NCAA Basketball Big 12 Conference Betting
By By Josh Walfish
Updated date: March 6, 2022
With four teams ranked in the top-25, the Big 12 Tournament feels like a wide-open affair this season. The league should get at least five teams into the NCAA Tournament, but more than likely six teams will be dancing unless there is a major upset or three in Kansas City. The steep cliff in the odds after those four ranked teams is stiff, but not insurmountable for a few teams who might need to win out in order to prolong their seasons.
Baylor is the slight favorite in the Big 12 this year after splitting the regular-season title with Kansas, which is the top seed for the event. The Bears have dealt with several key injuries but never lost a step and the defending national champions are going to be a threat. It is a small surprise to see second-seeded Baylor listed at +230 favorites given they will have to face Texas Tech or Iowa State in the semifinals, but the Bears are playing great basketball at the moment. This is a resilient squad that won’t go down easily and will fight to the end.
The Jayhawks are +260 to win the tournament and likely aren’t the favorite due to some shaky play down the stretch. Kansas is always an interesting team to watch in March because the talent is normally there in Lawrence, but the postseason performance has been underwhelming of late. The Jayhawks haven’t won the conference tournament since 2018, which is also the last time they escaped the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Kansas has the best player in the league and the advantage of being the top seed and close to home.
Texas Tech might be the most intriguing team in Kansas City this week with +380 odds to be cutting down the nets at the end of the week. If seeding holds, the Red Raiders would likely have the most challenging road to the title with games against Iowa State, Baylor then Kansas in the title game. The biggest hindrance to the Red Raiders’ success would be its offense, which scored under 70 points in four of Texas Tech’s last five games of the season. A low-scoring game suits the Red Raiders but opens up the possibility for more upsets.
Chris Beard and Texas have +650 odds to win the Big 12 tourney as the fourth seed after losing four of its last seven games of the regular season. None of those four losses were bad setbacks as they all came against top-10 teams, and Texas did take care of business against the bottom end of the conference. However, the Longhorns also struggled away from Austin most of this season and that could open themselves to an early upset against a very determined TCU squad.
The Horned Frogs are the upset pick of the week at +1600 with Jamie Dixon at the helm of this experienced squad. TCU was the pinnacle of inconsistency in the Big 12 with monumental wins over Kansas and Texas Tech alongside losses to Kansas State and West Virginia, the two cellar dwellers in the league. If any of the unranked teams can make a run at the title, though, it is TCU with its depth and experienced squad that has been competitive with all of the top teams in the league. If everything clicks for the Horned Frogs, they could easily make a run in Kansas City to improve their tournament resume.
The Big 12 was exactly what everyone assumed it would be this year with the top-four teams dominating the league as expected. No one should be surprised that Baylor and Kansas shared the regular-season title as the two teams were clearly the best in the conference this year. The Jayhawks are always going to be near the top of the Big 12 standings, and the Bears are the defending national champions. These are the two teams the league will be counting on to go far in March this season.
That next level is Texas and Texas Tech, two teams that have potential and talent but not necessarily the consistency required to win the league. Both teams rely heavily on the defense and find just enough scoring to squeak by, which might help them in the NCAA Tournament. These are the two schools the Big 12 expects to at least make the second weekend, but both could easily make it to the Final Four as well with the right matchups.
The biggest disappointment in the league was Iowa State, which won all 13 non-conference games but went 7-11 in the league. The Cyclones went just 3-7 against the teams ahead of them in the standings, but should be on the right side of the bubble come Selection Sunday despite some shaky performances down the stretch.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, TCU has fought its way into the NCAA Tournament this year with a strong season this year. The Horned Frogs led the six teams with losing Big 12 records to finish fifth in the league, but picked up some big wins along the way including taking down Kansas and Texas Tech. The win over LSU was clearly TCU’s best non-conference win, but it should be enough to make them a dangerous team in March.