Jake's College Basketball Picks 1/3/23

Good Afternoon! Following a 3-0 day yesterday, let's keep the streak going. The Kansas Jayhawks vs. the Texas Tech Red Raiders is our day's featured game.

The third-ranked Kansas Jayhawks make the trip to Lubbock, Texas, to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Texas Tech is different from last year, finishing third in the Big 12 and being a three-seed in March Madness. The Red Raiders had a rocky start to the season when playing out in Hawaii at the Maui Jim Invitational. At the time, they were the 21st-ranked team in the country and dropped challenging games to Creighton and Ohio State. Following this trip, the Red Raiders were able to pick up a solid win against Georgetown and dominate the mid-majors they played against to wrap up the non-conference. To start Big 12 play, the Red Raiders traveled to Fort Worth to take on a solid TCU squad. They lost a 6-point game but were building momentum into Big 12 play. The Red Raiders are 5-7-1 ATS this year.

On the other hand, Kansas got lucky at the right time of the game and squeaked out wins in the final minutes. Although Kansas has played in challenging games, they showed that they are the number three team in the country by dominating Indiana and Seton Hall; they also had wins over Missouri, Duke, and Wisconsin. Led by freshman phenom Gradey Dick and National Championship returning players such as Jalen Wilson, Kevin McCullar, and KJ Adams Jr., the Kansas Jayhawks know how to win, even if it comes with adversity. According to Kenpom, the Jayhawks are the fifth-best team in the country. Haslametrics confirms that the Jayhawks have the fifth-best offense and defense as well. 

United Supermarkets Arena gets very loud, especially when a team like Kansas rolls through. Since both teams know each other well, this matchup will be very close. The game will be a low-scoring, defensive matchup because of how stellar Kansas and Texas Tech play on-ball defense. Because of how good Kansas' offense is this year, they will be able to break Texas Tech's defense and find a way to pull off the road victory in Lubbock.
I am taking Kansas -2.5, Under 140.5.

Other games I will be taking tonight:

Marquette vs. St. John's: A slow start for the Red Storm in the Big East but a close loss against Xavier and a tough outing against Villanova and Seton Hall. Once they get the ball to Joel Soriano and have the offense run through him, the Red Storm will be a scary team moving forward. Look out for Posh Alexander to start taking more control of the offense.
I am taking St. John's Moneyline.

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin: Minnesota is 4-8 ATS, while Wisconsin is 8-4 ATS. Wisconsin will roll all over Minnesota tonight and start 3-0 in the tough Big Ten Conference. Wisconsin has been solid this year with a 1-point loss to now number 3 Kansas and wins over Marquette, USC, and Iowa. On the other hand, Minnesota has not played well, and a 5-point loss to Chicago State in their last game continues to show Minnesota's struggles under Ben Johnson's regime.
I am taking Wisconsin -12.5.

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