No. 15 Kansas Jayhawks (2-0) will face No. 24 Kentucky Wildcats (2-0) in the 2026 Champions Classic on Tuesday night at the United Center in Chicago. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET.
Kansas will be without starting guard Melvin Council Jr., who broke his right foot during practice on Monday and will undergo surgery. The Jayhawks are coming off an 89-45 win over Middle Tennessee on Friday, while the Wildcats defeated James Madison 89-80 the same night.
Kansas enters as a 4.5-point favorite with an over/under of 158.5 points. The money line has Kansas at -195 and Kentucky at +165.
According to the SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times, the Under on the total (158.5) is the recommended play. The model notes the Under has hit in seven of the past 10 head-to-head meetings, seven of the past 10 Kansas games, and two of the last three Kentucky matchups. The model projects the Under hitting 62% of the time.
The model projects four Kansas players to score in double figures, led by Trey Kaufman-Renn with more than 16 points on average. For Kentucky, four players are projected to score at least 11 points, led by Alex Wilkins with more than 17 points. Additionally, the model indicates one side of the spread hits in nearly 70% of simulations.
