Texas hasn’t exactly been setting the world on fire against elite competition with a 2-4 mark against ranked teams. A matchup with Kansas on Monday would be a step in the right direction for the Longhorns.
Defending national champion Baylor could definitely use a win leading into this weekend’s showdown with Texas, so the matchup against Kansas State could be just what the injury-plagued Bears need.
Kansas and Baylor are tied for seventh in the odds to win the national championship at +1200 followed by Texas Tech (+2800) in the March Madness odds.
Ochai Agbaji of Kansas (+600) is fourth in the odds to be named national player of the year. The next Big 12 player on the list is Baylor guard James Akinjo (+6000).
Game of the Week
Kansas Jayhawks at Texas Longhorns
- Date, time, TV: Monday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Kansas opened more than a few eyes with the way the Jayhawks handled defending national champion Baylor. Now comes a showdown against another ranked team.
The 10th-ranked Jayhawks (19-3, 8-1 Big 12) will be without guard Remy Martin once again due to a knee injury. He has missed the last two games.
KU’s Remy Martin will be ‘out for a bit,’ coach Bill Self says before Iowa State game. https://t.co/iHViMEMezu
— The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) February 2, 2022
Texas has won the last two matchups against Kansas after the Jayhawks had won 13 of the previous 14 contests.
The Longhorns (17-6, 6-4) are 5-2-1 against the college basketball spreads in the last eight meetings while four of the last six games have gone under the total.
Each of the last four times Texas played host to Kansas, the games were decided by 10 points or less.
Kansas has won five of its last seven games but has only scored twice in the last six matchups. Each of the Jayhawks’ last three games finished under the total.
The 23rd-ranked Longhorns have won four of their last five but are 2-5 in their last seven against the spread.
Marcus Carr had 14 points and eight assists in Texas’ win over Iowa State.
Here’s a team-by-team breakdown of the games during the week with some information and trends to consider for those who bet online.
Baylor Bears
No. 10 Baylor has won its last six games against Kansas State entering Wednesday night’s showdown and has covered in four of the last five games despite being favored by at least 12½ points according to the Las Vegas odds in each of those matchups.
Five of the last six games between Baylor and Kansas State have finished over the total.
The Bears (19-4, 7-3) have dropped two of the last three games and failed to cover in each of their last three contests.
Just when it looked like James Akinjo found his offensive mojo again with a 25-point effort against West Virginia, he missed all 11 field goal attempts in Saturday’s loss to Kansas.
Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State has dropped five straight games to West Virginia and 11 of 14 heading into Tuesday’s showdown. Each of the last four losses came by six points or less.
Ten of the Cyclones’ last 12 games against West Virginia have gone over the total.
Iowa State (16-7, 3-7) was one of the surprising teams in the Big 12 earlier in the season after being picked to finish at the bottom of the standings, but the Cyclones have dropped six of their last nine games to drop out of the AP Top 25 and are 4-5 against the spread in those contests. Four of the last six Iowa State games have gone under the total.
The Cyclones missed 13 of 15 3-point attempts as they finished with a season-low 41 points in a loss to Texas.
Kansas State Wildcats
Kansas State allowed 100 points the last time Baylor came to town in 2020. The Wildcats’ last win over Baylor came at home in 2019 and it was the sixth straight win by Kansas State in the series before the Bears turned the tide by winning the next six.
Kansas State (12-10, 4-6) has won its last two games and covered in the wins against TCU and Oklahoma State.
Nijel Pack has 13 3-pointers in his last three games.
Oklahoma Sooners
Oklahoma had won four home games in a row from 2015-18 against Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders have won two of the last three contests played in Norman. Oklahoma will attempt to stop that trend in Wednesday’s game that airs on ESPNU.
Oklahoma (13-10, 3-7) has lost seven of its last eight games and has covered in just two of those contests. The Sooners have lost their last three home games after winning eight of their first nine at home.
Three of the Sooners’ last four games have finished over the total.
Tanner Groves and Elijah Harkless were the only Oklahoma players with more than two field goals in the loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
Oklahoma State hasn’t won at TCU since 2017, but the Cowboys are hoping to reserve their fortunes when the teams square off on Tuesday. Two of the last three games in the series have gone over the total established by the Las Vegas odds.
The Cowboys (11-11, 4-6) had lost four straight games before their 64-55 win over Oklahoma. Each of Oklahoma State’s last seven games has been decided by less than 10 points, with the Cowboys winning just three times and also going 3-4 against the spread.
Points have been hard to come by recently for Isaac Likekele, but he has averaged seven rebounds and six assists in his last two games.
TCU Horned Frogs
Texas Christian has won seven of the last 10 games against Oklahoma State, with the last three matchups being decided by a total of five points.
The Horned Frogs (15-5, 4-4) have won the last four home games in the series and covered in three of them.
TCU is 6-2 against the spread in its last eight contests. The Horned Frogs haven’t lost back-to-back games this season.
Damion Baugh is averaging 17 points over his last three games and he matched his season high with three 3-pointers in Saturday’s loss to Kansas State.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
No. 9 Texas Tech has won six of the last seven meetings with Oklahoma but only covered twice during that time. Each of the last six games has gone under the total.
Texas Tech (18-5, 7-3) has won five of its last six games and covered in all six of those contests, with the only loss coming by three points as a 7½-point underdog to Kansas. A win would be the fourth straight for the Red Raiders, their longest streak since opening the season with six victories in a row.
Four of the last Texas Tech games have gone over the total.
After going 2 of 12 from the field in his first two games back, Terrence Shannon showed some signs of life offensively with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting in Saturday’s win at West Virginia.
West Virginia Mountaineers
West Virginia (13-9, 2-7) has dropped seven games in a row and the only one in that stretch that the Mountaineers covered was a four-point loss to Baylor as 13-point underdogs according to the Las Vegas odds.
Six of West Virginia’s last seven games have gone over the total.
Perhaps a matchup with Iowa State will be just what the Mountaineers need after winning each of the last five games against the Cyclones, including the last four showdowns at home.
The Mountaineers played without leading scorer Taz Sherman in a loss to Texas Tech due to a concussion.
