NCAA Women’s Basketball Picks & Predictions: Big Ten and Big 12 Matchups Lead February 25 Slate

It is almost go-time for NCAA women’s basketball teams around the country. With the regular season wrapping up this weekend, conference tournaments will be getting underway soon, and the NCAA Tournament to follow. All of this makes the big games down the stretch matter just a little bit more.

There are a few such games on the women’s NCAA basketball schedule Wednesday, and I will focus on them for today's picks and predictions.

(Photo by Jaime Crawford/Getty Images)

Each of my picks for Wednesday's featured NCAA women's basketball games was made with odds found at FanDuel.

No. 8 Michigan vs. No. 13 Ohio State Odds & Prediction

Rivalry games are always fun, no matter what’s on the line. UCLA has a wrap on the Big Ten title, which takes a little importance off this contest, but it’s a rivalry game that Ohio State has dominated. Michigan will want to win this one more than any other game this season.

Michigan is a slight favorite (4.5 points) despite the game being in Columbus where Ohio State has a 14-2 record this season. Both teams are among the highest-scoring in the nation with Michigan averaging 85 points per game (No. 7) and Ohio State sitting at 82.8 points per game (No. 13).

On defense, there is more separation with the Wolverines ranked fifth in the Big Ten and Ohio State ranked 11th, but they are only 2.6 points apart. Michigan averages 62.2 points per game allowed while Ohio State is allowing 65.8 points per game.

Factor recent games into picks for Ohio State and Michigan on Wednesday

The stats align with expectation of a good game, but recent performances could impact both teams. Michigan is coming off a 62-44 loss to No. 13 Iowa. Ohio State won its last game, 88-83 vs. USC (Feb. 22), but lost the two previous games (vs. 23 Minnesota, 74-61 and vs. No. 20 Maryland, 76-75).

• My Pick: Michigan ML at -215

Michigan’s loss to Iowa State is concerning. A close game wouldn’t be a concern, but to lose by 18 while scoring so little… is it a sign of things to come or an isolated incident? The Wolverines have been the better team; I’m leaning towards picking them to win. But in this rivalry, I don’t know that we can trust them to cover a 4.5-point spread. I do, however, feel like they’ll win

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No. 20 Texas Tech vs. Kansas Odds & Prediction

These teams played on February 10, a game the Lady Raiders won 70-65. Kansas came out firing and took an early 17-11 lead after the first. But the Jayhawks took over in the second and held a 28-25 lead at the half and went on to win by five. Kansas bounced back with wins over Houston (85-68) and Kansas State (75-68).

Texas Tech, however, followed the win over the Jayhawks with a loss to Oklahoma State (75-65), bounced back with a win over No. 15 Baylor (87-56), but then lost to Colorado (75-68).

• My Pick: Texas Tech -3.5 at -114

Texas Tech and Kansas are very similar teams from an offensive perspective. Defensively, Texas Tech is certainly the better squad (58 points per game allowed compared to 66.3 for Kansas). But it is not going to be defense that wins the day for the Lady Raiders. In the first game, they failed to tap into one aspect of their game they are the best at in the Big 12 — scoring in transition.

Texas Tech ranks No. 8 in the nation and No. 1 in the conference in fast-break points but only had six in the first game. Against a lackluster Kansas defense, that number should be a lot higher and it will be this time. Kansas needs the win more to get off the Tournament bubble, but it will not get it.

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BYU vs. Arizona State Odds & Prediction

At 22-7, Arizona State is one of those teams that certainly should make the Tournament, but BYU is squarely on the bubble at 18-10 and could use a couple of wins to end the regular season to nudge the selection committee in its direction.

The Sun Devils have struggled with consistency in February, losing big against Iowa State (90-64) one day and blowing out Houston (81-56) just a few days later. As for BYU, the Cougars are 2-4 in February with wins over Iowa State (83-69) and Utah in their last game (86-74, Feb. 21).

Statistically, BYU and ASU are not too far apart. For instance, BYU averages 70.5 points a game while ASU sits at 67.8. Arizona State allows 60.3 points per game (No. 86 in the country), BYU 64.8 (No. 190). The similarities suggest to me that this should be a tight, competitive game, with a spread of 5.5 points or less (favoring ASU).

• My Pick: BYU +5.5 at -120

The Cougars beat Arizona State earlier in the season, 70-65, in a game the Sun Devils led at the half by six. But then BYU blew them out in the second half, 43-28, to win by nine. Now, I do not think BYU is the better team here, but they are good enough to keep it close (if not win outright, again) to round out our women's basketball picks.