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Big 12 MBB Preview: 2/13-2/15

The race for the Big 12 title heats up!

NCAA Basketball: Oklahoma State at Texas Tech Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

West Virginia @ #9 Baylor

Monday, February 13th 8:00 PM CT, ESPN2

#9 Baylor (19-6, 8-4) went on a highly impressive run down the stretch of their last game against TCU to pick up an invaluable conference road win, keeping them within one game of first place in the Big 12. They now return home to host West Virginia (15-10, 4-8). The Mountaineers have, overall, been on a pretty hot streak, winning four of their last six games. However, their last matchup against Texas went about as bad as it could’ve defensively, with WVU losing 94-60. So whether or not West Virginia can get themselves up off the mat will probably determine how close or not this game will be. The Mountaineers lost to Baylor by 5 in their last meeting. I’ve got the Bears by double digits.

78-66 Baylor

#6 Texas @ Texas Tech

Monday, February 13th 8:00 PM CT, ESPN

#6 Texas (20-5, 9-3) still sits alone atop the Big 12 after their win over West Virginia, with Baylor and Kansas both positioned one game behind. Meanwhile, Texas Tech (13-12, 2-10) is tied for bottom of the Big 12. The Red Raiders did pick up a huge upset on Saturday, taking down then #12 Kansas State 71-63. While it seems unlikely that Tech can follow that win up with what would be an even bigger win against Texas, we do know that there is no love lost whatsoever between Tech and UT. So you always have to be willing to throw out the records for a rivalry game like this. Still, I’ve got Texas winning this one.

76-65 Texas

#5 Kansas @ Oklahoma State

Tuesday, February 14th 8:00 PM CT, ESPN

#5 Kansas (20-5, 8-4) laid a beating on Oklahoma over the weekend, keeping the Jayhawks tied with Baylor for second in the Big 12. They now travel to Stillwater to take on a red-hot Oklahoma State (16-9, 7-5). The Cowboys are on a five game winning streak, which includes their most recent win in Ames. In Lawrence, the Cowboys nearly took down the Jayhawks, ultimately coming up two points short. While both of these teams have been playing really well as of late, I like Oklahoma State to score an upset on their homecourt.

71-67 Oklahoma State

#12 Kansas State @ Oklahoma

Tuesday, February 14th 8:00 PM CT, ESPNU

#12 Kansas State (19-6, 7-5) has been on a really rough stretch of games, losing three of their last four including to one of the bottom teams in the Big 12, Texas Tech. The Wildcats now face the other bottom team in the conference, Oklahoma (12-13, 2-10). The Sooners have been absolutely abysmal as of late, losing seven of their last eight games. None of their games have been decided by less than double digits since their outlier win against Alabama. While both of these teams are trending downward, Kansas State should be able to get this one done.

66-57 Kansas State

#22 TCU @ #19 Iowa State

Wednesday, February 15th 8:00 PM CT, ESPNU

Speaking of trending downward, #19 Iowa State (16-8, 7-5) has lost four of their last five games, including losing their first home game of the season to Oklahoma State last Saturday. #22 TCU (17-8, 6-6) is on a similarly bad slide, also losing four of their last five games. Their most recent loss was a really winnable matchup with Baylor, where the Frogs went cold as ice for most of the last ~8 minutes of the game. Until the Horned Frogs get Mike Miles Jr. back from injury, they’re a totally different team from who they were earlier in the season. So I’ve got Iowa State winning this one, especially at home.

73-69 Iowa State