The Longhorns are in dire need of a win vs Oklahoma State.

Texas vs Oklahoma State NCAA Basketball Pick

Written by on March 3, 2016

Despite being the 22nd-ranked team in the nation, the Texas Longhorns clearly aren’t playing their best basketball right now. Still, the Horns will have a chance to pick up a much-needed victory when they visit the struggling Oklahoma State Cowboys on Friday night. If you’re looking to boost the annual college hoops betting bankroll by cashing in on this contest, then you simply need to back the lesser of two evils. Now, let’s find out which team that is.

How to Bet the No. 23 Texas vs. Oklahoma State NCAAB Odds & TV Info

When:  Friday, March 4, 9:00 PM  ET Where: Gallagher-Iba Arena, Stillwater, Oklahoma TV: ESPN2, ESPN3 TV Stream: WatchESPN NCAAB Odds: TBA

Why Bet the Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns (19-11 SU, 15-14 ATS) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped in their emphatic 86-56 blowout loss against No. 1 Kansas on Tuesday night while never coming close to covering the spread as a 3.5-point home underdog. The Longhorns beat No. 3 Oklahoma last Saturday, but have lost two of their last four games and four of their last seven games overall.Texas got a team-high 13 points from Javan Felix but no other Longhorns player reached double digits in scoring. “One of our biggest issues is that we didn’t handle the aftermath of our big win against Oklahoma well,” Texas coach Shaka Smart said. “We addressed that — I was concerned about the human nature element of that win — but I didn’t do a good job of getting the guys back to where we need to be. “Kansas was terrific and played well,” Smart added. “They were free and loose and aggressive, but a part of that was that our energy, toughness and fight were nowhere near they needed to be.” Forward Prince Ibeh gathered a game- and career-high 12 rebounds, but Isaiah Taylor the Longhorns’ leading scorer was limited t just five points on 1 of 10 shooting.

Why Bet the Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State (12-18 SU, 14-13 ATS) has lost five straight games and eight of their last nine games overall including their 58-50 loss against Iowa State as a 14-point road dog on Tuesday. Guards Jeff Newberry, Tavarius Shine and Joe Burton led the banged-up Cowboys with nine points each. Oklahoma State battled the Cyclones without forward Leyton Hammonds and guard Jeffrey Carroll. The pair joined injured starting guards Phil Forte and Jawun Evans, who are out for the season. “So proud of our team’s effort. So proud of em,” Cowboys coach Travis Ford said. “You’ve got an exhausted team in our locker room. They gave it all they had.”

Expert Pick & Final Score Prediction

Getting back to that, ‘lesser of two evils’ thing, it’s easy to see that the Texas Longhorns are the right pick to win and cash in against an Oklahoma State team that is simply too injured to compete the way they want to right now. Texas will have more than its fair share of desperation in this contest, making the Horns my pick to win outright and cover the spread as a slight road favorite. Texas has gone 4-0 ATS in their last four games following an ATS loss and a near-perfect 5-1 ATS in their last six road games. Oklahoma State is just 2-5 ATS in their last seven games following an SU loss and 1-3-1 ATS in their last five home games. While the Longhorns are just 1-7-1 ATS in the last nine meeting and an uninspiring 0-3-1 ATS in the last four road dates against the Cowboys, the Longhorns are also 10-3 ATS in their last 13 games overall. I like the Longhorns to get the outright rod win. My final score prediction: Texas 72 Oklahoma State 66