Kansas vs Houston Picks

No. 8 Kansas (20-7, 10-4 Big 12) will welcome No. 2 Houston (23-4, 11-3 Big 12) to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. The Jayhawks lost to unranked Cincinnati on Saturday but they haven't dropped two-straight games at home since the 1988-89 season. Meanwhile, the Cougars are trying to avoid their first three game losing skid since 2007.

Which club will bounce back on Monday night? Let's check the latest betting lines. Odds are subject to change.

	Spread	Money Line	Total Points
Houston	-2.0 (-110)	-110	Ov 136.5 (-110)
Kansas	+2.0 (-110)	-110	Un 136.5 (-110)

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Jayhawks favored on the road

Kansas is a 2-point home underdog on Monday night. After crushing Oklahoma State 81-69, Bill Self's team was projected as a 3-seed in the East by the NCAA Tournament selection committee. But they were promptly blown out by 16 at home to Cincinnati on Saturday - the Jayhawks' largest loss to an unranked opponent since 1973.

KU has dropped their last three matchups with Houston, including a home loss in double overtime last year. However, Self has a perfect 40-0 record on Big Monday.

Cincinnati walks into Phog Allen and knocks off No. 8 Kansas, 84-68 ‼️

The 16-point loss was KU's most-lopsided home loss to an unranked team since 1973 😳 pic.twitter.com/TsEiWVrcnP

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 21, 2026

Houston we have a problem

Houston had rattled off six straight victories prior to suffering back-to-back Big 12 defeats to No. 6 Iowa State and No. 4 Arizona. The Cougars are led by star freshman Kingston Flemings, who's averaging 16.6 points and 5.2 assists per contest. Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan also head the same deadly backcourt that led UH to the national title last season.

Kelvin Sampson's squad is No. 9 offense and No. 7 defense in KenPom's adjusted efficiency. Their success is in large part to forcing turnovers on defense and avoiding them on offense.

Peterson struggling

Darryn Peterson is averaging a team-best 19.8 points per game, but the favorite to be the No. 1 Overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft was just 1-of-7 from 3-point land in KU's loss to Cincinnati. Bothered by cramping issues of late, the Jayhawks guard has hit the 20 point milestone just once in his past seven games.

Flory Bidunga performed admirably against the Bearcats with 18 points and 12 rebounds on Saturday. Kansas' big man leads the Big 12 with 74 blocked shots.

Kelvin Sampson and Houston have been dominant since 2020 🔥

They have the best record in college basketball during this run. pic.twitter.com/HD2jqb4xtQ

— SLAM University (@slam_university) February 19, 2026

When the AP Top 25 unveils today, Houston will be ranked much higher than Kansas thanks to their humiliating loss to unranked Cincinnati. But could that be a good thing for the Jayhawks?

Kansas is 15-0 against teams ranked higher than it since 2003. Combine that with the fact that Bill Self has never lost back-to-back games in the Phog and we'll take the KU to cover the +2 spread with the OVER 136.5.

Kansas Jayhawks to cover vs Houston