Baylor is an 8.5 point favorite over Oklahoma on Wednesday in the first round of the 2011 Big 12 tournament but they don't have the largest line fo the day. That belongs to Mizzou and Texas Tech as the Tigers are 12 point favorites over the Red Raiders.
On the one hand, Texas Tech just fired head coach Pat Knight (but he will coach through the season) and could easily blow this game against Mizzou. On the other hand, the Tigers have lost three consecutive games. So we're pretty sure Mizzou will win but there's a sliver of doubt in there.
SB Nation's Big 12 Hoops likes the line and predicts a Mizzou victory.
With the news of Pat Knight being let go but being allowed to coach this game kind of throws a wrench into picking this game. Yes Tech has not been good this year under Knight but who knows how the team will respond. The Red Raiders have a lot of seniors on their team, do they come out and play as hard as they can or do they try to end the season as quickly as possible? On the Missouri side they have lost 3 straight games coming into tournament and bubble talk is being mentioned so how do they respond to the pressure. Going to have to pick Missouri to play well in front of a virtual home court and beat Texas Tech and cover this spread.
Excellent points from Big 12 Hoops, especially the part about the home crowd. This will be a pro-Mizzou crowd and we all know how Mizzou does at home versus the road. That's not something that can be understated.
It should be interesting to see if the biggest favorites of the day can walk away with a win.
For more on Mizzou, check out Rock M Nation and for more on Texas Tech, check out Double T Nation. Here's the full Big 12 tournament bracket.