Fact checked at 8:00 AM ET, Nov 10, 2026Odds as of 7:24 AM ET, Nov 10, 2026
Kansas (2-0) and Kentucky (2-0) tip off at 9:30 PM ET at the United Center in Chicago, the second game of the Champions Classic. It's a neutral floor and the first trip away from home this season for both teams. Kansas beat Fordham 95-65 and Middle Tennessee 89-45. Kentucky beat Manhattan 85-57, then needed an 11-0 second-half run to get past James Madison 89-80. Kansas guard Melvin Council Jr. broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in practice this week, will have surgery and won't play. Kansas was a 5.5-point favorite before the news and is 4.5 now. The total hasn't budged from 155.5, and the Over has drawn 85% of the money from 66% of the bets. The case is Kansas winning with size and defense in a half-court game, covering the shorter number and keeping the score under the total. Men's college basketball has no availability report, so both starting fives are projected.
Kansas vs. Kentucky Predictions
Pick #1Kansas -4.5−107
The ratings like Kansas more than the market does. One widely used model has the Jayhawks by 7.4 points with a 75% chance to win, and it ranks them second in the country to Kentucky's 35th. Knock a point or two off for Council and that number still clears 4.5, while -107 implies only 51.7%.
Tyran Stokes is the matchup problem. The 6-8 freshman who picked Kansas over Kentucky is too big for Kentucky's guards and too quick for most of its forwards, and Milan Momcilovic is a shooter first, not a stopper. Kansas is shooting 60.3% from the field with a plus-11.5 rebound margin, and Fordham and Middle Tennessee went a combined 39-of-137 (28.5%) against it. Tre White leads the team at 15.5 points a game, and Purdue transfer Trey Kaufman-Renn has made 11 of his 13 shots.
Council matters, though maybe less than the line move suggests. He was averaging 8.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds in 21 minutes, and local coverage described him as more of a peripheral piece this season than the focal point he was last year. Leroy Blyden Jr., Taylen Kinney and Stokes are expected to handle the ball. Kentucky's veteran backcourt is the concern: Zoom Diallo averaged 15.7 points at Washington last season, and he and Alex Wilkins scored 16 apiece against James Madison. Bill Self called Momcilovic, who made 48.7% of his threes at Iowa State last season, "arguably the best shooter in the country." If he gets hot, Kentucky can stay inside the number.
Pick #2Under 155.5−110
Council is one of the fastest guards in the country, and without him Kansas will probably go bigger. Keanu Dawes (team-high 8.5 rebounds) next to Stokes and Kaufman-Renn gives up some pace for rebounding and paint touches. Kansas isn't built to take a lot of threes, and Kentucky has been starting two 7-footers, Malachi Moreno and Ousmane N'Diaye.
Kansas has allowed 55.0 points a game, and Self will spend the night taking away Kentucky's transition threes and forcing it into half-court offense. The same model that likes Kansas on the side projects 154 total points, and that doesn't fully account for a slower Kansas team without Council. At -110 (52.4% implied) this is a small edge.
Most of the money disagrees, and both teams have scored at least 85 in every game, all at home against weaker opponents. Kentucky's shooting is what could sink it. James Madison took 45 threes against the Wildcats and made 15, and Momcilovic can swing a total by himself. A long, whistle-heavy night at the free-throw line would also push the score up.
21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
