The Big 12 Tournament starts Tuesday afternoon from Kansas City, with Cincinnati vs Oklahoma State in the first game and the Bearcats on the wrong side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. If they lose, they will not be in the Dance and probably need at least one more victory on Wednesday to have a real shot. UC is a 6.5-point favorite on the NCAAB lines.

ESPN Bracketology currently lists Cincinnati (17-14, 7-13 Big 12) among its “Next Four Out” for the Big Dance along with Nebraska, Wake Forest and Dayton.

Currently, the Big 12 is projected to get eight schools in the NCAA Tournament, but Cincinnati loses out to West Virginia for the last one. That’s because UC was swept head-to-head by WVU. The Bearcats are at 15% in the ESPN Analytics forecast, still carrying only three wins in 13 chances against BPI top-50 teams, though they have 10 wins against the top 100.

Cincinnati might at least get an NIT bid if it doesn’t get into the Dance. Oklahoma State (15-16, 7-13) will see its season end when it loses next in a disappointing season under first-year coach Steve Lutz.

In a bit of an unusual situation, this will be the second straight games between the teams. Cincinnati lost its third straight game Saturday, 78-67 in Stillwater. Abou Ousmane scored 11 of his game-high 24 points during a 20-4 run that gave OSU a 40-22 lead with 4:00 to play in the opening half. The Cowboys made eight consecutive shots to begin that stretch. Cincinnati pulled to within 66-65 at the 4:31 mark of the second half, but the Cowboys answered with 12 straight points on 8-on-8 free throw shooting to secure the win.

How to Bet Cincinnati vs Oklahoma State Odds & TV Info

NCAAB Lines: Oklahoma State +222 / Cincinnati -286
When: Tuesday, 12:30 PM ET
Where: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City
TV: None national
Stream: ESPN+

Cowboys Try For Rare Winning Streak

Off that 78-67 win over Cincinnati on Saturday, OSU looks to win back-to-back games for the first time, Dec. 18 and 22 in non-conference action. Arturo Dean finished with three steals Saturday, which brought his career total to 255. Dean finished with a league-best 47 steals in Big 12 play. It was the second-highest total in OSU history, trailing only Marcus Smart (58 in 2012-13). Dean, the NCAA’s active career steals-per-game leader (2.74), is among the keys to an OSU defense that is second in the league in steals (8.9) and takeaways (14.8).

Bryce Thompson finished the game with 16 points and a pair of three-pointers. Thompson (1,324 points) jumped two spots to No. 22 on OSU’s all-time scoring list, surpassing both Terrell Harris (1,319 from 2005-09) and Corey Williams (1,320 from 1988-92). Thompson played his final Big 12 regular-season game for OSU. He finishes among the program’s career top-10 in Big 12 points (8th, 786), field goals (t-5th, 285), field goal attempts (3rd, 682) and minutes (1,826). Thompson (153 three-point field goals) is now tied for 14th on OSU’s career triples list with Terrel Harris (2005-09).

Marchelus “Chi Chi” Avery has been an impactful weapon off the bench, averaging 11.6 points and 4.4 rebounds while knocking down a team-high 55 threes. Helped by Avery’s effort, OSU leads the Big 12 and ranks 10th nationally in both bench points (31.00) and minutes (42.2%).

OSU snapped a six-game March losing streak with its first victory since the 2023 NIT. The Cowboys have gone 5-6 since Feb. 1 on the heels of a 2-7 start to conference play.

Bearcats Can’t Afford 4th Straight Loss

UC turned an 18-point deficit into a one-point game with 4:06 left on Saturday, but Oklahoma State finished on a 12-2 run to win by double digits. Jizzle James scored 17 points, reserve Dan Skillings Jr. 15 and Day Day Thomas 12 for Cincinnati. James has scored in double-figures for 10-straight games. He and Thomas have been the team’s top two scorers in five of the last seven contests. His 2.09 assist-turnover ratio is fifth in the league.

Skillings did not have a rebound for only the fourth time in his 95 career games, though he still managed to have a highly versatile performance. His 15 points were his most since Jan. 7, the end of a three-game streak of 18 points to open league play, and he added a season-high four assists with two steals and a block. Thomas scored in double-figures only twice until assuming the starting job for good on Feb. 2. He is shooting a team-high 37.8 percent from deep, up from 28.0 last year.

Aziz Bandaogo had eight points and eight boards, with three blocks Saturday. He averaged 5.3 rpg in non-conference, but was 6.7 over the league slate. He has seven games of three or more blocks this year, ranking fifth in the Big 12 with 1.5 per game. UC was uncharacteristic with 13 turnovers Saturday, falling to still only 30th nationally with 10.0 per game.

UC is 4-3 in conference tournaments under Coach Wes Miller, and he led UNC Greensboro to a three-game sweep and title in the 2020-21 season, his last there.

Cincinnati vs. Oklahoma State Game Trends

• The total has gone OVER in 7 of Cincinnati’s last 10 games.
• The Cowboys are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games.
• Cincinnati is 1-4 SU in their last 5 games played in March.
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Cincinnati’s last 7 games played on a Tuesday.
• Cincinnati is 1-6 SU in their last 7 games played on a Tuesday when playing on the road.
• Oklahoma State is 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games.
• The Cowboys are 7-13 SU in their last 20 games.
• Oklahoma State is 2-15 SU in their last 17 games played on a Tuesday.
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oklahoma State’s last 5 games played on a Tuesday when at home.

Cincinnati vs. Oklahoma State, NCAAB Expert Prediction

This is the first game of the first year of the Big 12’s expanded, 16-team format, which offers first-round byes to the top-eight seeds and double-byes to the top-four. OSU and the seven other schools on the No. 9-16 lines must win five times in five days in order to claim the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The OSU-Cincinnati winner battles No. 5 seed Iowa State in Wednesday’s second round.

For the second-straight year, Cincinnati’s opening-round matchup of the Big 12 Tournament is a rematch of its regular-season finale. Last year’s contest featured a 20-4 run over 4:21 to eventually win, 90-85 over West Virginia. Simas Lukosius’ 31 and Day Day Thomas’ 29 points were both career-highs. UC defeated the Mountaineers, 92-56, three days prior on Senior Day. The Bearcats are 3-2 in the T-Mobile Center under Wes Miller, which includes two of his six ranked wins, and both of those were by 20 points (2021-22 against No. 14 Illinois and last year in the Big 12 Tourney against No. 16 Kansas).

OSU is in search of its first Big 12 tournament crown since winning back-to-back titles under Eddie Sutton in 2004 and 2005. The latter was this event’s final appearance at Kemper Arena. OSU is 19-8 all-time in Big 12 tournament openers, including 14-4 in first and second round games (pre-quarterfinals). The Cowboys are 19-19 in Kansas City heading into what will be their 23rd appearance. That includes an 11-14 mark at the T-Mobile Center.

First-year OSU head coach Steve Lutz has never lost a conference tournament game, going 8-0 with two Southland titles (2022, 2023) and one Conference USA (2024) crown during his time at A&M-Corpus Christi and Western Kentucky. OSU leads the all-time series vs. Cincinnati, 5-2 (2-0 Big 12 era). But we like the Bearcats this time. Cincinnati 78, Oklahoma State 73.

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