Big 12 Tournament 2013: First Round Predictions

Mar 2, 2013; Lawrence, KS, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers forward Dominique Rutledge (1) heads up court on a fast brake against the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

None of the four teams playing in the first night of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship have a shot for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Instead, two teams will take their first step into potentially knocking off one of the bubble teams and making a huge run for an automatic bid.

Texas, West Virginia, Texas Tech, and TCU have spent most of the season in the basement of the Big 12. The Longhorns and Mountaineers are expected big favorites to move on the second day, but is there a chance that we’ll see some early madness in the conference?

(9)Texas Tech vs (8)West Virginia (-8.5) – 6:00 PM CT, Big 12 Network

One problem that’s plagued West Virginia all season is a lack of shooting. Lucky for them, this is a perfect matchup for a team that can’t score. Texas Tech is -7 in scoring margin and both teams are the worst in the conference at defending the perimeter. As long as WVU hits a streak of success from 3-point range at some point and get to the free throw line, they should be able to win an ugly game.

Mountaineers 71, Red Raiders 64

(10)TCU vs (7)Texas (-11)  – 8:30 PM CT, Big 12 Network

If there’s one team that can make a huge run in this tournament, it’s Texas and the re-addition of Myck Kabongo. The ball moves more fluently and turnovers have slightly gone down overall. With a much improved offense, there shouldn’t be any way that TCU comes up with a win unless they figured out all their season-long issues in the win over Oklahoma.

Longhorns 83, Horned Frogs 59

Iowa State will open tournament play Thursday morning at 11:30 a.m. CT against Oklahoma.