Texas basketball vs. TCU: Prediction and odds college basketball
A loaded group of teams in the Big 12 Men’s Tournament semifinals, including the one-seed Kansas Jayhawks and two-seed Texas basketball, will battle it out for a spot in the finals at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO, on March 10. Texas will take on the six-seed TCU Horned Frogs while Kansas will square off against the five-seed Iowa State Cyclones in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
The first game up in the semis in Kansas City will be Kansas and Iowa State, duking it out at 6 p.m. CT.
And then, interim head coach Rodney Terry and the Longhorns will battle head coach Jamie Dixon and the Horned Frogs for the night-cap at the T-Mobile Center on March 10.
Texas comes into this matchup against TCU with a record of 24-8 (12-6 Big 12) following a convincing and hard-fought 60-47 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals on March 9. That triumph over the Pokes was Texas’ second straight win dating back to the regular season finale against No. 3 Kansas on March 4.
Meanwhile, TCU comes into the semis with a record of 21-11 (9-9 Big 12) following an impressive 80-67 win over the three-seed Kansas State Wildcats in the quarterfinals on March 9. Since the Horned Frogs got senior guard Mike Miles back in the mix, they’ve been an extremely tough out.
TCU has won three of its last four heading into this meeting against the Longhorns.
Here’s a look at the betting odds and game prediction as No. 2 Texas gets set to face No. 6 TCU in the Big 12 Men’s Tournament semifinals at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO, on March 10, with the tip-off time set for 8:30 p.m. CT.
Texas basketball vs. TCU: Betting odds for Big 12 Tournament semifinals
Texas is a 2.5-point favorite against TCU and the over/under is set at 146.5 (per FanDuel).
The moneyline favors Texas (-235) over TCU (+190).
According to Kenpom, Texas has a 64 percent chance of beating TCU. And Kenpom projects Texas to beat TCU 76-72.
Texas vs. TCU prediction
This is going to be a difficult matchup for the Longhorns. TCU is on a roll of late since getting Miles back in the mix. In games that Miles has played at least 10 minutes for the Horned Frogs this season, the team boasts a record of 18-5. When Miles is either absent or plays in fewer than 10 minutes, TCU is just 3-6 on the season.
Miles proved why he is so valuable to this TCU team in their double-digit win over Kansas State in the quarters. He tied a game-high with 22 points (along with Chuck O’Bannon) on 6-of-12 shooting from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc against Kansas State on March 9.
All in all, TCU is a team that runs through Miles and is driven by paint scoring and easy buckets in transition. The Frogs like to use their length and deep frontcourt unit to get high-percentage looks on the break or near the basket in the settled half-court offense.
TCU leads the Big 12 in points in the paint per game (39.3) and fastbreak points per game (18.4).
The key to beating TCU, though, is obviously making them play your game. A good illustration of that point is that TCU is 9-11 on the season when it scores fewer than 20 fastbreak points per game. Meanwhile, TCU is a spotless 12-0 when it scores at least 20 fastbreak points in games this season.
A similar trend is evident when you’re able to hold TCU at or below its season average in terms of points in the paint per game. When TCU is held under 40 points in the paint this season, it boasts a record of just 6-10. Yet, the Frogs boast an insane record of 15-1 when scoring at least 40 points in the paint in games this season.
Moreover, Texas will need another big outing from senior big man Dylan Disu in this game. With the possibility that senior forward Timmy Allen will miss the second game in a row due to a leg injury, Texas will need others in the frontcourt unit such as Disu, senior forward Christian Bishop, freshman forward Dillon Mitchell, etc. to step up.
Disu came up huge for the Longhorns in the March 9 win over Oklahoma State as he scored in the double figures while registering a team-high 11 rebounds.
The former Vanderbilt transfer has also performed well in two outings against TCU this season. According to Sports Reference, Disu is the only player to have multiple outings scoring in double digits while registering at least three blocks in each against TCU this season.
Next. 2 studs, 1 dud from mucky win over Oklahoma State. dark
Texas will also need a big performance from senior guard Marcus Carr. The fifth-year senior is slumping of late, having shot no better than 30 percent from the field and 22.2 percent from deep in each of the last four outings. Carr is critical to the Longhorns’ chances of being able to combat the effectiveness of Miles and the Frogs’.