Well it was a fun first full weekend of action in the Big 12 as some outcomes were quite predictable with others not so much. The day started with two teams who were still unbeaten but ended with only one and now that squad faces a tough road game this coming Tuesday night.
As for my predictions, I finished in the negative today but it was close as I went 2-3. I do feel somewhat stupid for picking against K-State knowing the troubles that Missouri has had playing in Bramlage the previous seven seasons but I bought into the hype about the Tigers.
MY PREVIOUS RECORD AGAINST SPREAD THIS SEASON: 3-0
MY NEW RECORD AGAINST THE SPREAD THIS SEASON: 5-3
So down below are the games, their spreads and my predictions along with the actual results of the games. Please feel free to make any comment you want on any of these games.
Please note the spreads I use come from the website www.vegasinsider.com and I try to use the most common spread listed amongst the different sports books assuming there is a variance.
#5 Baylor Bears at Texas Tech Red Raiders - Baylor is a 14.5 point favorite
Saturday - 12:45 P.M Central
MY PREDICTION: This is a tough spread to pick as Baylor should clearly dominate the Red Raiders but in their home opener the Bears only beat a struggling A&M team by nine points. The Red Raiders played hard against Oklahoma State and had a chance late in the game before Keiton Page closed the door on their comeback attempt. This spread is just a touch too large for me as I am going to gamble and take Tech to show some pride and too not allow Baylor to cover this spread.
RESULT: Baylor 63 - Texas Tech 50
While the Bears ended up winning to close to what the spread was this was only a one point game at the half and Tech made a rally in the 2nd half to keep this game competitive. With the Red Raiders hanging on at the end I got this game right.
1-0
#6 Missouri Tigers at #22 Kansas State Wildcats - Missouri favored by 1 point
Saturday - 12:30 P.M Central
MY PREDICTION: Maybe the toughest game of the day to pick as Missouri will face their first real true road test of the season. The Tigers have been on fire virtually the whole season but now they come into an arena where they have not won since the 2003-2004 season and they will be facing a tough K-State team coming off a loss. The Wildcats fought hard to come back in the game against Kansas but eventually it got away from them. So far this season the Wildcats have struggled at times to score while Missouri definitely has not as they are averaging 86.2 points a game, which is good for 2nd in the nation. My best guess is the Tigers leave Bramlage Coliseum for the final time ever with a victory and a cover.
RESULT: Kansas State 75 - Missouri 59
As I had mentioned this was a game where I assumed the Tigers hot shooting would continue but I was completely wrong. The Wildcats came out and pressured the Tigers early and caused some early turnovers which seemed to set the tone for the game. From a prediction standpoint I lost on this one.
1-1
#15 Kansas Jayhawks at Oklahoma Sooners -Jayhawks favored by 4.5 points
Saturday - 1:00 P.M Central
MY PREDICTION: We have been hearing all through the early part of the season about how this Kansas team isn't elite and is beatable but all they did on Wednesday night was beat the #22 team in the country by 18 points. Now they travel to Norman to face an Oklahoma team that has to be questioning itself after being beatdown by 38 points in their conference opener on the road in Missouri. Look for KU to pile on the Sooners as the Jayhawks win this game easy and cover the spread.
RESULT: Kansas 72 Oklahoma 61
Closer game at half than what I was expecting as the Sooners played some good defense in the first half but could never find an answer for Travis Releford who finished with 28 points. While the outcome was pretty much what I expected and predicted it took a little longer than what I thought it would as I assumed the Jayhawks would dominate starting somewhere around the mid part of the first half.
2-1
Iowa State Cyclones at Texas A&M Aggies - Aggies favored by 4 points
Saturday - 3:00 P.M Central
MY PREDICTION: Who would have thought before the season that the Cyclones would be 1-0 in conference play and traveling to College Station to take on an underperforming Aggie squad. This is a sandwich game of sorts for Iowa State as they just beat Texas in the conference home opener and their next game after this is at home against #6 Missouri. The question here is how focused will the Cyclones be on this game or will they be looking ahead. I have to see more from Iowa State before I can pick them to go on the road in a tough environment and pull off back to back conference wins so my pick is the Aggies to win and cover.
RESULT: Iowa State 74 Texas A&M 50
For purposes of full disclosure, I did not watch this game nor have I seen any highlights so I have no idea if this outcome was more about the Cylcones playing well or the Aggies now simply being an awful team. This final score definitely surprised me as I thought A&M would man up being at home but apparently not huh.
2-2
Oklahoma State Cowboys at Texas Longhorns - Longhorns favored by 11 points
Saturday - 6:00 P.M Central
MY PREDICTION: Even though the Cowboys are 1-0 in conference they were less than impressive in beating Texas Tech and now they travel to Austin to take on a likely angry Longhorn squad who is going to be focused on not starting 0-2 in conference. I look for the Longhorns to take the game to the Cowboys who just won't have enough in the tank to hang around for all 40 minutes. I predict a Texas win and cover.
RESULT: Texas 58 Oklahoma State 49
Yet another game where I thought the home team would come out and play a much better game. My thought process was that the Longhorns were a much more talented squad than the Cowboys and that OSU would be somewhat spent and relieved after winning their conference home opener. In my defense the Longhorns were covering the spread right at the end of the game until Keiton Page hit a three pointer with about nine seconds left which made my predictions for the day go from 3-2 to a record of 2-3. Shouldn't Page have graduated like a couple years ago, he has been playing in the Big 12 for forever it seems like.
2-3
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