Pre-Conference Tournament Big 12 Round up
We have arrived at the end of the regular season with Houston taking away the regular season title in their first year in the league. With Kansas slightly down and the majority of the league cannibalizing itself throughout the last two and a half months, we got to witness one of the most brutal regular seasons in the history of college basketball. Sure, the Big XII is used to every game being a grind, but with BYU playing well for long stretches, Houston dominating, Cincinnati being a tough out, and UCF shocking some major teams on their home court, the conference went to new levels this season. Next season should be more of the same, but before that, we are going to look back at the last three games and see what lies ahead for each of these teams going forward. As usual, we’ll go in alphabetical order while leaving Kansas out.
Baylor: 22-9 overall, 11-7 in conference
Baylor is the three seed in the conference tourney thanks to recent wins against Kansas and Texas. The loss on the road to Texas Tech did nothing to their seeding for this tournament, but could have implications later, especially if they underperform in KC. They play the late game on Thursday against the winner of Kansas and the Cincinnati/West Virginia game.
BYU: 22-9 overall, 10-8 in conference
The Cougars had a very respectable first season in the conference and are rewarded with the five seed based on the tiebreaker with Kansas. BYU will get the winner of the Oklahoma State/UCF game early on Wednesday. If they win, Texas Tech is waiting for them. This team could make a run to the semi-final or beyond. Out of all the teams that have to play on Wednesday, BYU is the best equipped to win four in four days.
Cincinnati: 18-13 overall, 7-11 in conference
Cincinnati finished the regular season by pummeling an already dead West Virginia team by over 30. If, and this a big if, Cincy can go into Kansas City and beat West Virginia and then Kansas, they have a dark horse chance of going to the NCAA tournament. I’m not saying that’s going to happen, but there will certainly be worse teams than the Bearcats going dancing in a week.
Houston: 28-3 overall, 15-3 in conference
Houston continues to roll and is the number one seed in the Big XII tourney and a likely number one seed in the NCAA Tournament barring some very strange things happening. As the one seed, Houston gets the winner of Oklahoma and TCU.
Iowa State: 24-7 overall, 13-5 in conference
The Iowa State Cyclones have gone two and one in March so far, beating UCF and BYU before inexplicably losing to K-State in Manhattan. Regardless, ISU are the two seed in the conference tournament and play on Thursday.
Kansas State: 18-13 overall, 8-10 in conference
K-State ended the regular season on a high note, beating Iowa State in Manhattan. They started the month by losing in Cincinnati and in Lawrence. Now, KSU needs a deep run in the conference tournament to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. They have to play Texas first and if they win, will get a rematch against Iowa State. Win that and who knows.
Oklahoma: 20-11 overall, 8-10 in conference
Oklahoma limps to the finish line of the regular season, losing two of three so far in March, and really need a nice Big XII Tournament to feel good about their chances on Selection Sunday. They play a tough TCU team on Wednesday, a team they lost to earlier this season.
Oklahoma State: 12-19 overall, 4-14 in conference
Sneaking into the 13th spot means that the Cowboys avoid Cincinnati in their Tuesday game, but it does mean that they play UCF, a team that they lost to earlier in the season.
TCU: 20-11 overall, 9-9 in conference
Recent losses to BYU and UCF probably haven’t hurt TCU’s chances at an at-large bid, but they’ll want to get at least one win in KC to assure their status as a tournament team. As they number 8 seed, they get to play Oklahoma on Wednesday at 2:30PM.
Texas: 20-11 overall, 9-9 in conference
The Texas Longhorns scraped back to .500 in the conference after beating Oklahoma State and Oklahoma to start the month. A loss to Baylor is respectable and they should be in the tournament regardless. As the seven seed, Texas gets KSU on Wednesday at 6PM.
Texas Tech: 22-9 overall, 11-7 in conference
Texas Tech is on a bit of a roll (aided by an easy schedule to start March that featured Oklahoma State and West Virginia) and the win against Baylor on Saturday secured the fourth seed in the conference tournament. Tech will play the early game on Thursday against either BYU, UCF, or Oklahoma State.
UCF: 16-14 overall, 7-11 in conference
A win in the first game of their first Big XII tournament is likely as the Knights face off against Oklahoma State on Tuesday in Kansas City. After a win against TCU, UCF are confident. They’ll need that confidence in a potential second round matchup with BYU.
West Virginia: 9-22 overall, 4-14 in conference
West Virginia is the last seed in the Big XII tournament after losing all their games in march so far. They get a rematch with Cincinnati in Kansas City, a team they just lost to by 36. If there was one team that was less motivated to try on Saturday than Kansas, it was the Mountaineers.
Follow Us: Twitter | Instagram | Discord | The Rock Chalk Podcast
