Buckle up as the Big 12 Conference has a pair of showdowns between ranked teams with Kansas playing host to Iowa State and Kansas State traveling to Texas Tech.
The biggest news in the conference was Texas firing head coach Chris Beard. On the court, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State are tied for first place with 4-0 conference records.
Five of the conference’s teams have seen at least 10 games go over the total, led by West Virginia‘s over/under mark of 11-5.
Kansas moved up a spot to No. 2 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Texas fell from sixth to 10th while No. 11 Kansas State and No. 14 Iowa State jumped 15 and 11 spots, respectively, after impressive starts to 2023.
According to the college basketball playoff odds, Kansas (+1000) has the second-best odds to win the national title. There are still those who doubt if Iowa State and Kansas State are for real as they have title odds of +5000 and +6600, respectively.
Here’s a look at Saturday’s games in the Big 12 with some odds and betting information to consider.
Let’s check the latest NCAAB picks, stats, injury reports, and NCAAB predictions. We’ve plenty of NCAAB expert picks for you to consider.
Game of the Week
Iowa State vs Kansas
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, Noon ET (ESPN)
While some of the other blue-blood programs have had some struggles, Kansas (15-1, 4-0) continues to roll along despite the departure of four of the top five scorers from the national championship team.
Returning starter Jalen Wilson is searching for his shot a bit as he is 20 of 57 over the last four games.
K.J. Adams came up huge for Kansas with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting in Tuesday’s win over Oklahoma.
career high kinda night for @kj_atx 🙌 pic.twitter.com/LjyfLGzsd6
— Kansas Men’s Basketball (@KUHoops) January 12, 2023
Iowa State (13-2, 4-0) went from posting wins by three and two points against Oklahoma and Texas Christian to obliterating Texas Tech in their most recent game. Gabe Kalscheur had a season-high 25 points to lead the way.
The Jayhawks are looking to beat Iowa State for the seventh time in a row. Each of the last three meetings finished under the Las Vegas odds total.
The Cyclones face another team when Texas comes to town on Tuesday.
Other Games to Watch
West Virginia vs Oklahoma
Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, Noon ET (ESPN2)
West Virginia (10-6, 0-4) looks to snap a four-game losing streak after falling to Baylor 83-78 at home on Wednesday as the starting lineup was 9 of 34 from the floor.
Oklahoma (10-6, 1-3) nearly took down ranked Iowa State and Kansas teams, and in between won an overtime affair against Texas Tech.
Nevada transfer Grant Sherfield leads the Sooners in scoring, averaging 17.4 points. He has scored more than 20 points in six of his last nine games.
Oklahoma has won six games in a row against the Mountaineers and covered in each of them.
Kansas State vs TCU
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 2:00 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Not as much is on the line as when the schools met in the Big 12 football championship game. However, a matchup of ranked teams on national television could be quite the experience.
After playing just five games over the last two seasons at Florida, Keyontae Johnson is loving life at Kansas State (15-1, 4-0). He has scored in double figures in every game with five 20-point efforts.
TCU (13-3, 2-2) began 2023 with a win over Baylor thanks to a Chuck O’Bannon shot with four seconds left before dropping the last two games to Iowa State and Texas by a combined total of six points. Mike Miles had 33 points in the Baylor win and has scored in double figures in all 13 games in which he has appeared.
Five of the last six games between Kansas State and TCU finished over the college basketball betting lines total.
The Wildcats have covered in 12 of 16 games, the best record against the spread in the Big 12.
A raucous home crowd figures to be on hand when Kansas State plays host to Kansas on Tuesday.
Oklahoma State vs Baylor
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 6:00 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Oklahoma State (9-7, 1-3) looks to snap a two-game losing streak and get the offense going after shooting 32% from the field (26% on 3-pointers) in losses to ranked Texas and Kansas State teams. Leading scorer Bryce Thompson has missed 15 of 18 shots over the last two games.
Each of Baylor’s three games in January have been decided by five points or less with the Bears (11-5, 1-3) losing two of them.
Freshman Keyonte George had 32 points in a much-needed win over West Virginia the last time out.
Oklahoma State has covered in each of the last four meetings with Baylor.
Texas Tech vs Texas
- Date, time (TV): Saturday, Jan. 14, 8:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Texas (14-2, 3-1) is just a game out of first place in the Big 12 despite head coach Chris Beard being fired after being accused and arrested of domestic assault by his finacee.
Assistant coach Rodney Terry is coaching the Longhorns, who have won eight of their last nine games. Marcus Carr had a 41-point effort earlier in the season, but he is just 9 of 27 from the field in his last two games.
Texas Tech (10-6, 0-4) joins West Virginia as a team yet to win in the Big 12. Kevin Obanor leads the Red Raiders with an average of 15.8 points per game.
Texas Tech has won four of the last five meetings with Texas. Three of those games have been decided by six points or less.
