AP Top 25 College Basketball Top Picks for March 9

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TCU’s chances of winning the Big 12 Tournament took a big hit with the news that starting center Eddie Lampkin is taking a leave of absence from the team. The No. 22 Frogs open play in the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday against No. 12 Kansas State. Here’s a look at that game No. 11 UConn facing unranked Providence from the Big East with the NCAAB odds.

AP Top 25 College Basketball Analysis and Betting Opportunities for March 9

Providence vs. No. 11 Connecticut (-7)

Big East Tournament tips at 2:30 PM ET from Madison Square Garden in New York. The teams split in the regular season, each winning easily at home. They last played on Feb. 22 at UConn and the Huskies rolled 87-69. Jordan Hawkins scored 20 points to lead Connecticut, while Adama Sanogo and Alex Karaban each added 16 points for the Huskies. Bryce Hopkins scored 16 points and Jared Bynum had 14 for the Friars.

UConn led by just five at halftime, but outscored Providence 50-37 in the second half. The Huskies dominated the paint, outscoring the Friars 42-24 down low and outrebounding Providence 40-20.

“It was men against boys in the second half,” Providence coach Ed Cooley said. “I thought their physicality and the environment here was big time.”

For the second consecutive season, UConn has two first-team All-Big East picks as Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins earned the honors. The Sanogo-Hawkins selection is only the fourth time in UConn history that the Huskies placed two players on the First Team – joining Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon in 2004, Jeff Adrien and A.J. Price in 2008, and Sanogo and RJ Cole last year. Sanogo is the sixth player in school history to have been named first-team All-Big East twice.

In only league games, Sanogo was fourth in scoring (16.2), fifth in rebounding (7.6), seventh in field goal percentage (.568) and 14th in free throw percentage (.763). Sanogo had nine 20-plus points games this season and five double-doubles. Hawkins captured the league scoring title this season, averaging 17.3 ppg, as he and Sanogo were the highest-scoring duo in the league (34.0 ppg)

UConn (24-7) enters on a five-game winning streak, while Providence (21-10) has lost three of four. PC’s Hopkins was named first-team All-Big East. Hopkins leads the Friars in scoring (16.1 ppg), rebounding (8.3) and double-doubles (10). He ranks fourth in scoring and second in rebounding among conference players in overall action. Hopkins also ranks third in the league in defensive rebounds (213, 6.9 rpg) and fifth in minutes played (34.6 mpg).

Providence holds a 31-46 mark all-time versus Connecticut. The Friars have posted a 16-17 mark all-time versus UConn in Providence, a 12-26 record versus the Huskies at UConn and a 3-3 mark on neutral courts. The teams have split four all-time Big East Tournament games.

No. 22 TCU vs. No. 12 Kansas State (+1.5)

Big 12 Tournament game tips at 9:30 PM ET from Kansas City with TCU as the No. 6 seed and KSU the No. 3.

Frogs center TCU center Eddie Lampkin Jr. did not travel with the team to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament. On Wednesday, Lampkin posted several screenshots on Instagram of conversations in which he appears to dispute the reasons for his absence from the team. He also posted a story in which he wrote, “I wish I could see my brother again.” Lampkin’s brother, Du’Vonta Lampkin, was a former Oklahoma football player who died last year after being shot at a downtown Dallas apartment.

Eddie Lampkin is averaging 6.3 points and 5.9 rebounds this season. He leads the team with 66 total offensive rebounds, 14 more than any other Frog. Lampkin had been limited to 24 games due to injury. TCU was 2-4 in Big 12 play without Lampkin on the court. JoKobe Coles and Xavier Cork should both play more in his absence.

TCU (20-11) had Damion Baugh and Mike Miles Jr. named second-team All-Big 12. Baugh ranks 14th in the Big 12 with 13.0 points, third with 6.0 assists and fifth with 1.9 steals per game. Miles ranks third in the Big 12 with 17.2 points per game and is shooting 50 percent from the field. Miles became the first Horned Frog to be named a three-time All-Big 12 Conference player.

This season, TCU has defeated each of the top four seeds, including a 23-point win at top-seed Kansas. TCU’s nine Big 12 wins matches its most-ever in the conference (2018). TCU is attempting to play in the NCAA Tournament in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1953. The Frogs are 4-0 this season and 26-11 under Jamie Dixon in games at neutral sites.

Kansas State (23-8) is under first-year coach Jerome Tang, who was named Big 12 Coach of the Year, while Keyontae Johnson was named the Newcomer of the Year and an All-Big 12 First Team selection, along with Markquis Nowell. Johnson and Nowell are the 14th duo in school history to both be selected first team all-conference, including just the second in the Big 12 era. Johnson is currently averaging a team-best 17.8 points on 51.9 percent (203-of-391) from the field. Nowell is averaging 17 points.

K-State is 37-43 all-time at the Big Eight/12 Tournament, including 17-25 in the Big 12 era. The Wildcats are 1-2 all-time as the No. 3 seed in their third appearance (1989, 2008), while they are 2-2 in four meetings (1981, 1989, 2003, 2008) vs. the No. 6 seed. This will be the sixth meeting (2015, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) with TCU at the Big 12 Championship, including the fifth in the last 6 seasons, with K-State winning each of the last 4 such meetings.

K-State holds a 21-11 lead in the all-time series with TCU, including an 18-9 mark in the Big 12 era. The team has split the last 10 meetings – including this season.