A huge win in Waco on Saturday virtually locked up the Big 12 Championship for Bill Self’s Kansas Jayhawks. Kansas now has a three-game lead in conference with just four games left to play and can clinch at least a share of the title when they take on the TCU Horned Frogs in Lawrence on Wednesday. As for TCU, the Horned Frogs are looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 19 years, but have lost three in a row. Getting a win against either Kansas or West Virginia in their next two games would be huge for their at-large hopes.
This war on the floor will go down Wednesday, February 22, 2017 at 7 p.m. ET at Allen Fieldhouse. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Wednesday schedule.
College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
TCU was one of the nicest ATS stories earlier in the season, but has fallen off over the past month. The Horned Frogs are just 3-7 SU and 2-8 ATS over their last 10 games and only the win against Texas was authoritative. Four of their last five games have ended up finishing under the total.
Kansas has been playing nothing but close games since its blowout loss at the hands of West Virginia. Since then, no Jayhawks games has been decided by more than 6 points, but they have been able to pull through in late-game scenarios. In this stretch, Kansas is 6-1 SU but just 2-4-1 ATS.
Coaching Angle
Stealing Jamie Dixon from Pittsburgh was considered a coup at the time and he has lived up to the school’s hopes. Dixon has brought a spark to a long dormant program and made TCU into a team that is no longer considered an also-ran in the Big 12. TCU is averaging more points per game than it has since it’s Conference USA days and is playing decent defense as well.
Making the feat even more impressive, it’s not like Dixon went the Calipari route and brought in a bunch of new recruits. Jaylen Fisher is the only freshman starter of the bunch and the rest were all players that have been in Fort Worth for at least one year prior. Additionally, there are no senior starters so this team will have time to grow.
Player to Watch
Coming into the season, Kansas’ backcourt was lauded as one of the best in the country, but only Frank Mason III has played at a continually high level. Mason has put the team on his back multiple times already this season and there’s no telling where KU would be without him. He is attempting 4 more shots a game than last season as the team has struggled to find other consistent playmakers but his shooting average has gone way up.
Mason is averaging over 20 PPG and knocking down 49.2 percent of his shots and 50.4 percent of his three-point attempts. Perhaps just as importantly, on a team that is one of the worst in the country at shooting free throws, he is a steady hand at the line. Mason is hitting 78.1 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe and has been a key to this team’s late success.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Winning in Kansas is a tall task for any team, but the Jayhawks have looked vulnerable at home over the last month. They should have lost to West Virginia and they did lose to Iowa State in overtime.
These teams opened the Big 12 schedule against each other back in December in a very high scoring game where Kansas prevailed. Expect the same result, but in a game that is close enough that TCU gets the cover.
College Basketball Odds: Kansas 76, TCU 72
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