The fifth seed Colorado Buffaloes and 12th seed Iowa State Cyclones will tip-off at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday for the first round of the Big 12 tournament. On the surface, this seems like a fairly boring game but there are a few interesting tidbits in it.
First, we'll get to see Big 12 player of the year candidate Alec Burks. Second, we'll get to see Iowa State go for their first Big 12 tourney victory since March 10, 2005 (six years!). Third, these teams split the season series so we could be headed for a close game.
The Buffs are 4.5 point favorites, which SB Nation's Big 12 Hoops says seems somewhat low.
A part of me questions why this spread is as low as it is. Yes I know Iowa State has been playing better basketball as of late but Colorado is playing for the NCAA Tournament and will have the best player on the court in Alec Burks. While not overly confident with this pick going to go with CU to win the game and cover the spread.
I'm fairly confident that Colorado will win this one. As Big 12 Hoops noted, they're still trying to string together a few wins to state their case for the NCAA tournament, however difficult that may be. This time I'll go with the team that has more to lose, and that's Colorado.
Check out the full Big 12 tournament bracket here.