Oklahoma State Cowboys vs Kansas Jayhawks Predictions: Turning Over to the New Year.

The crew gets together to tell you what they expect to see in today's conference opener.

As 2022 comes to a close, the Kansas Jayhawks begin conference play with a familiar foe: The Oklahoma State Cowboys. It's the second consecutive season where Kansas opens the conference slate with the Cowboys, with last season's game having huge ups and downs. Will we see a similar roller coaster this year? Or will Kansas be able to sustain their shooting through the whole game?

Do you disagree with our assessment? Make sure you read them all and then hop over to the Discord or on Twitter to share your own thoughts.

Kyle Davis

Check out our Oklahoma State Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.

Derek Noll

Oklahoma State is one of the better defensive teams that KU has faced so far this season, so the Jayhawks will have to do better from deep than they did last time out against Harvard. Plus, keeping Moussa Cisse off the glass will be a challenge for KU, but because OSU turns it over a lot, the tide could easily turn in KU’s favor. It’s never easy in the Big XII where the grind is real, but I can see Kansas running away with it to end 2022.

Kansas 80, Oklahoma State 64.

Lucas Murphy

The Jayhawks welcome their first Big 12 opponent of the season inside Allen Fieldhouse and it just so happens to be Bill Self’s alma mater, Oklahoma State. I always feel like Self takes this one personal for that very reason so I anticipate the hawks will be ready to play. Jalen Wilson has still been playing elite, but the rest of the team is starting to elevate their game play and it has been extremely impressive to watch. I will continue to watch the entire team, but I am specifically going to watch KJ Adams. Adams has complemented the scorers exceptionally, and seems to have a connection with Dajuan Harris. I personally feel Oklahoma State will finish middle to the bottom of the Big 12 this year and this game should be a perfect Big 12 warmup for the Jayhawks. 

Kansas 85, Oklahoma State 78.

Brendan Dzwierzynski

I have to imagine Bill Self got after his guys after their sleepy win over Harvard just before Christmas. Like Derek said, this Oklahoma State turns the ball over a ton, and if there’s anything I’m confident in it’s KU’s ability to succeed offensively in transition. I think Oklahoma State could make life challenging for plenty of teams in the Big 12 this year, but KU won’t be one of them on Saturday.

Kansas 88, Oklahoma State 64.

Andy Mitts

The gauntlet begins today. The Cowboys are one of 6 Big 12 teams in the Top 30 of Kenpom, with three more in the Top 50. Only Kansas State is outside the Top 50, and they are number 52. The Cowboys have a great defense, but they give up a large number of three pointers to their opponents. And while the percentage they've given up has been great, they have only played one team that is any good from three in UConn.

But while Kansas has individual players that CAN hit the three, they don't actually take nearly as many as you would expect, only launching one out of every three shots from beyond the arc. So we have a Kansas team that doesn't shoot threes often enough against an Oklahoma State team that can't hit threes. If this was on the road, I might be a bit worried. But Allen Fieldhouse should give the Jayhawks the edge they need to turn the Cowboys over repeatedly and get a big win.

Kansas 84, Oklahoma State 71.

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