Monday College Basketball Betting Picks for Houston-Kansas and Louisville-UNC

The Big 12 gauntlet never seems to end and you don’t need to tell that to Houston coach Kelvin Sampson or Kansas coach Bill Self.

The Cougars and Jayhawks meet Monday night at Phog Allen Fieldhouse in another power-packed Big 12 clash. Both teams were in the Top 10 last week but their rankings will each drop Monday after weekend losses. Houston was No. 2 and Kansas was No. 8.

The Cougars lost both games they played after falling just twice over their first 25 games. Houston looks like a probable Final Four team while Kansas isn’t looking so mighty after getting whipped at home by Cincinnati.

It is a light Monday but two of the eight games on the slate are matchups between ranked foes. The other is the Atlantic Coast Conference battle in which Louisville visits North Carolina.

HOUSTON COUGARS AT KANSAS JAYHAWKS

Houston (23-4) is in second place in the Big 12, one game behind Arizona, the No. 4 squad that outclassed the Cougars on Saturday. Houston also lost to Iowa State last week, a team that was ranked No. 6. Yeah, that means four Big 12 teams were in the top eight.

Sampson said you “don’t overreact to your losses,” a good philosophy to have with his program chasing its fifth straight 30-win season. The Cougars typically lock down on defense but they allowed 70 or more points in all four of their losses.

Red flags were everywhere as the Jayhawks (20-7) were clobbered 84-68 by a so-so Cincinnati team on Saturday. Big man Flory Bidunga said Kansas took the Bearcats lightly, a comment that Self didn’t like hearing. You can imagine why.

Of course, the Darryn Peterson drama has derailed the Jayhawks from being a stellar squad. Peterson averages 19.8 points and is supremely talented but has played in just 16 of 27 games due to mysterious physical issues (or perhaps, he’s simply not into college ball and is only in Lawrence because players can’t go directly from high school to the NBA).

Houston minus 2.5-point spread, -115 (DraftKings)

LOUISVILLE CARDINALS AT NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS

The Cardinals (20-7) and Tar Heels (21-6) are tied for sixth place in the ACC and the loser of this matchup is going to find it extremely difficult to finish in the top four and earn a double-bye in the conference tournament. The good thing is only two of the teams ahead of them in the standings – Duke and Virginia – appear sure to land one of the double byes.

Louisville has won six of its past seven games since being walloped by 31 points by Duke. The Cardinals have scored more than 80 points in eight of their past 10 games and lethal freshman Mikel Brown Jr. put up 103 points in a three-game span before having 19 in Saturday’s 87-70 home win over Georgia Tech.

The Tar Heels have split their last four games with last Tuesday’s 82-58 road loss against NC State being particularly concerning. It was North Carolina’s worst loss against the Wolfpack since getting routed 85-57 on Feb. 14, 1962. You would have thought legendary David Thompson in his prime suited up for NC State.

What may badly hurt the Tar Heels most against Louisville is not having star freshman Caleb Wilson (hand), the team’s leading scorer (19.8) and rebounder (9.4). North Carolina is 15-0 at home, including a win over Duke that came with Wilson on the floor.

Louisville minus 2.5-point spread, -105 (DraftKings)