2017 Big 12 Tournament Betting Preview: Odds, Analysis and Matchups

While no Big 12 school has been able to overtake the top-seeded Kansas Jayhawks (28-3, 16-2) during the regular season since 2004, that has not been the case recently when it comes to the conference tournament.

Regardless, the Jayhawks still enter the Big 12 tournament at the Sprint Center in Kansas City as strong +145 betting favorites (wager $100 to win $145) to win it for the second year in a row at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.

But before Kansas took home last year’s tournament title, the fourth-seeded Iowa State Cyclones (20-10, 12-6) had won it in consecutive seasons. The Cyclones are the +700 fourth favourite this year, falling right in line with their seeding.

Iowa State was the last team to defeat the Jayhawks, upsetting them 92-89 in overtime as a 10-point road underdog on February 4 and ending a 51-game home winning streak for Kansas.

Two other top contenders to win the Big 12 tournament championship are the second-seeded West Virginia Mountaineers (24-7, 12-6) and third-seeded Baylor Bears (25-6, 12-6). The Mountaineers are listed right behind the Jayhawks at +190 and arguably match up with them better than any other team in the conference.

West Virginia covered the spread in both regular-season meetings, according to the OddsShark College Basketball Database, winning easily 85-69 as a three-point home favorite and then blowing a 14-point lead in the final three minutes of regulation en route to an 84-80 overtime loss as a five-point road underdog.

The Mountaineers won four of their last five games after that setback, but they also went just 1-3-1 against the spread.

The Bears were one of the top teams in the country during the first half of the season before tailing off down the stretch. They suffered five of their six losses between February 1 and 25, going 3-5 both straight up and ATS. Baylor lost twice to Kansas by a combined seven points but has won three of its last four SU overall.

Another dark horse to watch is the fifth-seeded Oklahoma State Cowboys (20-11, 9-9), who are +1000 on the Big 12 tournament odds at sports betting sites. The Cowboys have lost two straight, but they had won 10 of their previous 11 to go along with an outstanding 9-2 record against the spread.