Cincinnati Bearcats vs Kansas Jayhawks Prediction, 2/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Cincinnati Bearcats vs Kansas Jayhawks

Date: Saturday, February 21, 2026

Location: Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, KS

TV: CBS

Allen Fieldhouse is where the Kansas Jayhawks (20-6) will play the Cincinnati Bearcats (14-12) on Saturday.

The Cincinnati Bearcats stepped onto the hardwood against Utah and walked away with a win by a score of 69-65 in their last contest. Cincinnati ended the contest having earned a 44.4% FG percentage (24 of 54) and converted 4 of 15 three-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Bearcats made 17 of 22 attempts for a rate of 77.3%. In regard to getting rebounds, they collected a total of 26 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 14 dimes in this game while forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and getting 7 steals. When it comes to defending, Cincinnati allowed the other team to shoot 36.1% from the field on 22 out of 61 shooting. Utah recorded 12 assists and had 6 steals in the game. On top of that, Utah snagged 37 rebounds (13 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Utah finished the game at 80.0% when shooting free throws by making 12 of their 15 attempts. They converted 9 of their 27 shots from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Bearcats ended up finishing with 13 while Utah had 13 personal fouls.

Day Day Thomas is one player who was a major contributor in this contest. He finished the contest at 35.7% from the field and earned 2 dimes. He played 34 mins but finished the game without a rebound. He accounted for 16 points on 5 of 14 shooting.

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Cincinnati enters this matchup with a record of 14-12 for the year. They are losing possession via turnover 12.2 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.1 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Cincinnati is collecting 37.1 boards per game and has earned 428 assists for the season, which has them ranked 64th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Bearcats are connecting on 32.2% on 3-pointers (219 of 680) and 67.5% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 72.3 pts per game (273rd in the country) while going 42.8% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Bearcats are able to force 13.2 turnovers per game and they draw 16.7 fouls. They are currently ranked 135th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 342 surrendered on the year. The Bearcats defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.1% (617 of 1,502) and they surrender 34.8 rebounds per game as a team. They are giving up 31.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 28th in the country in points per game from their opponents (67.0).

For their last game, the Kansas Jayhawks walked away with a victory by a final of 81-69 when they played Oklahoma State. Concerning team rebounding, Kansas permitted Oklahoma State to collect 35 in all (13 offensive). They shot 25.0% from beyond the arc by hitting 7 out of 28 and finished the contest at 16 of 21 from the charity stripe (76.2%). The Jayhawks permitted Oklahoma State to bury 23 of their 66 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 34.8% in this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Jayhawks went 28 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a rate of 45.9%. In terms of shots from downtown, Kansas converted 11 out of their 24 attempts (45.8%). They were able to knock down 14 of them for a percentage of 87.5%. Oklahoma State committed 13 fouls in the matchup which took the Jayhawks to the free throw line for 16 tries. They also turned it over 12 times, while earning 5 steals in this matchup. The Jayhawks corralled 27 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 36 in this game.

Darryn Peterson pitched in for the Jayhawks in the game. He knocked down 7 of 12 for the matchup giving him a rate of 58.3%, and had 2 rebounds. He had 23 points in his 18 minutes on the hardwood, but went home with no dimes.

Kansas has a win-loss record of 20-6 on the season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Jayhawks are connecting on 47.1% from the field, which is 73rd in Division 1. Kansas has accounted for 2,009 points so far this year (77.3 per game) and they collect 38.9 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 14.9 times per game (121st in the country) and they turn it over 10.5 times per game. The Jayhawks commit 14.3 personal fouls per contest and they shoot 76.6% from the charity stripe.

The Kansas defense surrenders 29.7% on shots from 3-point land (213 of 716) and opponents are making 65.3% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 11.8 dimes and 35.9 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 61st and 269th in those categories on the defensive end. The Jayhawks on the defensive side of the court are 44th in college in PPG allowed with 68.0. They are able to force 9.4 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 38.4% from the floor (5th in the country).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kansas

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