SI Gambling insider Frankie Taddeo previews the betting odds and breaks down this week’s Big 12 tournament.
FULL CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT BETTING BREAKDOWNS
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The No. 2 ranked team in the country, the Baylor Bears, have earned the top seed in this year’s Big 12 tournament. The festivities get underway Wednesday from the T-Mobile Center, in Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas Jayhawks grabbed the No. 2 seed and by virtue of tiebreakers, the Texas Longhorns grabbed the No. 3 seed with the West Virginia Mountaineers slotting in at No. 4.
Bill Self’s Kansas club looked like it was going to miss the NCAA tournament after losing four of five games to close out the month of January. Instead, the Jayhawks ripped off seven wins in its final eight regular season games while posting a lucrative 6-1-1 ATS run over that span.
Baylor’s only loss this season was at Kansas, 71-58, on Feb. 27 at Allen Fieldhouse. Since that defeat to the Jayhawks, the Bears have won three straight games over three ranked teams: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
Although they are not being offered by sportsbooks at desirable plus-odds, the wise guys see Baylor as the play to win the Big 12 tournament at -134. With Baylor’s Cousy Award finalist Jared Butler running the show, the Bears look like not only a contender for the Big 12 but also for a national championship.
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Big 12 Tournament Contenders
No. 1 Baylor Bears (21-1; 13-1 Big 12; 15-7 ATS) -134
The Bears have just one loss on the season and are one of the favorites to cut down the ‘nets in Indianapolis next month. In order to get to the Big 12 title game they will likely have to face either Oklahoma State or West Virginia. They beat the Cowboys by double-digits in both regular season games and outlasted the Mountaineers in overtime in Morgantown. Jared Butler (17.1 points per game/ 5.0 assists) is the best player in the tournament, but the Bears also get solid production from MaCio Teague (15.8 points per game) and Davion Mitchell (13.8 points per game).
No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks (19-8; 12-6 Big 12; 13-12-1 ATS) +335
Don’t look now, but here comes Rock Chalk. Kansas is 7-1 straight up (SU) in its last eight games and have likely played themselves into a top-three seed in the NCAA tournament. If they advance to the Semifinals on Friday, the Jayhawks would prefer to face Texas Tech who they beat twice in the regular season over seeing a surging Texas club that has defeated them twice.
No. 3 Texas Longhorns (17-7; 11-6 Big 12; 10-13-1 ATS) +800
The Longhorns have won three consecutive games both SU and ATS while winning six of its last eight games overall. The Longhorns have a difficult opening game in the Quarterfinals against a Texas Tech squad who they lost to twice in the regular season. Texas’ only loss in their last five games was at the hands of the Red Raiders, 69-58, in Lubbock on Feb. 27.
No. 4 West Virginia Mountaineers (18-8; 11-6 Big 12; 13-13 ATS) +700
The Mountaineers closed out the regular season strong, winning seven of its final 10 games. West Virginia will need to rely upon leading scorer Miles McBride (15.4 points per game/ 4.7 assists) and star forward Derek Culver (14.8 points per game / 9.8 rebounds).
Frankie Whispers Breakdown: Not much has changed at the top of the betting futures board in the Big 12 conference as Baylor has been the favorite for months. The Bears are one the strongest teams in the country and rightfully are listed as prohibitive favorites by oddsmakers. Baylor, who is 0-3 in Big 12 title games, will not be denied the first Big 12 tournament championship in school history.
Pick: Baylor -134
Big 12 Tournament Betting Odds
Baylor -134
Kansas +335
West Virginia +700
Oklahoma State +800
Texas +800
Texas Tech +1500
Oklahoma +3000
TCU +30000
Kansas State +30000
Iowa State +50000
Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook
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2021 Big 12 Tournament schedule
Location: Sprint Center -- Kansas City
First round -- Wednesday, March 10
Game 1: No. 8 TCU vs. No. 9 Kansas State | 5:30 pm ET | ESPNU
Game 2: No. 7 Oklahoma vs. No. 10 Iowa State | 8:30 pm ET | ESPNU
Quarterfinals -- Thursday, March 11
Game 3: No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Oklahoma State | 10:30 am ET | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 4: No. 1 Baylor vs. Game 1 winner | 1:30 pm ET | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 5: No. 2 Kansas vs. Game 2 winner | 5:30 pm ET | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 6: No. 3 Texas vs. No. 6 Texas Tech | 8:30 pm ET | ESPN/ESPN2
Semifinals -- Friday, March 12
Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner | 5:30 pm ET | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner | 8:30 pm ET | ESPN/ESPN2
Big 12 Tournament Championship Game -- Saturday, March 13
Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner | 5 pm ET | ESPN
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