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2022 Big 12 College Basketball Betting Preview: Can Kansas Repeat as National Champions?

By Reed Wallach

Apr 4, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self and the bench reacts after a
Apr 4, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self and the bench reacts after a / Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
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The Big 12 is as competitive as any conference in college basketball as the past two National Champions hail from this conference in Baylor and last year's champs, Kansas.

Can the Jayhawks repeat despite losing the likes of Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack and Christian Braun? Or will an ultra talented Baylor team regain it's top atop the country with a reloaded roster around the likes of Adam Flagler and LJ Cryer?

Let's preview the Big 12, who should have another impressive year with several NCAA Tournament clubs:

2022-2023 Big 12 Preseason Poll

  • Baylor, 122 (8)
  • Kansas, 121 (5)
  • Texas, 98
  • TCU, 96
  • Texas Tech, 80
  • Oklahoma State, 64
  • Oklahoma, 46
  • Iowa State, 36
  • West Virginia, 33
  • Kansas State, 19

First place in parenthesis

The Jayhawks are the defending champs, but not the favorites to win the Big 12 this season as Baylor reloaded for another run at the title.

KU will be formidable this season though with the likes of Jalen Wilson returning for coach Bill Self. This is a top 10 unit, which is saying something given the aforementioned talent that left the roster. The main reason is due to Self nabbing Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar, the ultra versatile wing that will surely make this a strong defense.

However, the relative unproven nature of Self's group knocks this team from being a preseason favorite given the talent in Waco this year.

Big 12 KenPom College Basketball Ranking

  • Baylor: 6
  • Iowa State: 62
  • Kansas: 8
  • Kansas State: 77
  • Oklahoma: 28
  • Oklahoma State: 30
  • TCU: 16
  • Texas: 2
  • Texas Tech: 17
  • West Virginia: 73

Big 12 Favorite: Baylor (+1500)

This team is arguably the best bet on the board heading into the season. The team is loaded at all positions and has the depth to withstand injuries.

We'll start in the backcourt where the team returns two key contributors that averaged double digits last season in senior Adam Flager and sophomore LJ Cryer. Both are lights out shooters at over 38% from beyond the arc and will be backed up by transfer Dale Bonner and freshman Langston Love.

At wing, the team has a five star recruit in Keyontae George who will likely have NBA Draft buzz all season as the team's premiere bucket getter. He's a willing passer and has great length to check guards and forwards in Baylor's no-middle defensive scheme.

Baylor is consistently nasty down low, shutting off the rim and crashing the glass well and the return of Flo Thamba and Jonathan Tchamwa-Tchachoua should only bolster that.

This number has been dropping all summer and likely will drop throughout the winter too.

Big 12 Dark Horse: TCU (+4800)

TCU is fresh off their best season under Jamie Dixon, taking No. 1 seed Arizona to overtime in the second round o fthe NCAA Tournament. Mike Miles Jr. averaged 15 points per game last season and returns alongside a trio of starting seniors in Damion Baugh, Chuck O'Bannon Jr and Eddie Lampkin.

Last season this was a top 20 unit on defense, as physical as they come, and with a ton of key contributors back I expect that to hold up. However, can the offense take a step forward?

The team was bottom 30 in the country in turnover rate and shot 30% from beyond the arc (321st), which won't cut it if the team plans on playing into the second weekend of the Tournament. The team will hope that Shahada Wells or Rondel Walker can give a three-point boost off the bench.

There's a high ceiling here because of the team's defense and returning production, but the next step will come on offense to see if this team can really compete in the Big 12.

Big 12 Team to Fade: Texas (+2500)

Maybe I'll look dumb saying to fade a team that is ranked inside the top 10 in essentially all advanced metric sites, including No. 2 per KenPom, but I need to see it with Chris Beard in Austin before I crown this team anything.

Beard crushed the transfer portal again, landing two stud guards in Tyrese Hunter (Iowa State) and Sir'Jabari Rice (New Mexico State). Adding Hunter will hopefully alleviate some of the ball handling concerns for Texas, who return the likes of Marcus Carr and Timmy Allen who are known bucket getters provide some scoring punch.

The defense should remain elite as always under Beard, but it was a clunky fit last season in Austin after beard essentially brought in a whole new roster full of high profile transfers. Can another year together get this team to gel? Dylan Disu is finally healthy and will form a formidable frontcourt duo with Christian Bishop.

The Longhorns are always going to be a tough out, but I'm not as high on them heading into the season as some prognosticators are. I see a significant gap between the likes of Baylor and Kansas than this team, but the market doesn't see it that way, making them an early season fade for me until there's an adjustment.


Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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