The Kansas Jayhawks secured their 14th straight Big 12 conference title and the top seed in this year’s conference tournament with a 24-7 straight up and 15-15 against the spread record. The Jayhawks are the betting favorite to win this tournament for the eighth time in the last 13 years.
Big 12 Tournament 2018 odds: Kansas set as the betting favorite over West Virginia
The Kansas Jayhawks will try to earn a Big 12 Tournament win over a talented field of contenders, with the sportsbooks setting them as the chalk for the event.
Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images
Kansas is a +200 favorite on the odds to win the Big 12 Tournament at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Employing a seven-man rotation that includes five players averaging at least 12 points per game, the Jayhawks have the depth to be a major contender this March. On the other hand, Kansas was far from consistent this year as three of its outright losses came as a double-digit favorite on the Vegas lines.
The Jayhawks have the talent to win this tournament, but their inconsistency may make them a popular fade during championship week. Kansas will kick off its tournament in the quarterfinals on Thursday against the winner of Wednesday’s Oklahoma State (+2000 to win the Big 12 Tournament) vs. Oklahoma (+2000) game.
West Virginia (+300) has advanced to the Big 12 Championship Game each of the last two years, falling to Kansas in 2016 and Iowa State in 2017. The Mountaineers don’t enter this season’s tournament with much momentum on a 7-8 SU and ATS run over their last 15 games, but a talented roster with plenty of experience led by senior Jevon Carter make this a tough team to ignore. West Virginia is the conference’s third seed and will face No. 6 Baylor (+1200) in the quarterfinals.
Texas Tech (+450) looked poised to potentially snap Kansas’s conference title streak before Keenan Evans was slowed down with a toe injury and the team went 1-4 SU and 0-4-1 ATS over its last five games. Evans scored 23 points in the regular season finale against TCU after recording just 12 total points in the team’s previous four games. If the senior guard is over his ailment, the Red Raiders could be a serious threat in this tournament. Texas Tech awaits the winner of Wednesday’s Texas (+2000) vs. Iowa State (+2500) matchup.
Rounding out the bracket is a quarterfinal matchup between Kansas State (+700) and TCU (+1000). The winner of that game will meet the winner of Kansas’s quarterfinal game on Thursday.
Big 12 Tournament Betting Lines
Kansas +200
West Virginia +300
Texas Tech +450
Kansas State +700
TCU +1000
Baylor +1200
Oklahoma +2000
Texas +2000
Oklahoma State +2000
Iowa State +2500
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