The most anticipated game of the year in the Big 12 takes place Monday night in Austin, Texas, when the Longhorns (19-4, 6-2) host Kansas (23-1, 8-1), with the Jayhawks 4.5-point favorites on WagerWeb.com.
The conference's two highest-ranked teams (UT at No. 12 and KU No. 4 entering Monday) meet for the first time since an overtime classic in last season's Big 12 title game, won by Kansas.
It will be the ninth straight time that both teams have been ranked when they've hooked up - with the Jayhawks winning five of the previous eight. Each program has finished in the top three of the Big 12 standings in four of the last five seasons, and both are on three-game winning streaks.
Both also enter off close calls on Saturday. Kansas was held without a 3-pointer (0-for-9) for the first time in 271 games but held off Baylor 100-90. It was the first time KU had allowed 90 points since the 2001-02 seasons.
Texas, meanwhile, had to scramble to win in overtime at Iowa State on Saturday, 71-65. The Longhorns were down by 13 points with 16 minutes to go, the fourth straight game they have stumbled into a double-digit hole.A.J. Abrams had 25 points - a season-high in conference play - on 7-of-10 shooting from the arc in the win. Leading scorer D.J. Augustin is averaging 19.7 points per game and had 17 against the Cyclones on Saturday - shooting just 5-of-22 from the field. The sophomore point guard averaged 13.5 points and 9.5 assists in his two contests against Kansas last season.
"We are going to have to guard better on the perimeter because our perimeter defense hasn't been very good," KU coach Bill Self said. "We still have the best defensive guards around. They just haven't played to that level. You don't go from being a great defender into a bad defender in a week. But there are a lot of things that we can improve on. We just have to tighten some things up."
Abrams has made 45.1 percent of his shots, including 72 of 188 threes, while Augustin has made 44.5 percent of his shots, including 43 of 118 threes.
"He's so quick with the ball. He can create his own shot, find people. He's just great. He's one of the greatest point guards I've ever seen," said KU's Brandon Rush said of Augustin.
Texas has won six of seven despite shooting 39.5 percent over that span and is 11-0 this season when opponents shoot less than 40 percent; Kansas is the Big 12's highest-scoring team and is averaging 87.3 in the past three games.
Kansas has won three straight against the Longhorns, eliminating them from the Big 12 tournament each of the last two seasons, but has dropped its last two games in Austin by an average of 20.0 points (UT is 18-1 in its last 19 Big 12 home games). The Jayhawks' last visit, on Feb. 25, 2006, resulted in their worst loss in five seasons under Bill Self, an 80-55 defeat.
This is the only regular-season game between the two teams.
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