Kansas, Missouri have been winners against the spread

It may seem as if Kansas and Missouri emerged out of nowhere to become Bowl Championship Series title game contenders, but that’s not necessarily true looking back at the odds for both teams.

There was a line posted on 10 of the Jayhawks’ 11 games, with Kansas listed as the favorite in nine of them. The Jayhawks (11-0) are 10-0 against the spread. The only game Kansas was not favored came at Kansas State on Oct. 6, and the Jayhawks won, 30-24.

It’s the same story for the Tigers (10-1), who also have been favored in nine of 10 of their games that had a spread. Missouri, 8-2 against the spread, was an underdog at Oklahoma and lost to the Sooners, 41-31, on Oct. 13.

The Jayhawks, listed as 1 1/2 -point favorites over the Tigers today, are 10-1 against the spread in their last 11 Big 12 Conference games. They are also 4-0 against the spread in their last four games against a team with a winning record.

Although Kansas is the home team, today’s game will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Mo. That’s a definite edge for the Tigers, who are 4-0 against the spread in the last four games played at a neutral site.

According to AccuScore.com, which simulates every game 10,000 times, the Jayhawks win 61% of simulations with an average score of 36-30 when the game was played in Lawrence, Kan.

With the game played at Arrowhead, Kansas wins 58% of the simulations with an average victory margin of four points.

Oregon, which will play without injured quarterback Dennis Dixon, is listed as a 2 1/2 -point favorite over UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

The Ducks, who have an 8-2 record, are also 8-2 against the spread and have covered the line five of the last six times they have played the Bruins.

UCLA, which at 5-5 needs a victory to become bowl-eligible, has a 6-4 record against the spread and is 9-2 against the spread in its last 11 Pacific 10 Conference games.

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Tennis

Odds for the 2008 Australian Open have been released and -- surprise! -- Roger Federer is a landslide favorite at -225. Novak Djokovic is next at +500 followed by Rafael Nadal at +650.

Federer, who has won 12 Grand Slam titles, also is listed at +700 to win four Grand Slam titles in 2008 at BetUs.com. Federer is at +120 to win three, +110 to win two, -350 to win one and +1,000 to win none.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com