Kansas State @ #11 Texas Tech

Saturday, January 5th 1:00 PM CT, ESPNU

#11 Texas Tech (12-1, 1-0) welcomes Kansas State (10-3, 0-1) to Lubbock. Tech is fresh off a close, gritty win in Morgantown. Kansas State got blown up by the Longhorns in Manhattan, losing by 20 points. Texas Tech is the heavy favorite in this one and I don’t see any reason to pick against them. Look for standout Jarrett Culver to have a big game for the Red Raiders.

71-60 Texas Tech

Oklahoma State @ #23 Oklahoma

Saturday, January 5th 1:00 PM CT, FSSW

Oklahoma State (6-7, 0-1) travels to Norman to take on instate rival #23 Oklahoma (11-2, 0-1). Both teams opened Big 12 play with losses: Oklahoma State battled Iowa State and Oklahoma kept it fairly close with Kansas. Neither team wants to start conference play with a pair of losses. While Oklahoma is the heavy favorite, Oklahoma State can beat anyone in the conference with their three point shooting ability. Still, I like Oklahoma at home.

68-61 Oklahoma

Baylor @ TCU

Saturday, January 5th 3:00 PM CT, ESPNU

Both Baylor (8-4, 0-0) and TCU (11-1, 0-0) open up Big 12 play this weekend when they face off in Fort Worth. The Bears were swept by TCU last season. Certainly, Baylor will try its best to avoid a similar fate this year. The Baylor defense has been electric this year. The offense... not so much. Baylor’s defense will have to key in on Desmond Bane and Baylor’s offense will have to find ways to feed Tristan Clark. I think TCU wins this one but you never know when it comes to a rivalry game.

60-57 TCU

#5 Kansas @ Iowa State

Saturday, January 5th 4:00 PM CT, ESPN2

#5 Kansas (12-1, 1-0) gets its taste of Hilton Magic for the season as they travel to Iowa State (11-2, 1-0). Kansas got a strong home win over Oklahoma to start conference play. Iowa State secured a valuable road win against Oklahoma State. Iowa State has the ability to be a really good team this year with all of its pieces starting to come together with the start of conference play. I think Iowa State gets the upset this Saturday and puts some early pressure on Kansas’s title race.

75-73 Iowa State

West Virginia @ Texas

Saturday, January 5th 8:00 PM CT, ESPN2

West Virginia (8-5, 0-1) heads down to Austin to take on Texas (9-4, 1-0). West Virginia put up a good fight against Texas Tech but came up short in their conference opener. Texas destroyed Kansas State in their game. The Longhorns seem like they will be the wildcard team of the conference. One game they might get a 20 point road win, the next they might lose by 20 at home. While I doubt it will be a 20 point loss, I like West Virginia in this match up. They have some grit that I have yet to see Texas match this season.

62-60 West Virginia