March Madness Big 12 Tournament First-Round Picks: Back Texas Tech, Oklahoma State

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The Big 12 Tournament kicks off with two games from Kansas City on Wednesday with Texas Tech facing West Virginia and Oklahoma facing Oklahoma State. All but the Sooners have at-large NCAA Tournament hopes but can’t afford a first-round loss.

Check out college basketball odds, analysis, and a free prediction for these Big 12 Tournament games.

March Madness Big 12 Tournament First-Round Picks: Back Texas Tech, Oklahoma State

Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. West Virginia Mountaineers (-2.5)

Texas Tech vs. West Virginia Game Info | Updated NCAAB Odds
Regular Season Records: Texas Tech 16-15; West Virginia 18-13
When: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 7:00 pm ET
Where: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
TV / Streaming: CBS Sports App

Game tips at 7 PM ET on ESPNU.
The Tech-WVU winner will advance to play top-seeded Kansas at 2 p.m. on Thursday in a quarterfinal matchup. This will be the 27th meeting between West Virginia and Texas Tech with WVU leading 17-9. The teams split this season with the road teams winning each game.

Texas Tech needs at least a few wins in this tournament to get an NCAA at-large bid. However, head coach Mark Adams will not be on the bench for this one. He was suspended for what the school is calling an “inappropriate, unacceptable, and racially insensitive comment.” According to the school, Adams was encouraging a player to be more receptive to coaching and “referenced Bible verses about workers, teachers, parents, and slaves serving their masters.”

Assistant Corey Williams was named Texas Tech’s interim head coach for this tournament. Williams was previously the head coach of Stetson University (2013 to 2019) and most recently served as an assistant at Arkansas (2019 to 2021). Tech lost eight conference games this season by six points or less, including the final three games by a combined eight points.

Kevin Obanor leads the Red Raiders for the season with 14.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while De’Vion Harmon is at 13.6 points per game and leads the team with 111 assists and 51 steals. Obanor and Harmon were both All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selections. Pop Isaacs earned Big 12 All-Freshman Team honors after averaging 11.3 points per game and leading Tech with 59 3-pointers. Tech is 16-25 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament, including going 8-11 in first-round matchups.

The Mountaineers are led by third-team All-Big 12 Erik Stevenson. He has scored 23 or more points in five consecutive games, becoming the first WVU player to do so since Wil Robinson in 1972. Only five WVU players have done this in school history — Stevenson, Robinson, Jerry West, Rod Thorn and Hot Rod Hundley. Stevenson has made 73 3-point field goals, now 10th in a season in school history.

Coach Bob Huggins is 16-13 in conference championship play at West Virginia. It has reached the finals in three of the last six Big 12 Championships, and the semifinals in four of the last six Big 12 Championships.

Series History

West Virginia have won ten out of their last 18 games against Texas Tech.

• Feb 18, 2023 – Texas Tech 78 vs. West Virginia 72
• Jan 25, 2023 – West Virginia 76 vs. Texas Tech 61

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Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State (-1)

Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State Game Info | Updated NCAAB Odds
Regular Season Records: Oklahoma State 12-9; Oklahoma 12-9
When: Wednesday, March 8, 2023 at 9:00 pm ET
Where: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
TV / Streaming: ESPN2, Fubo

Tips at 9:30 PM ET on ESPNU.
The winner faces No. 2 Texas on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The 10th-seeded Sooners are 24-22 (.522) in the Big 12 Championship. OU’s 52.2% winning percentage ranks fourth among current members of the conference. The Sooners have appeared in the Big 12 title game five times and won the Big 12 tournament title in 2001, 2002 and 2003.

The Cowboys outscored Oklahoma by an average of 13 points in their two wins against the Sooners this season. They also outrebounded OU by 7.5 per game while holding the Sooners to 38.2 percent shooting from the field and 24.3 percent shooting from three in the two games. Kalib Boone led the charge for OSU offensively, averaging 16.5 points in the two wins. Bryce Thompson also added 15.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game himself.

The Oklahoma Sooners is ranked in the top 100 in three NCAA Division I categories. OU is 53rd in 3-point percentage defense (31.4), 66th in field goal percentage (46.5%) and 72nd in effective field goal percentage (53.1%). The Sooners are second in the conference in 3-point percentage (35.4), defensive rebounds per game (25.4) and effective field goal percentage. OU is third in fouls per game (16.2), scoring defense (67.9) and 3-point percentage defense.

Oklahoma State guard Avery Anderson III has missed the last nine games and is out indefinitely. In 22 games this season, Anderson III averaged 11.1 points, 3.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Anderson III was also one of two Cowboys (Kalib Boone) to be named Big 12 Player of the Week this season. Anderson might return for this one.

In its 17 wins this season, Oklahoma State has four players (Anderson III, Thompson, Boone and John-Michael Wright) averaging at least 10 points per game. The Cowboys have shot 35.3 percent from behind the arc in their victories while allowing their opponents an average of just 60.8 points per game.

Coach Mike Boynton’s teams have fared well in the conference championship event during his tenure, making a run to the title game while knocking off top-seeded Baylor on the way in their last appearance in 2021. Boynton’s teams hold a 4-3 record in the Big 12 Championship in his six seasons at OSU.

Series History

Oklahoma State have won nine out of their last 16 games against Oklahoma.

• Jan 18, 2023 – Oklahoma State 72 vs. Oklahoma 56
• Feb 26, 2022 – Oklahoma 66 vs. Oklahoma State 62

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