Kansas still the favorite in latest college basketball lines over hopeful Colorado

The latest college basketball betting lines will likely show the Kansas Jayhawks the favorites in this one over the Colorado Buffaloes as the two teams prepare for their Big 12 scuffle on Saturday afternoon at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence.

Colorado (16-10, 5-6 Big 12) at #1 Kansas (24-2, 9-2 Big 12)

Date/Time: Saturday, February 19, 2011, 2:00 PM EST

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Venue: Phog Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS.

Broadcast: ESPN

Money Line: OFF

Spread: OFF

Over/Under: OFF

The Jayhawks have been sitting around since Monday night’s road loss at rival Kansas State and have been itching for a chance to show they are deserving of the nation’s top ranking.

Phog Allen Fieldhouse is one of the toughest on-campus arenas to try to steal a road victory, but with KU coming off a loss, the degree of difficulty for the Buffaloes just increased exponentially.

Colorado’s last season in the Big 12 has been a trying one for first-year coach Tad Boyle, and this isn’t just another road game as Boyle was once a captain playing for the Jayhawks.

Boyle’s crew is lead by the scoring exploits of Alec Burks, who is averaging 19.5 points per contest. Burks is one of four players averaging double-digits in points per contest, joined by Cory Higgins (16.3), Levi Knutson (11.3), and Marcus Relphorde (11.2).

One reason why the college basketball betting odds may be deceiving and why you should think about leaning towards Colorado is that they are ranked 14th in the country in points per game and 29th in the nation in field goal percentage

Of course, it’s easy to have a knee-jerk reaction that with the fans whipped up into a ‘Rock Chalk Jayhawks” frenzy that KU will easily win on their home court, as they’ve done in all but one contest this season. But the numbers suggest some caution. Kansas is just 11-10 overall against the spread, and in home games they are only a slightly successful 7-5 selection ATS.

When they are in sync, the Jayhawks offer opponents a ‘pick your poison’ approach. You can choose to let the Morris twins run wild inside, or allow Kansas to fire away from downtown.

Marcus Morris leads the club at 16.7 points per game while shooting an eye-opening 60.5 percent from the field, while twin brother Markieff Morris is second in points at 12.8 and is the leading glass-cleaner with 8.2 rebounds per contest.

So when considering the college basketball betting lines it’s important to weigh the integrity of the numbers against the likely emotions that should come pouring out of the crowd on Saturday in Lawrence. This is one case where we’ll bet with the angry Jayhawks.