Final Score: West Virginia 73 – Texas Tech 69
NCAAB Pick: West Virginia -2.5 (-110) at BetOnline (visit our BetOnline Review)
Will Texas Tech have its coach on the sidelines against West Virginia? Can Oklahoma State get on the right side of the bubble with a win over Oklahoma?
Join us as we answer these questions and offer up free college basketball picks on the first day of the Big 12 Tournament.
Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. West Virginia Mountaineers
Wednesday, March 08, 2023 – 07:00 PM EST at T-Mobile Center
In a day and age when a simple greeting on the street can offend someone, it’s probably best for college coaches to just go with generic ‘win one for the Gipper’ motivational speeches than dipping down into the Bible for motivational material.
Texas Tech’s Mark Adams probably wishes he’d done that now that he has been suspended just ahead of the Red Raiders’ first-round matchup with the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Big 12 Tournament.
Jayhawks Await Winner
Rumors were already swirling about Adams and his tenuous future in Lubbock before he was suspended this week for a “racially insensitive comment.” The Red Raiders finished tied for last in the Big 12 with a 5-13 record, closing the campaign with three consecutive defeats.
It was also a disappointing season for Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers, but at least they won three of their final four games and are projected to go dancing with a No. 24 NET ranking.
Rivalry Notes & Betting Trends
Texas Tech and West Virginia traded road upset with each other this season. The Mountaineers scored a 76-61 win at Lubbock in late January as 3.5-point underdogs, and the Red Raiders returned the favor in Morgantown with a 78-72 final getting 6 points at the best sportsbooks.
- West Virginia leads the series 17-9, all but one of those contests as Big 12 opponents.
- Underdogs have not only covered 4 of the last 6 but won those 4 games outright.
- ‘Over’ bettors have cashed 5 of the last 7.
Loving Huggy & the ‘Under’
Once again, BetOnline was the first to offer numbers for the matchup, sending West Virginia out as 2.5-point chalk. Both squads sport strong tendencies to the ‘Over,’ and the total was set at 147 on the overnight board.
Maybe the situation with their coach motivates the Red Raiders, but I’m inclined to believe it will be a distraction with a play on the Mountaineers while going against the series trend and the team tendencies this season to go past the totals.
NCAAB Pick: West Virginia -2.5 (-110) at BetOnline
NCAAB Pick: Under 147 (-110) at BetOnline
Oklahoma Sooners vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Wednesday, March 08, 2023 – 09:30 PM EST at T-Mobile Center
Oklahoma State has a chance to do something on Wednesday the Cowboys haven’t done for a long, long time: beat the rival Oklahoma Sooners for a third time in the same season.
The last time Oklahoma State accomplished three Bedlam wins in one season was 1965, and the legendary Henry Iba was head coach in Stillwater where the Cowboys played in the Big 8.
Could the Game Close as a Pick?
According to the early numbers on BMR’s live odds board, the Cowboys are slightly favored to record the trilogy of victories. Oklahoma State was being offered at -1 on the overnight lines, with the scoreboard target set at 135.5.
Rivalry Notes & Betting Trends
The two regular season Bedlam battles took place in a tight 15-day window (Jan. 18-Feb. 1), and produced two very similar results with the Cowboys covering the NCAAB odds in both games and the final scores just scraping past totals in the 127-131 range.
This will be the fifth time in the last 15 seasons for the Sooners and Cowboys to meet in the Big 12 Tournament (2009-10, 2015, 2018), and Oklahoma State won three of those contests. Oklahoma leads the all-time series, 141-105.
- The Cowboys have covered 6 of the last 7, pushing as 4-point underdogs in the lone exception during that span.
- Oklahoma is 2-3 SU, ATS & O/U last 5 Big 12 Tournament games.
- Oklahoma State is 3-2 SU & ATS, 4-1 O/U last 5 Big 12 Tournament games.
Cowboys Still Missing Anderson
One factor in Oklahoma State’s tailing off with five losses in its last nine games was the absence of Avery Anderson III. The 6-3 guard had wrist surgery in early February, and while he has returned to a few very limited basketball activities, Anderson won’t be on the floor Wednesday.
Oklahoma State missed last year’s Big 12 Tournament for being naughty, and the Cowboys are in desperation mode to win not only on Wednesday but pull off at least one more upset in Thursday’s conference quarterfinals in order to impress the folks passing out dance invites.
I’ll bite on the cagers from Stillwater with a small play, and also believe the total is set a little too high with a second college basketball pick in that column. For Sooner State residents looking to bet on this game, you can do it at our top Oklahoma betting sites.
Final Score: Oklahoma State 65 – Oklahoma 62
NCAAB Pick: Oklahoma St. -1 (-110) at BetOnline
NCAAB Pick: Under 135.5 (-110) at BetOnline
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.
