Big 12 Hoops Rundown
Conference Is Well-Represented In National Rankings
Nobody can accuse cable television of ignoring the star-studded Big 12 Conference.
There are Big 12 game on ESPN (Kansas-Oklahoma), ESPN2 (Baylor-West Virginia) and ESPNU (Iowa State-Texas Tech) Tuesday, while Saturday’s West Virginia-Texas Tech showdown on ESPN2.

With five ranked teams-including two in the top 10-it’s no wonder that the Big 12 games are getting national exposure.
It’s no surprise to see Baylor and Kansas leading the way among ranked Big 12 teams, but Iowa State continues to impress. The Cyclones were at the bottom of the odds to win the Big 12 title entering thr season.
Baylor Bears at West Virginia Mountaineers
- Date, time, TV: Tuesday, Jan. 18th, 5:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
- Venue: WVU Coliseum, Morgantown, WV
This might not be the best time to have Baylor coming to town. The Bears, who spent five weeks (three unanimous) ranked first in the Associated Press Top 25, invade off back-to-back losses.
Leading scorer James Akinjo and freshman Jeremy Sochan are dealing with injuries for the fifth-ranked Bears (15-2, 3-2 in Big 12).
West Virginia (13-3, 2-2) ranks ninth in the Big 12 in scoring margin.
Baylor has won four of the last five meetings against the Mountaineers. Five of the last six meetings between the teams have gone over the total.
Each of Baylor’s last two games went under the total after the previous six games went over.
WVU has only covered against the college basketball spreads in one of its last four games.
Kansas Jayhawks at Oklahoma Sooners
- Date, time, TV: Tuesday, Jan. 18th, 7:00 p.m. ET ESPN
- Venue: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, OK
No. 7 Kansas is the only Big 12 team averaging more than 80 points per game. National Player of the Year candidate Ochai Agbaji leads the way, averaging a conference-leading 20.6 points per game.
Oklahoma (12-5, 2-3 in Big 12) is second in conference field-goal percentage (49.9%) trailing only the Jayhawks’ (50.2%).
Kansas (14-2, 3-1) has won four of the last five meetings with the Sooners, but has dropped two of the last three games at OU.
The teams have alternated going over and under the total set by the Las Vegas odds in the last nine meetings.
Kansas has won 10 of its last 11 games, but is just 6-5 against the spread in those 11 contests.
Oklahoma has failed to cover in four of its last six games
Kansas State Wildcats at Texas Longhorns
- Date, time, TV: Tuesday, Jan. 18th, 8:30 p.m. ET Longhorn Network
- Venue: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
Kansas State’s Mark Smith is the top rebounder in the conference (8.3 rpg). Texas ranks second in the country in scoring defense (54.5 ppg). The Longhorns look to improve that number against Kansas State, the lowest-scoring team in the Big 12 (68.3 ppg).
No. 23 Texas (13-4, 3-2) has defeated Kansas State (9-7, 1-4) five straight times, although the Wildcats have covered in two of the last three meetings.
The last four games between K-State and UT have gone over the total.
Kansas State’s win over Texas Tech snapped a four-game losing streak.
Seven of the last Texas games have gone under the total.
Iowa State Cyclones at Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Date, time, TV: Tuesday, Jan. 18th, 9:00 p.m. ET ESPNU
- Venue: United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock, TX
This could easily be one of the most hotly-contested games of the week in the Big 12.
Iowa State’s Izaiah Brockington is second in the conference in rebounding (7.9 rpg) and fourth in scoring (18.9 ppg). No. 18 Texas Tech has continued to win despite top scorers Terrence Shannon and Kevin McCullar missimg a combined 14 games due to injury.
Warmups. Kevin McCullar and Terrence Shannon, Jr. are participants. pic.twitter.com/fRAXizbUBm
— Carlos Silva Jr. (@cmsilvajr) January 13, 2022
Texas Tech (13-4, 3-2) has defeated Iowa State five times in the last six meetings, covering in each of the last six.
No. 15 Iowa State (14-3, 2-3) has lost three of its last four home games against Texas Tech.
The Cyclones have covered in five of their last seven games, while Texas Tech has covered in four of the last five.
Texas Tech is 10-0 at home, one of four Big 12 teams unbeaten at home.
Texas Christian Horned Frogs at Oklahoma State Cowboys
- Date, time, TV: Wednesday, Jan. 19th, 8:00 p.m. ET Big 12 Now/ESPN+
- Venue: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, OK
Mike Miles is third in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game. He’s also fourth in assists while Isaac Likekele is third in assist/turnover ratio.
Texas Christian (12-2, 2-1) has won four of the last five games against Oklahoma State, covering in three of them. The last two meetings between the teams went over the total.
The last two TCU games have gone under the total after the previous five games went over the total. For Oklahoma State (9-7, 2-3), five of the last six games went under the number.
West Virginia Mountaineers at Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, Jan. 22nd, 12:00 p.m. ET ESPN2
- Venue: United Supermarkets Arena, Lubbock, TX
WVU’s Taz Sherman of ranks second in the Big 12 in scoring (18.9 ppg), though he draws a Texas Tech team that’s second in the conference in scoring defense (58.6 ppg).
Four of West Virginia’s last five games have gone over the total.
Texas Tech has been held under 70 points thrice in the last five games.
The Mountaineers have won four of the last five games against the Red Raiders, covered in all of the wins.
Oklahoma State Cowboys at Texas Longhorns
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, January 22, 2:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Frank Erwin Center, Austin, TX
Texas is a perfect 11-0 at home and draws an Oklahoma State squad that’s 2-2 on the road.
Oklahoma State has covered in four of its last five games against Texas, winning three of those contests. That could be of interest to those who bet online.
Texas has lost two of its last three games-failing to cover in both losses-after winning its previous six games.
Oklahoma State has covered in just two of its last 10 games.
Baylor Bears at Oklahoma Sooners
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, January 22, 3:00 p.m. ET Big 12 Now/ESPN+
- Venue: Lloyd Noble Center, Norman, OK
Despite losing its last two games, Baylor still leads the conference in scoring margin. Oklahoma is just sixth in that category.
The previous six games between Baylor and Oklahoma had gone under the total before a Jan. 4th meeting won by Baylor, 84-74. That game went nearly 30 points over the total.
Baylor has defeated Oklahoma seven consecutive times and is 4-2-1 against the spread in those games.
Baylor has covered in only one of the last five games. Baylor has been a double-digit favorite 13 times this season. Oklahoma has failed to cover in two of its last three home games.
Kansas Jayhawks at Kansas State Wildcats
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, January 22, 4:00 p.m. ET Big 12 Now/ESPN+
- Venue: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan, KS
It’s hard to even call this a rivalry. Kansas has won 13 of the last 14 games against K-State and the Jayhawks are 9-4-1 against the spread during that stretch.
The last three games in the series have gone under the total.
Kansas suffered its lone Big 12 loss of the season to Iowa State in the Jayhawks’ last true road game. Meanwhile, Kansas State is 1-4-1 against the spread in its last six home games
Texas Christian Horned Frogs at Iowa State Cyclones
- Date, time, TV: Saturday, Jan. 22nd, 4:00 p.m. ET
- Venue: Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IA
This game features two of the top rebounders in the Big 12 as Izaiah Brockington of Iowa State is second and TCU’s Emanuel Miller fourth in that category.
Texas Christian has won seven of the last eight meetings against Iowa State. Three of the last four meetings have gone over the total.
Iowa State is 11-1 at home this season and has covered in four of the last five home contests.
TCU is 6-1-2 against the spread in its last nine games.