Texas @ #23 Oklahoma

Saturday, February 17th 11:00 AM CT, ESPN

Texas (15-11, 5-8) is losing at the wrong time in the season if they want to make a tournament run. They lost to Kansas State and TCU before dropping a heartbreaking, 2OT game to Baylor by one point. Now they have to travel to an also struggling #23 Oklahoma (16-9, 6-7). The Sooners have dropped below .500 in conference, losing four straight. Trae Young has still been good, but not nearly as mindblowingly great as he was earlier. This has shown the weakness of this squad... no one else is there to pick up the slack. So which team gets back on the winning track? I just am not convinced Texas has the offensive firepower to keep up with the Sooners. Their offense was abysmal in their game against Baylor.

82-74 Oklahoma.

Iowa State @ Kansas State

Saturday, February 17th 12:00 PM CT, ESPNU

Iowa State (13-12, 4-9) is functionally out of contention for the NCAA tournament unless they get hot and win the Big 12 tournament. They travel to Kansas State (18-8, 7-6) after a close loss to Kansas at home. Kansas State bounced back from a loss to Texas Tech with a win over Oklahoma State. The Wildcats need to secure wins down the stretch to feel comfortable on Selection Sunday. This is close to a must win for the Wildcats. Iowa State is hard to predict because they have beaten three of the four “top” teams in the Big 12 (Texas Tech, West Virginia, Oklahoma). However, without homecourt advantage, the Wildcats should be able to beat the Cyclones.

81-64 Kansas State.

#20 West Virginia @ #13 Kansas

Saturday, February 17th 5:00 PM CT, ESPN

This match up of #2 and #3 in the conference standings is sure to have massive implications on the Big 12 title race. #20 West Virginia (19-7, 8-5) needs to win this game to pull #13 Kansas (20-6, 9-4) back into the herd and position itself for a shot at Texas Tech. Kansas needs to win this game to stay one game behind Texas Tech, pending their game at Baylor. Baylor fans should definitely be rooting for West Virginia in this one so that Baylor can beat Texas Tech with a clean conscience. That aside, Phog Allen is a difficult place to play and the Mountaineers have certainly struggled some this year. However, the Mountaineers have won 3 of their last 4 games. Momentum seems to be swinging back into the Mountaineers hands and their press defense might be just enough to get the job done.

78-75 West Virginia.

#7 Texas Tech @ Baylor

Saturday, February 17th 6:30 PM CT, ESPNU

So, I don’t think I can overstate how massively important this game is for the Bears.

Kansas was a great win for Baylor (16-10, 6-7) last weekend.

In another huge win, the Bears took down Texas in Austin in two overtimes.

Post play by Terry Maston and Jo-Lual Acuil, Jr. has been phenomenal.

Still, the bears need to keep winning to feel any comfort on Selection Sunday.

Invading Waco, #7 Texas Tech (22-4, 10-3) sits at #1 in the Big 12 and are a big opportunity.

Now, the Bears NEED a full stadium. They’ve played well behind strong student sections.

Get to this game early and please, do what the first letters of this section tell you to do.

61-58 Baylor.

Oklahoma State @ TCU

Saturday, February 17th 7:00 PM CT, ESPN2

Oklahoma State (15-11, 5-8) sits with TCU (17-9, 5-8) at 3 games below .500 in conference play. That is not a good place to be at this late in the season. Both teams need to win this game to keep themselves in decent shape for the tournament. Both teams have lost 3 of their last 5 games. However, homecourt advantage is critically important in rematches like this. The Horned Frogs beat the Cowboys in Stillwater, they’ll beat them in Fort Worth as well.

77-64 TCU.