Kansas Jayhawks vs North Carolina State Wolfpack Predictions: Home Sweet Home

The Kansas Jayhawks are reeling a bit after back-to-back road losses, and there are a lot of questions to be answered outside of Hunter Dickinson. With Kansas back home in the friendly confines of Allen Fieldhouse, they have an opportunity to get back on track in a big way.

Standing in their way is the NC State Wolfpack, a team that went to the Final Four last season. But the Wolfpack hit the road for the first time this season, after suffering two losses on a neutral court over the Thanksgiving holiday. How will they be able to handle the road environment? Will they be able to extend the woes of the Jayhawks? Our crew gives their thoughts:

Kyle Davis

Check out our NC State Preview for Kyle's full breakdown and prediction.

Derek Noll

After being wildly wrong on my last two predictions, I feel like Allen Fieldhouse can be the ultimate remedy. Kansas has been sloppy in their two game losing streak and you've got to hope that a week of preparation will be the elixir that the Jayhawks need to get their focus back and get back to playing the kind of basketball we saw in the first half against UNC and the second half against Duke. North Carolina State was a Final Four team a year ago, but they’ve had massive roster turnover and haven’t quite clicked this year like they did to finish last season. Plus, they don’t take or make as many threes as KU has been seeing recently so these are all pluses in the Kansas column. Give me KU in a bounceback win and (hopefully) big performances from Rylen Griffen and AJ Storr. 

Kansas 80, NC State 65.

Brendan Dzwierzynski

I think Kansas wins today, and being at home obviously helps, but I can’t pick the Jayhawks against a 14.5-point spread in this one. Something is off, and while I don’t think it’s unfixable, I think this (still extremely talented) team is a work in progress. NC State is a bad three-point shooting team (256th in the nation per T-Rank), which feels like a positive for Kansas on the defensive end, at least. I’ll take the Jayhawks, but I’m not expecting a blowout. 

Kansas 77, NC State 68.

Andy Mitts

The last two games have introduced a lot of questions that Kansas fans are struggling to answer. Is this just a temporary blip, or are we about to see a complete collapse from the transfers again? I think that the Jayhawks have a significantly better pool of talent this season than last season, and they need a bit more time to put it all together. Rylan Griffen WILL get it figured out, as will Zeke Mayo and AJ Storr. The biggest thing going the Jayhawks' way today is the rebounding advantage. NC State is atrocious on the glass, and Kansas should be able to get whatever they need on the offensive end. Give me a big bounceback on the backs of Hunter Dickinson and Flory Bidunga.

Kansas 79, NC State 62.

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