By Tony George 1/25/11

By Tony George

I am off the races again in Big 12 Hoops action, and also the Mo Valley as my two specialty conferences, but I am finding huge success cherry picking the Books in the Big 12. Some teams are overrated and some teams underrated and we are getting close to mid season conference scenario.

I am finding great value with oddsmakers lines right now, and it should be noted that road games in the Big 12, like any other conference are very tough to get wins at, but conversley, many road dogs are covering some numbers, so I thought I might give you some pointers and some takes on Big 12 Hoops action. This weekend I unloaded on Texas who was a 7 point pup and they beat Kansas SU by 11.

KU is overrated on the national scale in my opinion and have had issues putting good teams away, as well as covering big numbers at home against conference foes. Last week they barely escaped a scrappy Nebraska team as a 16 point favorite winning by 3 points in a last minute thriller. They have had srtruggles on the road with close ones against Iowa State and also an OT thriller at Ann Arbor against an average Michigan team. This is NOT the Kansas team of old, and their frontcourt is not as strong as past years editions. Any team who defends the perimeter well and has a decent frontcourt is going to give Kansas problems. I can name 10 teams who can beat them on a nuetral floor, a number 2 ranking nationally is too high for KU.

Kansas State continues to be an enigma wrapped in a riddle, but the bottom line is that ANY team who can play a good defense, will beat K State. Thery are overrated and have no legit frontcourt and while their backcourt is better than average, too much emphasis on Pullen to score the majority of their points is killing the Wildcats, not to mention a 58% free throw percentage, that kills you in big games. They are 4-10 ATS on the year to date.

Texas has flexed their prowess the past week or so pounding a good Texas AM team by 21 in Austin and then going on the road and destroying Kansas. The Longhorns are a COVER MACHINE going 11-3 ATS in 14 lined games, and they are winning by double digit margins all over the place in conference action. I see no end in sight for them. They are a play on team.

Mizzou is also playing great basketball and they are starting to play some defense, and are maybe one of the better coached team in conference play alongside Texas AM. They have the ability to explode on offense as well and they are extremely strong at home. Vegas seems to like Mizzou and they have managed just 8 covers in 15 lined games, but are a dangerous team, but just 1-3 SU on t he road.

BEST AND WORST • Texas Tech is on the only losing team in the conference • Nebraska ranks 2nd nationally on defense at under 57 ppg allowed • Texas is the best cover team in the Big 12 at 11-3 ATS, Texas AM is 8-3 ATS • Texas Tech, Oklahoma and Nebraska are winless on the road this season to date • Texas Tech is 3-12 ATS, Kansas State 4-10 ATS, and Baylor 4-7 ATS in lined games • There are 5 undefeated teams on their home floor to date • The only team with more than 2 losses at home is Texas Tech with 4 losses

Your Go With Teams ATS right now who are playing great basketball are Texas and Texas AM. Your against team on the road is Nebraska and Texas Tech and Kansas State. I would continue to go against K State with a line at home over 6 points with the exception of playing Texas Tech. My sleeper teams are Baylor and Colorado, and Colorado is dangerous at home against anyone.

My Power rankings to date are:

Texas 88

Kansas 87

Texas AM 85

Missouri 83

Baylor 82

Colorado 81

Oklahoma State 80

Nebraska 78

Iowa State 78 (tie)

Kansas State 76

Oklahoma 74

Texas Tech 72

Allow 3 points at home for Texas, Kansas, Colorado and Okie State. The rest of the teams I allow a 2 point overlay against the spread for homecourt.

I will update these ratings in the near future and offer up another Big 12 report in 2 weeks.
 

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