College Basketball Spreads: Big 12 Defined by Upsets
It has been a week of upsets in the Big 12 with several heavy favorites in the NCAAB lines going down. None was bigger than UCF’s comeback victory over No. 3 Kansas in the Knights’ first Big 12 home game.
It was a surprising result after UCF’s 25-point loss at Kansas State in the Knights’ opening Big 12 matchup. The Jayhawks were in good company as No. 2 Houston and No. 9 Oklahoma were among the additional Big 12 squads in the Top 10 to go down.
TCU notched an 80-71 victory over Oklahoma, while Iowa State upset No. 2 Houston 57-53. Other notable results include No. 14 Baylor’s 81-72 victory over No. 18 BYU.
These upsets indicate the Big 12 might not only be the best conference in college basketball but also the deepest. Let’s take a look at the Big 12 betting breakdown for the week ahead.
Will Kansas or Oklahoma Bounce Back?
Both Kansas and Oklahoma have a chance to bounce back with a Saturday January 13 matchup. The Jayhawks are in a slight slump after nearly losing to TCU followed by a road loss against UCF.
Kansas has been as disappointing at the sportsbook going 5-10 against the spread. The Sooners have been much better at 9-6 in the Las Vegas odds. Jayhawks head coach Bill Self was candid about the team’s struggles after losing to UCF.
“Well, it says a couple of things. It says that Johnny’s (Dawkins) done a great job and give them credit, they were better than us tonight,” Self explained, per 247Sports. “There’s no understating that.“They were better than us. On the flip side, we weren’t very good. I mean, we got to take care of the ball. And we did some things that I think good teams shouldn’t do, especially playing away from home in a hostile environment when you have control of the game.”
Will UCF Be More Than One-Hit Wonders?
As for the Knights, Dawkins’ crew has a chance to prove the team is more than one-hit wonders. UCF gets another ranked opponent with BYU coming to town on January 13.
UCF is red hot at home going 8-2. The Knights are 7-7 against the spread, while the Cougars have been much stronger in Vegas going 11-4 in the odds.
Big 12 Basketball Hits Primetime This Weekend
There are several additional key Big 12 matchups taking place on January 13, including two primetime contests. A surging TCU squad plays host to a Houston team looking to bounce back. Cincinnati heads to Waco to take on Baylor.
The Horned Frogs are 9-6 against the spread in the NCAA basketball odds and 8-0 at home. The Cougars are 8-6-1 against the spread. Houston’s games are trending heavily towards the under.
The Cougars have hit the under in 11 of 15 games. This is partly due to Houston’s No. 1 ranked defense allowing just 50.3 points per game. Meanwhile TCU has leaned on its shooting hitting more than 49% of their shots ranking No. 20 in the country.
Baylor is 10-3-1 against the spread, while Cincy has struggled in Vegas going 6-9. Both team’s games have trended toward the over. The Bearcats have hit the over nine times compared to six contests going under. The Bears have hit the over eight times while six games went under when betting online.
Baylor is getting buckets this season averaging 87.7 points per contest which is No. 6 in college basketball. Cincinnati has leaned on their No. 5 ranked rebounding averaging 40 boards per game.
Questions Of The Day
Which Big 12 underdog has the more probabilities to win a game this week?
No. 18 BYU should take notice of a UCF team that has been surging at home.
Which Big 12 team is the most likely to underperform this week?
Oklahoma could sustain another loss as it takes on Cincinnati on the road.
The odds and predictions in the article are based on the time of writing and publication. They may differ as to when the actual event takes place.
