Big 12 Tournament 2020: Betting Tips for Quarterfinal Odds, Spreads, Over-Under
Over the last few weeks, a solid second tier has developed in the Big 12 underneath the Kansas Jayhawks and Baylor Bears.
In Thursday's quarterfinal round of the Big 12 tournament, the four sides that have filled in nicely behind the top two teams will square off at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.
The opening clash between the Texas Longhorns and Texas Tech Red Raiders is important to the hopes of both squads ahead of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
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The Oklahoma Sooners used a late-season surge to earn the No. 3 seed in Kansas City and they finish off the four-game schedule against the West Virginia Mountaineers, who enter off a home upset of Baylor.
Big 12 Quarterfinals Schedule
All Times ET.
No. 4 Texas vs. No. 5 Texas Tech (-5.5) (12:30 p.m., ESPN2) (Over/Under: 125)
No. 1 Kansas (-11) vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State (approximately 2:30 p.m., ESPN2) (O/U: 133.5)
No. 2 Baylor (-10) vs. No. 10 Kansas State (7 p.m. ET, ESPN2) (O/U: 127)
No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 6 West Virginia (-4) (approx. 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2) (O/U: 134.5)
Betting Tips
Texas (+5.5) vs. Texas Tech
Given what could be at stake between Texas and Texas Tech, the line seems a bit big.
Both teams are lurking around the bubble of the NCAA tournament. Texas Tech is on the last four byes column in the latest projection from ESPN's Joe Lunardi, while Texas is one of the last four in.
Texas put itself in position to qualify for the field of 68 by stringing together a five-game winning streak that included a triumph over the Red Raiders February 29.
The Longhorns lost a bit of momentum from their defeat to the Oklahoma State Cowboys Saturday, but we still have to take into account that they recently beat Texas Tech.
Chris Beard's side is not worthy of being a favorite in any matchup right now, let alone a 5.5-point favorite.
The Red Raiders stumbled into Kansas City with four consecutive losses, two of which were by double digits to Texas and Oklahoma.
Look for Texas' guards to again be the X-factor in this matchup. Andrew Jones led all scorers two weeks ago with 22 points.
Jones, Matt Coleman III and Courtney Ramey form one of the better guard trios in the Big 12, and if they wreak havoc on Texas Tech once again, Texas could not only cover as an underdog, but also win outright and earn a meeting with Kansas Friday.
Oklahoma (+4) vs. West Virginia
Thursday's final matchup in Kansas City could be decided by the hottest hand on the court.
Oklahoma's Austin Reaves is coming off a 41-point performance versus the TCU Horned Frogs, and he has hit double digits in his last five contests.
The junior scored 13 points in his last meeting with West Virginia, which resulted in a 73-62 win for Lon Kruger's side.
If Reaves combines with leading scorer Kristian Doolittle to wreak havoc on the West Virginia defense, the Sooners could win outright as an underdog.
West Virginia is a solid team, but there are concerns about how well it will perform away from home.
Bob Huggins' side was 4-8 in true road games this season and only beat the Iowa State Cyclones and Oklahoma State on the road in Big 12 play.
While a neutral court has a different feel than a true road contest, the form outside of the Mountaineers gym is concerning for anyone contemplating a wager on them.
Oklahoma enters with three wins in its last four, including victories over West Virginia and Texas Tech, so it appears on paper to be the more trustworthy side at the moment.
If Doolittle and Reaves also receive support from Brady Manek, who is Oklahoma's third player averaging over 14 points per game, the Sooners could move on with relative ease.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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