Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at No. 17 Kansas Jayhawks
Friday, November 6, 2026
9:00 PM ET, Allen Fieldhouse
Kansas is a 29.5-point favorite at most books with a total of 153.5. My play is Middle Tennessee +29.5.
Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse was supposed to be a coronation. Instead, Fordham drilled 13 threes and sat within six early in the second half before Kansas finally woke up. A 19-3 run fixed the scoreboard. It did not fix the number for Friday.
That Fordham tape is a warning, not a flex
Tre White dropped 22. Tyran Stokes looked the part with 15 in his debut. Leroy Blyden Jr. added 15 and Melvin Council Jr. chipped in 10. Trey Kaufman-Renn even got the “T-K-R” chants and nine points off the bench. Kansas shot 58% and won the glass 50-33. Final: 95-65.
Bill Self still burned a timeout because the Rams had clawed back. If a Fordham club that finished 65 points can hang around for 28 minutes, a 29.5-point cushion against anybody is a ask.
This Kansas roster is loaded with new pieces — Stokes as the headline freshman, Kaufman-Renn from Purdue, Blyden from Toledo — and Allen Fieldhouse will try to will a cover into existence. Home openers there are a religion. The question for the spread is whether a still-sorting rotation stays locked in for 40 minutes against a Conference USA visitor, or whether the second half turns into a development session once the outcome is settled.
The BEST 2026 Basketball Bonus: Deposit $100 to $1000 and get a 75% real cash bonus when you deposit using Bitcoin at Bovada Sportsbook!
Middle Tennessee is not here to gift a cover. Quintero Barnett scored 24 and Jahvin Carter handed out seven assists in a 117-73 opener over Fisk. That is one game against a lesser opponent, sure, but it is also a Blue Raiders group that will run and shoot enough to keep a garbage-time clock from turning into a 40-point wake. Conference USA clubs do not win at Allen Fieldhouse. They do cover ugly numbers when the favorite empties the bench.
What could go wrong. Kansas has now won 54 straight home openers, and Stokes-plus-Kaufman-Renn is a size problem MTSU will not solve for 40 minutes. If the Jayhawks bury three early threes, this snowballs. Early-season samples are tiny, and preseason efficiency priors still love Kansas.
Even so, laying 30 asks for a perfect night. Monday was not perfect. Take the points.
Projected score: Kansas 88, Middle Tennessee 62.
The Pick: Middle Tennessee +29.5
Grab the Blue Raiders and the cushion, and bring some extra bankroll into Friday night. New players at MyBookie Sportsbook get a 100% REAL CASH bonus on a first deposit of $100 to $300 with promo code PREDICT100. That’s a FREE way to bet Middle Tennessee +29.5 and the rest of your Friday college basketball picks.
