The Big 12 Tournament opens tonight when the TCU Horned Frogs take on the Kansas State Wildcats. The game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on ESPNu. Currently the College Basketball Betting Odds for the game have the Wildcats favored in a close matchup to advance.

Kansas State finished the regular season a single game under the .500 mark at 15-16, a pretty bad season by the Wildcats standards. There is some silver lining, however, as Bruce Weber’s team knocked off ranked Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa State in the final weeks of the season. 

But to counter that the trio of TCU, Baylor and Texas all beat Kansas State — the difference being all three of those games were on the road. The Wildcats could really rally the troops together during home games and played in front of great atmospheres. The Big 12 Tournament is being held in Kansas City and even though it’s technically in Missouri that should give the Wildcats a distinct advantage when it comes to the crowd.

TCU has some solid players but they finished the season with a 4-14 record in conference play. They’ve played better and during the last four losses to Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Iowa State they lost by a combined 41 points. While that is an average of double digits per game, the Horned Frogs were competitive in the second half in all four games. While that’s more of a silver lining than actually getting wins, it has to give the Frogs some confidence coming into this tournament. Remember, TCU started the season with a 13-0 record before getting into conference play and having their doors blown off.

Kyan Anderson averages almost 14 points a game, he has to be great for TCU. The Wildcats held him to just nine points in the Horned Frogs’ initial win a couple of weeks ago, but Chris Washburn stepped up and led with 17 points for TCU.

Both Thomas Gipson and Nino Williams had double digits for Kansas State in that game, but they lost by 14 points all the same. Marcus Foster was not good for the Wildcats in that game, either, and he has to play better for Kansas State to advance.

On a neutral floor, Kansas State is the better overall team, but this one will be close.

Free Pick: Kansas State 68, TCU 64

$25 of picks FREE! No Obligation - No Credit Card Required - Becoming a member is Fast and Free!

Get more Free Picks from the Pregame Pros HERE.

Be sure and check out Pregame.tv every week for our videos that include handicapping tips, Webinars, analysis and Free Plays.