Kansas vs. Kentucky: College Basketball Odds & Picks (Tuesday)

After a fun week of college hoops, we keep rolling along with the Champions Classic tonight and Gavitt Games underway. James Madison stole the spotlight in week one, finding themselves inside the AP Top 25 but other teams impressed too. Tennessee sits as a title contender and Purdue has shown their ability to move on from last year's early tournament defeat. There are plenty of solid games tonight so let's get to it. Here are my best bets for Tuesday's slate. Below we dive into Kansas vs. Kentucky.

You can follow all my bets on my BettingPros profile as I add last-minute bets and player props once they drop.

Tuesday's Top College Basketball Picks & Predictions: Kansas vs. Kentucky

Last Time: 2-0
Season: 5-2

Kansas vs. Kentucky

Of course, the other Champions Classic game is another five-star matchup in Kansas vs. Kentucky. The Jayhawks have hit the ground running in the Hunter Dickinson era, showing why they deserve the number one overall AP ranking.

The Wildcats haven't been as impressive. While they won both games, their play has been sluggish as they got out of the gate trailing 21-8 to Texas A&M Commerce. This is still a talented team however as Tre Mitchell stepped up with an 18-point effort and Kentucky had five different double-digit scorers.

Where Kentucky may falter is depth tonight. Only seven players saw the court on Friday and if the game was closer there may have even been fewer bench minutes played. The young stars have been playing well, but can they keep up with Kansas on such a big stage?

The Jayhawks can score anywhere on the court, ranking top-10 both inside and outside the perimeter in their first couple of games. Kentucky's defense is good, but I don't expect them to keep a cap on Kansas, especially with their propensity to allow the deep shot and with the dynamic offense Bill Self imposes on their opponents. If this Kentucky team had a little bit more experience under their belt I would trust them more but Kansas is running on all cylinders right now and I will be riding the Jayhawk wave.

Play: Kansas -5.5 (-110 at BetRivers)