Free College Basketball Picks Today: West Virginia Mountaineers vs Kansas Jayhawks 1/7/23

The No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (13-1, 2-0 Big 12) will be out to build on their winning streak when they are on the road to face the West Virginia Mountaineers (10-4, 0-2 Big 12) on Saturday. Kansas squeaked by the Texas Tech Red Raiders 75-72 at United Supermarkets Arena on Tuesday, their seventh win in a row.

Dajuan Harris Jr. had a standout performance with 18 points. The Jayhawks remain first in the Big 12 Conference. West Virginia came up short on Monday at Gallagher-Iba Arena, falling to the Oklahoma State Cowboys 67-60. Erik Stevenson led the team in scoring in the loss with 17 points.

With 16 points and seven rebounds, Tre Mitchell also played a part. The Mountaineers fell to eighth in the Big 12 Conference.It’s the only meeting of the season between the teams.

They last met in the Big 12 Conference Tourney quarterfinals when the Jayhawks knocked out the Mountaineers with an 87-63 victory at T-Mobile Center in March 2022, their third straight head-to-head win.

Kansas won both regular season games between the teams last season, the last of which was an 87-63 triumph at T-Mobile Center in March 2022. Ochai Agbaji led the Jayhawks with 18 points, while Mitch Lightfoot added 10 points and five blocks. Malik Curry had 19 points in the loss.

The Jayhawks have been led this season by Jalen Wilson, who is averaging 20.6 points per game, ninth-highest in the nation. Wilson also has grabbed 8.4 rebounds per game.

Meanwhile, Harris Jr. is dishing 6.5 assists.Stevenson and Mitchell have been the primary providers for the Mountaineers on offense, averaging 14.1 and 13.3 points per game, respectively.

Jimmy Bell Jr. is collecting 6.1 rebounds per game, and Kedrian Johnson is doling out 3.4 assists.The Jayhawks are 4-6 in their last 10 trips to WVU Coliseum.

Kansas is 9-1 in the last 10 games with an average margin of +12.0 (76.8-64.8). West Virginia has a 6-4 record over the last 10, scoring 78.8 points per game on average while allowing 71.5 (+7.3 margin).

JAYHAWKS HOT/COLD

(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Bobby Pettiford Jr.: 10.4 | 6.9 | +3.5
Joseph Yesufu: 3.0 | 5.2 | -2.2
Points per game:
KJ Adams Jr.: 13.6 | 9.4 | +4.2
Rebounds per game:
Gradey Dick: 7.4 | 5.3 | +2.1
Assists per game:
Jalen Wilson: 2.0 | 2.9 | -0.9