Wednesday marks day one of the 2010 Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Big 12 has been strong this year and features seven 20-win teams. The first round of conference play begins with some intriguing matchups and a group of likely blowouts.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (14-17, 2-14 in Big 12) @ Missouri Tigers (22-9, 10-6 in Big 12)
NCAA Basketball Betting (*note lines are approximations as they have not been posted at the time of writing)
Spread: Missouri -8
Over/Under: 130
Money Line: Missouri -380, Nebraska +270
The good news for the Cornhuskers was that they were 12-3 out of conference this year. The bad news, well they were the whipping boy of the Big 12 going 2-14. Nebraska is nothing more than a pesky team with no shot against the powerhouses of the conference.
Missouri is led by sophomore guard Kim English in scoring with over 14 points a game. Missouri spreads the ball around well and has a strong eight man rotation with senior leadership and talented underclassmen.
Prediction: Missouri won the season’s first two meetings by 17 and 15, expect more of the same.
Final: Missouri 69 – Nebraska 53. Take the Tigers in a rout.
Oklahoma Sooners: (13-17, 4-12 in Big 12) @ Oklahoma State Cowboys (21-9, 9-7 in Big 12)
Bookmaker Review: (*lines approximated)
Spread: Oklahoma State -7.5
Over/Under: 149
Money Line: Oklahoma State: -350, Oklahoma +225
Oklahoma has struggled through a tough season a year after All-American power forward, Blake Griffin left for the NBA. G Willie Warren has had a disastrous sophomore campaign and has dropped from being a lottery pick to most likely needing to come back for another year of college if he wants to be anything but a second round pick at best.
Oklahoma State has had an up and down end of their season as shown by their 9-7 conference record. On February 27th, the Cowboys knocked off the number one team in the country, Kansas and had destroyed Oklahoma by 21 a couple of weeks prior to that. Junior guard James Anderson is third in the NCAA in scoring with 22.9 points per game to go with six rebounds and 2.4 assists.
Prediction: Look for another Sooner blowout with Anderson leading the way for the Cowboys.
Final: Oklahoma State 82 – Oklahoma 66. Take OK State and the under.
Iowa State Cyclones (15-16, 4-12 in Big 12) @ Texas Longhorns (23-8, 9-7 in Big 12)
Odds on NCAA Basketball (*lines approximated)
Spread: Texas -7
Over/Under: 142
Money Line: Texas -280, Iowa State +200
After a short time of being the number one team in the country, the Texas Longhorns have fallen off significantly. Losing both of their starting ball handlers (Varez Ward, Dougas Balbay) to injury early and late in the season respectively, the Longhorns have sputtered down the stretch going 5-5. Big man Dexter Pittman can be a force on the boards and F Damion James is one of the best power forwards in the country. Texas however, doesn’t have a point guard to run an efficient offense.
Iowa State knocked off Kansas State last week likely thwarting their effort to gain a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones had a terrible season otherwise, but can get into postseason play with a win against the Longhorns. A .500 record would qualify them for lesser postseason events as wins against Kansas State and Texas and playing in a power conference would likely give them some kind of berth.
Prediction: Texas should be able to handle Iowa State on neutral court as they are a vastly inferior team and the K-State game was likely a fluke.
Final: Texas 81- Iowa State 57. Take Texas and the under.
Also in Action: Texas Tech vs. Colorado.