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No. 8 Kansas (17-4 SU, 9-12 ATS, 5-3 B12) takes on No. 4 Houston (19-2 SU, 11-9-1 ATS, 6-2 B12) on Saturday at 4pmET from Lawrence in a huge Big 12 battle.
This will be the first meeting between these teams as members of the Big 12.
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Kelvin Sampson's Cougars have just two losses this season and both came in Big 12 play. That shows how difficult this conference can be, but the Cougars appear to be in great shape when it comes to earning a top seed in the NCAA Tournament in March. According to KenPom, they are first overall and rank first in Adjusted Defensive Efficiency. They are also ranked first in NCAA Basketball Net Rankings thanks to a 3-2 road record and a 7-2 Quad 1 Record.
Houston has won five straight games after losing two straight road games to TCU and Iowa State by a combined five points. In their last game on Jan. 29, they edged Texas 76-72 in overtime as a 4.5-point road favorite. Jamal Snead scored 25 points and eight rebounds to lead the way for the Cougars. Houston shot just 41% from the field and 33% (8-of-24) from beyond the arc. They outrebounded the Longhorns by 11 and held them to 30% shooting from long range.
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Nobody plays better defense than the Cougars. Shead (6-1, 195) and L.J. Cryer (6-1, 190) are short, but stocky guards who are outstanding defenders. Cryer leads the Cougars with 15.1 points and shoots 40% from the field and 37.8% from long range. Shead adds 12.3 points and 2.2 steals while shooting 45.5% (35.6% 3PT) from the field.