The Omaha Mavericks and Kansas Jayhawks meet Monday in college basketball action at the Allen Fieldhouse. The Omaha Mavericks are coming off a 5-win season. The Kansas Jayhawks are fresh off 34 wins and a national title.
The Omaha Mavericks have won a combined 10 games the last 2 years. Frankie Fidler returns after averaging 12.8 points and 3.7 rebounds, while Kyle Luedtke averaged 5.8 points and 1.3 assists. Dylan Brougham played in 458 minutes last season, and Akol Arop averaged 4.9 rebounds. The Omaha Mavericks return enough production to where they should be a competitive squad in the Summit this season. Fidler is the best player on this Omaha team and was a knockdown shooter his first year on the floor. Omaha has potential and should be greatly improved from what it's been the last two years.
The Kansas Jayhawks enter year 20 under coach Bill Self. Jalen Wilson returns after averaging 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds, while Dajuan Harris Jr. averaged 5.4 points and 4.2 assists. Joseph Yesufu played in 316 minutes last season, and Zach Clemence averaged 1.8 rebounds. The Kansas Jayhawks lost many of the players who made last year's title possible. However, Kansas has a stacked recruiting class coming in with Gradey Dick, Ernest Udeh Jr., MJ Rice and Rudy Ejiofor. Also, Kansas landed Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar, who racked up 501 points, 258 rebounds and 130 assists the last 2 years. Kansas has a chance to repeat with the talent it has coming in.
The Mavericks are 3-1-1 ATS in their last 5 Monday games and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Jayhawks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 home games and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The over is 18-6 in Mavericks last 24 overall. The over is 6-2-1 in Jayhawks last 9 Monday games.
This is a massive number for a season opener, where we tend to see sluggish play while guys are trying to get back in the swing of things. However, Kansas is head and shoulders the more talented team and will have their way if they play close to their potential. The Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks just don't have the talent to compete, and past years have shown that. It's the Jayhawks or pass.
