Vegas Line at this writing: Oklahoma -6 (130)
Call it Red River on the hardwood, a solid pair of 17-8 Big 12 rivals square off tonight in a key conference showdown as Texas travels to Norman, Oklahoma to take on the Sooners at the Lloyd Noble Center. Both teams are playing well with the Longhorns winners of three straight while allowing just 47 ppg. in those wins. Oklahoma has won five of six and has the scheduling to challenge for the Big 12 regular season title if they take care of their own business and have Iowa State and Kansas stumble.
This is the rematch of a January 5th game at Austin that saw Oklahoma (+5.5, 135.5) hammer the Longhorns 70-49 in Austin. The Sooners ran out to an 33-14 half time lead and were never challenged as Texas could manage to just 18-60 (30%) shooting from the field. Oklahoma has won four of the last five in the series and are 5-1 ATS in conference home games with all five by double-digits and three of those by 17+. Texas is 2-2 as a conference road dog and their three Big 12 road wins have come against the worst teams in the league. Big 12 home favorites of six or more points are 17-10-2.
Texas: Despite being 17-8 (6-6), the Longhorns have to be considered one of this year’s major college basketball disappointments. Rick Barnes crew returned all five starters from last year’s 24-11 crew and many publications had this team marked as Top 15. That hasn’t happened and with a brutal final six game schedule, the Horns will be hands and knees to get a ticket to the dance. Isiah Taylor quarterbacks the Longhorns and leads for players scoring in double-digits with 13.3 per. Texas has a good front court with senior PF Jonathon Holmes (11.3/6.3) and the fast developing freshman C Myles Turner who averages 11.3/6.5 in just 22 minutes of action.
Oklahoma: Lon Kruger has done his usual great job at the helm of the Sooners and has the team poised for a probable top four seed when everyone gets down to business in March. Oklahoma has arguable one of the best and complete starting fives in college basketball but doesn’t have much coming off the bench. It remains to be seen if this tight eight man rotation will flame after a tough non-conference slate and then going through the rigors of the toughest conference in men’s basketball where you never get a night off. The Sooners have a talented pair of junior guards in Buddy Hield (17.5, 5.3, 2.0) and Isaiah Cousins (11.9, 5.0, 2.0). TaShawn Thomas (11.0, 6.2) and Ryan Spangler (10.7, 8.0) are a veteran from court that does the work on the glass and defends the rim.
Allen’s Angles
The Longhorns are 6-2 ATS in this year’s true road games
Texas is 9-15 ATS in L24 off a conference win, 2-3 this year
Texas is 8-3 ATS this year after allowing 60 or less points
The Under is 15-8 after Texas allows 60 points or less, 7-2 this year
Oklahoma is 25-11 ATS in its L36 home games, 8-2 this year
The Sooners are 7-1 in their L8 as a home fave of 3-6 points
The Sooners are 18-9 Over in their L27 home games, 5-3 this year
The Under is 6-3 this in games after Oklahoma scores 60 or less points