Kansas Jayhawks at California Golden Bears
Wednesday, 12/22/10, 11:00 PM EDT
Opening Point Spread: Kansas -11.5
Current Betting Line: Kansas -12
Opening Total: 137
Current Total: 137.5
Kansas is set to play its first true road game of the 2010-11 season when it travels to California on December 22. The Jayhawks bring in a perfect 10-0 record, including a 4-0 mark in neutral site games. The team will also be playing its second game with star freshman Josh Selby in the lineup, who finished with a game-high 21 points in a 70-68 victory against USC on Saturday. “I wasn’t really worried about my individual statistics,” said Selby. “I was focused on the team.” Kansas has already traveled to Las Vegas and New York, but this will be its first game on an opponent’s home floor. It will also be the program’s first visit to Berkeley since 1956. The team is 0-3 ATS versus Pac-10 opponents this year and 2-5 ATS the past three seasons .
The Jayhawks lead the Big 12 in scoring margin this season (+24.9), field goal percentage (54.2), three-point field goal percentage (40.4) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4). Kansas leads the overall series with California, 15-3, and has won the last nine meetings, including an 84-69 win inside Allen Fieldhouse a year ago. It’s important to note that three of team’s last five victories have been decided by eight or less points and after shooting 50 percent or better in the first eight games, the percentage has dropped to 42.6 the last two times out.
California will need to be much better than its 51-41 win over Cal Poly on Saturday to remain competitive against the likes of tonight’s opponent. The Golden Bears shot 38.6 percent from the field and was held to 57 points or fewer for the fifth time in eight games. “We’ve just got to gain some confidence in ourselves in terms of what’s a good shot and what’s not,” coach Mike Montgomery stated. “That’s going to be an ongoing process.” To overcome its scoring troubles, the team has prided itself on defense, holding opposing offenses to shooting 39.6 percent from the floor. California is 4-6 ATS on the season and currently a double-digit home underdog.
The Golden Bears are 4-2 inside Haas Pavilion during the early stages of the 2010-11 campaign, winning 42 of its last 46 non-conference home games. Under Montgomery, Cal boasts an impressive 35-5 mark on its home court. Guard Jorge Gutierrez will need to play his best game of the year if the team has any hopes of pulling off an upset, as he’s reached double figures in eight of the 10 games this season. In taking over the point guard spot, he has recorded a personal-best eight assists twice this season.
Bettors will be interested in the Jayhawks being 18-6-2 on Wednesdays, while the Golden Bears are 6-0 ATS after allowing less than 50 points in their previous game.
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