The Big 12 Conference Championship is set with the #3 Kansas Jayhawks 27-6, 13-5 Big 12) taking on the #7 Texas Longhorns (25-8, 12-6 Big 12) for the title. Kansas finished the regular season as the top team in the conference, earning the no. 1 seed for the tournament, while the Longhorns were right behind Kansas as the no. 2 seed.
Saturday’s championship battle tips off at 6 p.m. EST inside T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The Jayhawks are a 1.5-point favorite, and the over/under total is 141.5 points.
What to Know – #3 Kansas Jayhawks
The defending National Champions look to close out the Big 12 Tournament with a victory for the second consecutive season. Kansas has won nine of its last ten contests, the lone defeat coming on the road against this Longhorns team to kick off the month. Double-digit victories over West Virginia and Iowa State have the Jayhawks back in the Big 12 Championship.
Offensively, Kansas is fourth in the Big 12 in scoring, averaging 75.5 points per game behind 46.7% shooting from the floor and 34.7% from the 3-point line. The Jayhawks’ defense ranks fourth in the league, holding opponents to 41.3% shooting from the field and 31.4% from beyond the arc.
Kansas is 16-17 against the spread so far this year and an even 3-3 ATS in contests played at a neutral location. Over their last ten contests, the Jayhawks are 7-3 ATS.
What to Know – #7 Texas Longhorns
Texas aims for its second Big 12 Tournament title in three years and second in the school’s history. The Longhorns closed out the regular season with a win over Kansas and had victories over Oklahoma State and TCU to get to the title game.
The Longhorns’ offense topped the conference, scoring 77.9 ppg thanks to 46.7% shooting from the field and 34.1% from deep. On defense, Texas was fifth in the league, surrendering 67.8 ppg, 42.1% shooting from the floor, and 32.9% from three.
The Longhorns feature a 16-17 mark with a 2-3 record ATS in games on a neutral court. Texas rolls into the title game with a 5-1 record over its previous six games.
The Pick Is In
These two rivals split the regular season matchups, winning on their home floors. Both teams expect to be high seeds when the tournament bracket comes out on Sunday, but there is no doubt these teams want to add a Big 12 Tournament championship title to the history books.
Saturday’s championship is shaping up to be a tightly contested battle between two teams that are very familiar with each other. Kansas has played its best ball in March, and we see the Jayhawks pulling away down the stretch late in the second half.
Kansas gets the victory and becomes the first team to capture back-to-back tournament titles since Iowa State did it in 2014 and ‘15.
The Pick: #3 Kansas Jayhawks -1.5
