The Kansas Jayhawks take on the NC State Wolfpack in Raleigh, North Carolina. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
NC State is favored by -2.5 points on the spread with a moneyline of -150. The total is set at 148 points.
Here’s my Kansas vs. NC State prediction and college basketball picks for December 13, 2025.
Kansas vs. NC State Odds, Spread, Pick
| Kansas Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -110 | 148 -110o / -110u | +125 |
| NC State Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -110 | 148 -110o / -110u | -150 |
My Pick: NC State -3 or Better
My Kansas vs NC State best bet is on the Wolfpack to cover. For all of your college basketball bets, be sure to find the best lines by using our live NCAAB odds page.
Kansas vs NC State NCAAB Betting Preview
Kansas Basketball
Kansas has already taken three losses this season, but each has come against elite opposition – at North Carolina, on a neutral floor against Duke, and at home against UConn.
Given Kansas' slate, ranked among the toughest in the country per KenPom, the Jayhawks’ long-term outlook remains quite rosy.
Bill Self’s squad has also notched wins against Tennessee, Missouri and Syracuse – all away from Allen Fieldhouse.
Kansas is best on the defensive end.
Self has crafted an outstanding unit built around fresh faces with distinct strengths. Sophomore center Flory Bidunga has excelled in a bigger role, and he anchors the interior with rare mobility and bounce, erasing mistakes and contesting everything around the rim.
On the perimeter, Melvin Council uses his length and relentless competitiveness to hound opposing ballhandlers. At the same time, Tre White offers valuable versatility, able to switch between positions and handle a variety of matchups.
The underlying numbers, however, suggest Kansas may be overperforming slightly.
ShotQuality’s metrics project that opponents “should” be shooting 8.8% better from 3 and 7.5% better from midrange than they currently are – not overly surprising, considering the Jayhawks’ absurdly low 24.9% opponent 3-point mark.
Beware the regression monster.
Offensively, the Jayhawks have had to grind more often than they’d like, but the return of star freshman Darryn Peterson offers a solution. In just 23 minutes against Missouri, he delivered an efficient 17 points and added an assist, immediately injecting pop into a sometimes-stagnant attack.
His presence lifts a heavy burden off the energized-but-inefficient Council, and if both Council and Kohl Rosario begin converting perimeter looks at a higher clip, Kansas has the pieces to access a Final Four-caliber ceiling.
NC State Basketball
The start of the Will Wade era at NC State has been uneven, marked by flashes of promise but also clear areas for concern.
A somewhat disappointing showing at the Maui Invitational set the tone early, as the Wolfpack went 1–2, losing to Seton Hall and Texas — two squads that could miss the NCAA Tournament altogether.
Those results underscored a broader issue: the defense has struggled to hold up against high-major competition.
In all three Power Five matchups to date (Seton Hall, Texas, Auburn), NC State has allowed at least 1.15 points per possession, a rate that puts outsized pressure on the Wolfpack’s scorers and shooters to compensate.
Still, there are real reasons for optimism.
The Wolfpack are coming off their most complete performance of the season, a wire-to-wire dismantling of Liberty in which they dominated on both ends and led by 40 for essentially the entire second half.
Offensively, the pieces are intriguing. Paul McNeil, Darrion Williams, and Matt Able give Wade a trio of perimeter threats who can stretch defenses and create off the bounce.
The staff is still honing how best to deploy Williams, Quadir Copeland, and Ven-Allen Lubin as mismatch weapons, but the upside is obvious as roles continue to solidify.
Defensively, the potential remains high despite early struggles.
NC State’s length, versatility, and switchability fit exactly the profile Wade prefers, and he has experimented with different approaches – switching, hard hedging, pressing – to try and extract better performance.
The Liberty game showed that this group can really tighten the screws, especially as chemistry improves.
With both talent and coaching in place, the Wolfpack still have a path toward becoming the ACC dark horse that many envisioned in the preseason.
Kansas vs. NC State Betting Analysis
From a pure “need it for the postseason resume” perspective, this game means much more for NC State.
The Wolfpack lack a top-end non-conference win, even with victories over VCU (home) and Boise State (neutral).
A future clash with Mississippi in Greensboro may not move the needle much, either, considering the Rebels’ struggles.
Kansas has already been to the Triangle area, playing a road game in Chapel Hill – not far at all from Raleigh and NC State. That should ease any concerns about the atmosphere overwhelming the Jayhawks, and Self will not be outfoxed by the clever, tinkering Wade on the sideline.
There may be some concealed bad blood here, as Self and Kansas outbid NC State for Congolese big man Paul Mbiya late in the offseason (late June). Mbiya has been an afterthought for the Jayhawks, but Wade surely was not fond of that sneaky bag drop.
A key tug-of-war here: whether Kansas' cold shooters (Rosario, Council, Bryson Tiller) can knock down shots against a compact NC State defense that ranks 359th nationally in 3-point rate allowed. Peterson’s return certainly aids that cause, and both White and Jamari McDowell have gotten off to strong starts from deep.
Ultimately, I am going with what should be a more desperate home team in a raucous weekend environment.
Given some of Kansas' potential regression concerns defensively – especially against a Wolfpack squad that can really light it up from deep – this line is a slight bargain to me.
I would bet the Pack at -3 or better.
My Pick: NC State -3 or Better
