported that Self would return to practice and that he’d be back on the floor in Manhattan for Saturday’s game. The Self-Tang series sits seven at 3-3, with Jerome Tang and the Wildcats claiming the last meeting 81-73 at home last February.
Match Up to Watch: Replacing Darryn Peterson
Darryn Peterson is officially going to miss this game, as was announced on Saturday afternoon, after he played through a rolled ankle against Colorado earlier in the week. Since Darryn Peterson can’t go, that turns the spotlight over to Tre White and Melvin Council Jr. to put up big numbers, while also trying to shut down Kansas State’s P.J. Haggerty.
Prediction: Kansas 70, Kansas State 66
Tang and Kansas State have put together a three-game home winning streak against Kansas, the most since a four-game stretch during 1981 and 1983 seasons. It’s a major game for folks on campus, and might draw the best numbers Bramlage gets all season. Basically, Kansas has struggled to win basketball games in Manhattan as of late, and a recently-hospitalized Bill Self, and Peterson now out, don’t bode well for the Jayhawks here. On the other side of the coin, Kansas State has struggled to finish ballgames all season and I don’t see how, even with a generational game out of Haggerty, the Tang Gang outbodies the Jayhawks in the end.
