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The Big 12 Tournament tips off on Wednesday, March 8th, with Texas Tech facing West Virginia at 7 PM Eastern. We get the basketball version of Bedlam at 9:30 Eastern, with Oklahoma clashing with Oklahoma State. Both games will be shown on ESPNU.
The defending champion Kansas Jayhawks are currently the favorite to win the Big 12 Tournament at +225 odds over at BetRivers Sportsbook. The Texas Longhorns and Baylor Bears are close behind at +300 and +350, respectively.
Check out our best bets and Big 12 Tournament preview below. Best of luck with all of your wagers!
The Longhorns finished the regular season as the #7 team in the country. They fell short of their goal to win the Big 12 regular season title as they watched the Jayhawks hoist that trophy.
They did get a bit of revenge on them by smacking them in the regular season finale 75-59. That win was a big momentum shifter as the Longhorns had lost back-to-back games previously to Baylor and TCU on the road.
They will face the winner of Oklahoma/Oklahoma St, and they are a combined 4-0 against these teams on the year. They would then face the winner of KSU/TCU. Texas split both series with these teams and would need to win the rubber match in either in order to get to the finals.
Texas is 16th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 20th in adjusted defensive efficiency. Those numbers put them in the mix as possible national title contenders. They don’t need to win the big dance for us to cash this, just the Big 12 tourney.
Minnesota transfer, Marcus Carr, leads the Longhorns at 16.2ppg but has not put up those types of numbers lately. In fact, he has scored below his average in 4 straight games.
Sir’Jabari Rice has picked up the slack. He dropped 23 on Kansas last game and 24 on Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago. Both outputs were way above his 12.6 average. Texas provides the best value of the top teams here in the Big 12.
KSU is the 3 seed here and is matched up with a tough TCU team in the opening round. They lost by 14 on the road but defeated them by 21 at home in the previous 2 meetings.
They would then face our top pick, Texas, in the semifinals. They also split the season series with the Longhorns and could pull off the upset to get to the Big 12 final.
The Wildcats are 2nd in opponents' effective field goal percentage in the Big 12 and 1st in defending the 3-point line. Offensively, they do a good job getting to the foul line and knocking down the freebies when they get there.
Keyontae Johnson has been the best story in NCAA basketball this season. His ability to not only come back but to play at this extremely high level has been nothing short of a miracle after he lay lifeless on the floor just a couple of seasons ago in Florida.
He is averaging 17.8 points per game and shoots over 43% from long range to lead these Wildcats. Johnson and KSU making a run here would be another tremendous chapter in his story.
The Cyclones are the top defense in the conference. They lead the way in adjusted defensive efficiency, turnover percentage, offensive rebounding percentage, and steals percentage.
They have the ability to cause issues for any team in this tournament. They face Baylor 1st, who they just defeated 73-58 on the road to wrap up the regular season. They would then get the 1 seeded Kansas Jayhawks next, who they defeated by 15 at home and only lost by 2 on the road.
Don’t sleep on these Cyclones, who are led by Jaren Holmes and Gabe Kalscheur, who are combining for 25.9 points, 6.1 boards, and 4.9 assists per game. More importantly, they disrupt the opposition with their tenacious defense.
They each average over a steal per game and force turnovers that don’t always show up on the stats. Iowa State could be the Cinderella team of the conference tourney season.
Bill Christy is a seasoned bettor who operates his own handicapping business. As a senior writer, Bill provides in-depth analysis and identifies edges across several sports at EatWatchBet, including the NFL, CFB, NBA, CBB, and UFC.
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21+ to wager. Please Gamble Responsibly. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (KS, NV), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-270-7117 for confidential help (MI). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Call 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) Call 1-800-327-5050 (MA).
