No. 3 Kansas opens a 9-point favorite at Oklahoma State in the feature men's college basketball game on Monday. The Jayhawks' defense is stout, and it will need a strong performance to turnaround a 3-7 against-the-spread run in Stillwater versus a dangerous Cowboys squad. On Tobacco Road, N.C. State is a rare betting favorite in its rivalry against North Carolina, opening as 5.5-point chalk. The underachieving Tar Heels are showing some signs of reversing their awful betting record following consecutive covers for just the second time all season, but will need the defense to tighten up to improve their market valuations. The lone Big Ten tussle, meanwhile, sees Wisconsin catching 5.5 points at Iowa, the Hawkeyes also rare favorites in the series. Below are opening odds for each game, as well as betting tips to help with your pick handicapping. ## No. 3 Kansas (-9, 134) at Oklahoma State __Tip:__ 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT (ESPN) __Betting scoop:__ The Kansas (16-3 SU, 11-8 ATS) defense is one of the best ever for head coach Bill Self, ranking third in the country in [KenPom's](https://kenpom.com/) adjusted efficiency ratings. The squad has allowed just one opponent (Dayton) to reach 69 points on the scoreboard all season. Why is this significant for bettors? Oklahoma State (10-9 SU, 7-12 ATS) is 9-29 ATS (23.7%) in head coach Mike Boynton's career when held under 70 points, including a 2-8 mark in the 2019-20 campaign. The Cowboys are coming off an impressive 73-62 win at Texas A&M as 2-point chalk, snapping a 6-game winless streak. They will need to carry the momentum into Gallagher-Iba Arena to help turnaround a run of poor performances against elite opponents. Since December 2018, Boynton and Co. are 2-16 SU and 4-14 ATS (22.2%) versus ranked foes. The offense is sputtering in this situation, averaging 60.7 points on 38.3% shooting. ## North Carolina at N.C. State (-5.5, 146) __Tip:__ 7 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. CT (ESPN) __Betting scoop:__ This is just the third time since the 2006-07 season N.C. State (13-6 SU, 9-11 ATS) is laying points to UNC (9-10 ATS, 5-14 ATS), a span of 28 meetings. The Tar Heels own a 5-14 ATS record, worst among all high-major programs in D1 hoops. They are failing to cover a -6.2 average spread by a -6.0 margin. The market might be catching up to an underachieving UNC bunch, the blue-blood program covering its last two spreads. The most recent effort was a 94-71 thrashing of Miami (FL) as 6-point chalk, its first win by more than 20 points all season. To put this in perspective, the program has accrued at least four such lopsided victories in each of the last 14 seasons, averaging 9.8 a year in this span. UNC shot 58% from the floor in the Hurricanes win, despite missing leading scorer Cole Anthony for an 11th straight game due to a knee surgery. “I do think that every game that you win gives you a little more confidence and I think we were shaken,” [Williams said](https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/acc/unc/unc-now/article239651558.html) following the victory over the Hurricanes. “The lack of confidence a lot of times makes you make mistakes because you’re timid.” The OVER has hit in seven of the last nine games for the Tar Heels, the defense leakier than normal. It has allowed all but two opponents reach their projected team total, surrendering 76.6 points per game on 44.7% from the floor. In the nine contests prior, the team yielded an average of 65.9 points on 37.7% shooting. ## Wisconsin at No. 19 Iowa (-5.5, 137) __Tip:__ 8:30 p.m. ET / 7:30 p.m. CT (BTN) __Betting scoop:__ Wisconsin (12-8 SU, 7-12 ATS) appears like it is mired in mid-season slump, going 3-3 SU and 1-5 ATS in its last six contests. But the margins have proven ultra-slim. Three of the failed covers have come by less than three points. This is just the fourth time in the last 22 meetings No. 19 Iowa (14-5 SU, 12-6-1 ATS) is laying points to the Badgers. Since 2017, the OVER is 9-2 when the Hawkeyes host an unranked B1G rival in Iowa City. They have scored 72 points in every game, including an 85-67 win over Wisconsin the last time Iowa tipped off chalk in the series in January 2018. *This story was compiled with the help of queries performed at [SportsDatabase](https://sportsdatabase.com/).* __Bookmark us:__ [College basketball betting](https://www.betchicago.com/ncaa-basketball-betting)