Texas vs. Oklahoma State March 2 Free Pick
Texas travels North to Stillwater where they will meet the Oklahoma State Cowboys for the second-to-last weekend of Big 12 regular season match ups. Oklahoma State looks to remain in contention for the Big-12 regular season title, where they sit just one game back of Kansas and Kansas State. Meanwhile, Texas tries to build some momentum ahead of the conference tournament. The Cowboys have been listed as definitive 12.5 point favorites.
Free Pick
Texas pulled a win out of nowhere earlier this week against the Oklahoma Sooners. Aided by a Myck Kabongo prayer
at the buzzer to send the
game into overtime, the Longhorns have their sights on a two-game winning streak for the first time since
mid-December. Kabongo’s return completely changes the dynamic of Texas, as their secondary scorers are now
much more comfortable in a side-kick role. After struggling in his first game, Kabongo has gotten stronger in
each of his last two, including a 31-point effort against OU. Texas has the athletes to keep up with Oklahoma
State, the only question is whether they can stick with the Cowboys for a full 40 minutes on the road in
Gallagher-Iba Arena. Demarcus Holland will try and slow down fellow Freshman Marcus Smart, who is making a push
for Player of the Year consideration. Smart torched the Longhorns for 23 in College Station when these two teams
met February 9th.
Oklahoma State features about as good of a perimeter trio as any team in the country with the combination of Smart, LeBryan Nash and Markel Brown. The three combine to average over 44 points per game and can beat defenses with a variety of inside-out scoring moves. In the first meeting, Oklahoma State did not really have a single player on Texas to worry about going off offensively, which gave their perimeter players freedom to roam on defense and then dominate on the offensive end of the floor. Kabongo now gives Texas a weapon to at least engage the Cowboy defenders. Expect Nash to be on Kabongo early, where he has both the size and athleticism to make it hard on him to get easy buckets.
This will be an interesting spot for Texas. Not only do they have the revenge factor (they lost by 12 on their home floor less than a month ago), but they have renewed spirits after Kabongo’s return and a season-altering win over Oklahoma. This is likely Texas’ most difficult regular season game remaining but they know they have to begin treating the remainder of the season as if it is the postseason. With bouts with Iowa State and Kansas State lingering on the horizon next week, Oklahoma State may not be as concerned with Texas as they should be. Don’t necessarily expect Texas to win, but you should see their best effort in this one, which is reason enough to believe they can cover with the 12.5. Take the ‘Horns and the points.
Free Pick: Texas +12.5