Kansas vs Houston Prediction and Preview

Read below for a full Kansas vs Houston prediction and preview.

After splitting the series last year, Kansas looks to defend its home win against Houston from last year, while Houston looks to get their first Quad one win of the season and win at Kansas for the first time since 1967. Kansas leads the all-time series 6-3 and is 3-1 at home all time.

Game Information:

Teams: No. 12 Kansas (14-4, 5-2) and No. 7 Houston (15-3, 7-0)

Tip Time: 5:30 PM CST (6:30 PM EST)

Watch: ESPN

Listen: Jayhawk Radio Network, KPRC 950

Our Houston writer Maanav Gupta and Kansas writer Ariel Puterman give the latest on their teams and share their prediction.

Latest on Houston Basketball:

Only one team remains undefeated in conference play, Houston. The Cougars sit at 7-0, with an average margin of victory of 20 points, the best in the country. They’ve won three games by 30 and most recently beat Utah 70-36 at home. They’ve had one close game though, at UCF, where a layup by J’Wan Roberts with one second left gave them a one-point lead. UH has won 11 straight games entering this matchup and has also won 16 straight Big 12 games, which is the longest in league history by any other team besides Kansas. It is also the longest in the conference since 2020.

A big question will be whether Emanuel Sharp will suit up. Sharp is tied for the team’s leading scorer at 13.8 PPG and leads the Big 12 in three-point shooting percentage at 46%. Sharp missed the Utah game with a right ankle injury and is being listed as a game-time decision in this game. His absence didn’t seem to matter in the last game, but it’ll certainly make a difference in this one.

What makes Houston so dominant is the defense. They are allowing 53.9 points a game this season, which is the best scoring defense in the nation, almost five points less than the next best. That number is the lowest since the 2019-2020 Virginia team that won the championship and second lowest in the last ten years. Only one opponent has broken 60 points in conference play, UCF, while Houston has hit that mark in every game. UH also boasts the best field goal percentage defense at 35.3%, a metric they have led the nation in the past four seasons.

Houston’s defense is led by Joseph Tugler, who is rated the best defender in the country by EvanMiya, and Terrence Arcenaux, who is third. Ja’vier Francis, Milos Uzan, and J’Won Roberts are all in the top 17. Having six of the top 17 defensive players in the country is pretty insane, and that’s why they are so difficult to beat.

This team has the least amount of turnovers per game with 8.9, and are 6th in three-point percentage. The Cougars also block the 10th most shots per game.

One thing we have seen Houston struggle with is win games versus the best competition. Houston is 0-3 against Quad 1 opponents, all matchups early in November where teams are still adjusting, but undefeated against everyone else. Playing Kansas on the road is obviously a Quad 1 game, so we’ll see if they can be their dominant self and improve from earlier in the season. Junior point guard Milos Uzan is now more experienced in the system and a big part of their growth from those three early loses, as he now leads the Big 12 in assist-turnover ratio (4.14). 

Latest on Kansas basketball:

Kansas basketball is coming off a 74-61 win on the road to improve to 14-4 on the season and 5-2 in conference play. This was the second game without KJ Adams, who is dealing with a shoulder injury. It seems unlikely that he’ll return for the Houston game, which is unfortunate as he scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in last year’s win.

This means Flory Bidunga will probably get the start. Bidunga has averaged 8 points and 9.5 rebounds in his two starts, as well as 2.5 blocks per game. He adds a lot of energy on both ends of the floor, and elite rim protection. He is still a freshman though, and Kelvin Sampson will be sure to take advantage of that. This will be a great test to see if he can stay on the floor against a very senior team in Houston.

The big takeaway from the TCU win was the play of the two transfers AJ Storr and Shakeel Moore. Storr scored 12 points off the bench to go with six rebounds and three steals, while Moore added 11 points on 3-4 three-point shooting to go with two steals. Both players, along with Rylan Griffen are essential for Kansas’ success, and if they can replicate that performance on Saturday, it’ll be tough for Houston to take them down.

Kansas shot a ridiculous 68.9% from the field and 46.2% from three in the win last year. A big reason why they were able to be so efficient was the passing between the two bigs KJ Adams and Hunter Dickinson, which opened up the floor for the rest of the team. Expect Bill Self to try to implement something similar this game. Self is 1-2 vs Houston in his career and 1-1 while at Kansas. He is also 3-5 vs Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson and 3-2 as Kansas head coach.

Self also made a remark towards the student section, calling them out for not being as high energy as years past. Expect the students to try to prove him wrong, which calls for an elite environment. If Kansas can enter February with wins over Duke, Michigan State, and Houston, there won’t be many teams that can rival that.

Ariel Puterman’s Kansas vs Houston Prediction: Kansas by 3

Maanav Gupta’s Kansas vs Houston Prediction: Houston by 3

This was a game that Houston lost by 13 at Kansas last season. This season, the Cougars boast the same tough defense, but have more depth and better shooting from beyond the arc. This is the first major conference test for UH, and they enter with momentum. The Cougars come out on top in a tight game.