The opening game in the Big 12 Conference Tournament will take place on Tuesday afternoon when the 13^th seed Oklahoma State Cowboys face the 12^th seed UCF Knights with the tournament taking place in Kansas City, Missouri at the T-Mobile Center with this matchup scheduled to start at 12:30 PM ET and will air on ESPN+.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys were one of the worst teams in the Big 12 Conference this season finishing the season tied with the West Virginia Mountaineers for the worst record in conference play at 4-14 and ending the regular season on a five-game losing streak. 

The Cowboys lost their final three games of the regular season by an average margin of 15.67 points per game including Saturday’s 71-85 loss on the road against the 20^th-ranked BYU Cougars. The Cowboys struggled offensively this season averaging 71.29 points per game which ranked 252^nd nationally and only averaged 64.67 points per game in their final three games of the regular season and were one of the worst defensive teams to end the regular season allowing an average of 80.4 points per game over their final five games. 

The Cowboys aren’t likely to win the Big 12 Conference tournament as they are 750:1 to accomplish that feat which also means they won’t be in the NCAA Tournament this season and will miss the tournament for the 3^rd consecutive season.

The UCF Knights finished the regular season with a 79-77 win on the road against the TCU Horned Frogs which ended their two-game losing streak with both losses coming at home against top 10 teams with a loss against the Iowa State Cyclones by a score of 52-60 and the Houston Cougars by a score of 59-67. 

The majority of the games this season for the Knights have been relatively tightly contested matchups with all the majority of their matchups, minus the game against Houston early on in the season, being decided by single digits. The Knights finished the regular season with a record of 16-14 and a record of 7-11 in conference play which tied the Cincinnati Bearcats for 11^th place in the Big 12 conference. UCF isn’t likely to make it to the NCAA tournament as they will need a deep run in the conference tournament if not win the tournament to receive a bid. 

The Knights were one of the best teams defensively this season in college basketball ranking 49^th nationally in points allowed per game with an average of 67 points allowed per game. The Knights defeated the Oklahoma State Cowboys in their only other matchup this season on the road by a score of 77-71 and will look to repeat that performance again on Tuesday afternoon when they square off in the 1^st round of the Big 12 tournament.

JustBet has the UCF Knights listed as 4-point favorites against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the 1^st round of the Big 12 Tournament on Tuesday afternoon. UCF and Oklahoma State have only faced each other twice in the history of both programs with the Knights getting the win in both games including a 77-71 win on the road earlier this season while covering the spread as a 2.5-point road underdog. 

Neither team is likely to make the NCAA tournament this season, however, UCF is the better team this season with the majority of their losses coming by single digits while Oklahoma State has lost their last three games by an average margin of 15.67 points per game. The Cowboys have not covered the spread in their last five games this season while the Knights have covered the spread in four of their last five games. I look for the Knights to have a relatively easy win in round 1 of the Big 12 tournament on Tuesday afternoon and I will be laying the points as well when they square off against the Cowboys.