Place Your Bets: Iowa State at Kansas (Feb. 18)

Iowa State (13-12, 2-8) at No. 15 Kansas (20-5, 9-1)

Wednesday, Feb. 18 at 8:00 P.M. EST

Spread: Kansas -18

Backcourt Advantage: Kansas

Kansas' leading scorer Sherron Collins (17.6 PPG) is hoping for a repeat performance of his Jan. 26 game against the Cyclones. Kansas came out on top in a 82-67 win, which Collins matched his career-high with 26 points. 

He should have no problem scoring again in this one since the Cyclones are very weak on the perimeter.

Frontcourt Advantage: Even

There will be a great battle inside in this game, featuring Kansas sophomore Cole Aldrich (14.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.6 BPG) and Iowa State sophomore Craig Brackins (19.7 PPG, 9.1 RPG).

Aldrich leads the Big-12 in blocks per game. He is second in rebounds per game, behind Oklahoma player-of-the-year candidate, Blake Griffin.

Brackins is the Cyclones' go-to scorer. He put up a monstrous 42 points and 14 rebounds in their first game last month. That was the most points scored against the Jayhawks since 1995.

Kansas is hoping that the emergence of freshman Marcus Morris will help contain Brackins this time around. Morris scored a season-high 15 points with seven boards and four assists in the Jayhawks' win over Kansas State on Saturday.

Momentum: Kansas

The Jayhawks currently hold the nation's longest home winning streak with 37 straight at Allen Fieldhouse. The Cyclones come in having lost their last 13 conference road games. The outcome will be a no-brainer, but I think the Cyclones can hang around enough to keep this game within the spread.

Shaun's Pick: Iowa State +18