The Big 12 is the only Division I men’s basketball conference where every team has a winning record at home. Texas Tech leads the way with a 17-0 mark and the Red Raiders will look to make it 18-0 against Kansas State on Monday. Texas is 16-2 at home but that record will be challenged when Baylor, fresh off a win over Kansas, comes to town on Monday.
There might not be another major conference that is easier to figure out when it comes to which teams will make the tournament and which ones are out. Kansas, Baylor, Texas and Texas Tech are fighting for seeds while Texas Christian and Iowa State are also in good position to make the field of 68 despite losing records in conference play. It would probably take a run to the Big 12 tournament title for one of the other four teams to be a part of the March Madness bracket.
Kansas (+1200) is ahead of Baylor (+1400) in the latest national championship odds followed by Texas Tech (+2500) and Texas (+5000) according to the March Madness odds. It is interesting to see Oklahoma (+10000) has better title odds than Iowa State (+13000).
Game of the Week
Baylor vs Texas
- Date, time, TV: Monday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN
Third-ranked Baylor added some drama back into the race for the Big 12 regular-season title with a 10-point win over first-place Kansas on Saturday as a three-point favorite to pull within a half-game of the conference lead.
A 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 weekend at the Ferrell 🤩
✅ College GameDay hosting duties
✅ @BaylorWBB vs. Kansas
✅ @BaylorMBB vs. No. 5 Kansas
✅ @BaylorAcroTumb vs. No. 3 Oregon#SicEm pic.twitter.com/fHLYy1OMvV— Baylor Athletics (@BaylorAthletics) February 27, 2022
It was the third straight win for Baylor but the first time in the last four outings that the Bears covered. The victory came without second-leading scorer LJ Cryer, who has missed eight of the last nine games.
Now comes another test against a ranked opponent for the Bears (24-5, 12-4).
Baylor was won its last five games against Texas, including a 17-point win at home on Feb. 12 as a 5½-point favorite. It was the fourth game in a row when Baylor covered against the Longhorns.
The Bears are only 3-2 against the spread in the last five vs. Texas. Five of the last seven games in the series have gone over the total.
Jerry Palm’s updated bracketology on the CBSSports.com site has Baylor as a No. 1 seed in the East Region. A win on Monday would only increase those sort of March Madness predictions for the defending national champions.
No. 21 Texas (21-8, 10-6) has won its last two games but is just 1-3-1 against the spread in the last five. The Longhorns have won their last four games decided by three points or less while five of the last six Texas games went over the total.
Baylor’s Adam Flagler has made at least 50 percent of his 3-point attempts in four of his last seven games, including 4 of 5 in the first meeting with Texas,
Timmy Allen has averaged 21.8 points on 65 percent shooting in the last four Texas wins compared to seven points on 33 percent shooting in the last two losses.
Here is a look at the upcoming matchups and some trends to consider for those who bet online.
Kansas State vs Texas Tech
- Date, time, TV: Monday, 9 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Kansas State’s 11-point win at home on Jan. 15 snapped a four-game losing steak to Texas Tech. Kansas State, which has covered in the last four meetings with the Red Raiders, will look to sweep the regular-season series for the first time since the 2013-14 campaign.
Four of the last five games in the series finished under the total.
No. 12 Texas Tech (22-7, 11-5) was caught up in a wild Saturday as the Red Raiders were one of the seven top-10 teams to lose. Texas Tech was a five-point favorite on the road but fell to Texas Christian 69-66, ending its four-game winning streak ended as well as its run of four straight games covering against the Las Vegas odds. The Red Raiders haven’t lost back-to-back games all season and are favored to return to the win column on Monday.
Kansas State (14-14, 6-10) has lost three games in a row, with two of those defeats by three points or less, to fall into a tie for seventh place in the Big 12 standings. Each of the Wildcats’ last five games went over the total.
Mark Smith has scored in double figures in the last nine Kansas State games and has at least eight rebounds in each of those contests.
Texas Tech’s Kevin McCullar is 2 of 7 from the field in his first two games back from injury.
West Virginia vs Oklahoma
- Date, time, TV: Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Oklahoma has won the last five meetings against West Virginia, with two of those victories coming at home. The Sooner have covered in each of those wins while the last three matchups all went over the total, including Oklahoma’s 72-62 win on Jan. 26.
Oklahoma (15-14, 5-11) snapped a four-game losing streak with Saturday’s win over Oklahoma State to climb over the .500 mark. It was the first time in the last four games that Oklahoma covered against the college basketball spreads. The Sooners haven’t won back-to-back conference games this season.
West Virginia (14-15, 3-13) is looking to avoid its second losing streak of seven games since the start of January. The Mountaineers lost their last two games, both against teams projected to be in the NCAA Tournament, by a combined total of four points and covered in each of those contests.
Six of West Virginia’s last seven games went over the total. The Mountaineers’ Taz Sherman has shot less than 40 percent from the field in four of his last six games. Elijah Harkless has averaged 14.4 points in Oklahoma’s last five games.
Kansas vs TCU
- Date, time, TV: Tuesday, 8 p.m. ET, Big 12 Now/ESPN+
We’re not sure that many teams would want to trade places with TCU on Tuesday. The sixth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks must be a little miffed at failing to put more distance between them and second-place Baylor in the Big 12 race. Now Kansas faces a TCU team that it has beaten eight times in a row, including a 29-point win the last time the Jayhawks played at TCU. The Horned Frogs covered in two of the last three games in the series.
Kansas (23-5, 12-3) hasn’t lost consecutive games but has come pretty close. The Jayhawks followed up a loss to Texas Tech in January by edging Iowa State 62-61 three days later. More recently, a loss to Texas was followed by a two-point win against Oklahoma when the Jayhawks were favored by 10½ points.
TCU (18-9, 7-8) has lost four of its last six, although the Horned Frogs are 3-0-1 against the spread in their last four contests. They need to be careful not to play their way right out of the NCAA Tournament field.
TCU and Kansas will play again on Thursday with that game being played in Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas guard Remy Martin, the Big 12 preseason player of the year, had five points in 11 minutes in the loss to Baylor after being sidelined for the last seven games. TCU’s Mike Miles has averaged 17.8 points, 4.3 assists and 3 steals in the previous four contests,
Oklahoma State vs Iowa State
- Date, time, TV: Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, Big 12 Now/ESPN+
Iowa State is looking to sweep the regular-season series against Oklahoma State and strengthen its position as a possible NCAA Tournament with a win on Wednesday.
The visiting Cyclones won 84-81 on Jan. 26 as a three-point underdog after Oklahoma State won the previous four games in the series. Six of the last nine games between the teams went under the total.
Iowa State (20-9, 7-9) seems to have reclaimed some of the form following a hot start to the 2021-22 season with a four-game winning streak. The last three games went over the total. Iowa State trailed by more than 10 points in its last two games.
The Cyclones had lost four in a row before their recent reversal of fortune. They opened the season on a 12-game winning streak but have struggled with consistency ever since. About the only predictable aspect of Iowa State’s season is its recent trend of having five of the last six games finish over the total.
Avery Anderson had 34 points and five assists the last time Oklahoma State met Iowa State. The Cyclones’ Izaiah Brockington had 26 points in that overtime game.
