The Kansas Jayhawks take on the Kentucky Wildcats. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Kansas Kentucky prediction and pick. Find how to watch Kansas Kentucky.

This is the nightcap of the Champions Classic in Chicago. The game is listed on your TV guide as a 9:30 p.m. Eastern time start, but as we note below, the game starts 30 minutes after the end of the first game in the doubleheader between Michigan State and Duke. If MSU and Duke go into double overtime and end at 9:45, this game will start at 10:15 Eastern.

Kansas is the No. 1 team in the country, a ranking based on Bill Self's track record, Kansas's overall reputation, and the fact that the Jayhawks have big man Hunter Dickinson on the floor. Dickinson transferred from Michigan and turned down the Maryland Terrapins to give Self the elite big man which — historically — has meant very good things for KU on the court. Kansas usually plays at a fast pace with agile scoring guards and wings. Giving those guards and wings a top-tier big man balances out the Jayhawks and makes them hard to handle at all areas of the court and at both ends of the floor. It is widely believed that Kansas is one of the central favorites to make the Final Four based on having that low-post hammer with Dickinson.

Kentucky coach John Calipari is under enormous pressure this season. Kentucky hasn't made the Final Four in nine years, an unfathomable drought for both Coach Cal and the Wildcats. Kentucky made the Elite Eight in 2017 and 2019 but failed to close the sale. The loss to Auburn in the 2019 was a game the Wildcats felt they should have won. Kentucky then gained a No. 2 seed in the 2022 NCAA Tournament but lost in the first round to Saint Peter's. That game soured a significant portion of the Kentucky fan base. Calipari is in a position where he has to earn back a measure of lost trust with Big Blue Nation. Winning against Kansas would be the perfect way to do that and calm the noise in Lexington.

Here are the Kansas-Kentucky College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

College Basketball Odds: Kansas-Kentucky Odds

Kansas Jayhawks: -6.5 (-115)

Kentucky Wildcats: +6.5 (-105)

Over: 147.5 (-110)

Under: 147.5 (-110)

How To Watch Kansas vs Kentucky

Time: 9:30 pm ET / 6:30 pm PT (30 minutes after the end of Duke-Michigan State)

TV: ESPN

Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*

Why Kansas Could Cover the Spread

The presence of Hunter Dickinson is huge, literally and figuratively, for Kansas and Bill Self. The Jayhawks are one of the most consistent and reliable programs in college basketball. They regularly get a lot from their rosters. Self is, one could argue, the very best coach in college hoops right now with Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams having retired. He is certainly doing a much better job than Calipari. With Dickinson and Self working together, Kansas has the best coach-player combination in this game. Kentucky could be really good, but the Wildcats have potential more than they have proven performers. Kansas is already good. Kentucky merely hopes to become good.

Why Kentucky Could Cover the Spread

The urgency attached to this game and this season for John Calipari means he will coach harder than he has ever coached before. Kansas, on paper, has the better lineup, but Kentucky will play with desperation here and make this game closer than a lot of the experts expect. If this game goes down to the wire in the final 30 seconds, that means the game will be decided by no more than two possessions. That would mean Kentucky, at plus-6.5, will cover.

Final Kansas-Kentucky Prediction & Pick

Stay away from this game at the start and wait for a live-betting play. Kentucky might play better than most expect, but Kansas is the better team. It's not an easy game to call.

Final Kansas-Kentucky Prediction & Pick: Kentucky +6.5