BIG 12 Tournament Preview
By Marc Lawrence
PROJECTED FINAL FOUR:
Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri and Texas
THE WAY WE SEE IT:
The NCAA committee will probably hand out invitations to seven Big 12 schools, but can any of them be trusted in this event? KANSAS does arrive with some gaudy offensive and defensive numbers but their rusty 2-11 ATS mark with 3 or more days of rest this season is cause for concern. So is their 1-5 ATS record over their last six tourney games. After last year's opening round loss to Baylor, expect the Jayhawks to be all business. HC Bill's Self's 14-3 ATS post-season log against a foe off a SU dog win ensures that. A strong showing at the Sprint Center could vault KANSAS STATE into a No. 1 seed. However, the Wildcats' one-and-out each of the last two seasons along with their 1-3 SU and ATS record as tourney chalk this decade leaves us with too many questions. Can MISSOURI make it two in a row? The defending champs ran through the field last year (3-0 SUATS) and their 6-3-1 ATS record in their last 10 as tourney dogs offers much promise. Keep an eye on the Tigers in the opening matchup as they are a solid 5-1 ATS vs. a conference opponent off a SU loss this season. TEXAS has advanced to the semis or finals in each of the last 4 years. Before the loss to Baylor last season, it was the Jayhawks who handed them the boot the previous three seasons. With injuries in their starting backcourt, the Longhorns may not get the chance to avenge any of those losses.
THE SLEEPER: Baylor
The Bears caught the conference by surprise when they lost to Missouri in the title game last season. There will be no surprises this year. Baylor has rung the register in 11 of 16 conference tourney games this decade and they were 6-0 ATS this season in games against foes off a double-digit win. The question is: can they be trusted laying points? Not according to the history books as they are 0-3 SU and ATS lifetime in this tourney as a favorite. Play accordingly.
KEY TOURNAMENT BEST BET: Play On Kansas
The Jayhawks were stunned in the opening round of this tournament last year by Baylor and have been stumbling to the finish line this season. So why all the support, you ask? Simple. Kansas is the only team in the country to rank in the Top 10 in the three key statistical categories, namely: Offensive Field Goal Percentage, Defensive Field Goal Percentage and Rebounding. An angry Jayhawk, fueled with ammo like this, can be lethal. Note: avoid the Jayhawks in the opening round if they face a losing team as they are 1-9 ATS versus sub .500 conference foes under Bill Self.
Big 12 Tournament Preview
Rocketman Sports
Kansas is the top team in the country and by far the most talented team in the Big 12. Everyone will be gunning for the Jayhawks in order to solidify an automatic bid. Kansas checks in at 29-2 overall and 15-1 in conference play. The next best team in the conference is arguably Kansas State and Kansas has already beaten them twice this year including a double digit drubbing a few weeks ago in Lawrence. Kansas State is 11-5 in conference play, tied with Baylor for the second best conference record. Baylor showed the country that they are a solid squad with great guard play by easily handling Texas last weekend. Great guard play is a key to success in post-season play and Baylor may be a team to watch in this tournament.
Texas A&M is another team with a lot of talent that could not only do some damage in their conference tournament but also in the field of 64. They lost to Kansas in a hard fought battle a few weeks ago but certainly showed that they could hang with the best team in the country. A&M too is 11-5 in Big 12 play and boasts an overall record of 22-8. Besides the team previously mentioned, the only other team that has a chance of making some noise in this tournament is Missouri who finished 10-6 in conference play. However, they have lacked consistency throughout the year and will have to play their best basketball to win this tournament and that might not even be enough as Kansas romped all over this Mizzou squad on their home court this past Saturday.
Texas and Oklahoma State both have 20+ wins but neither team can be taken as a serious contender to win the Big 12 Championship. Texas completely fell apart after being ranked number one in the country earlier in the year and finished with just a 9-7 record in Big 12 play. Oklahoma State on the other hand does have a signature win over Kansas so they may have a small chance at taking the automatic bid but they too have not been able to string together enough consistent wins to put them in the upper echelon of teams in the Big 12 Conference.
All things considered, there are a lot of talented teams in this tournament but Kansas is in a league of their own. It will most likely come down to how motivated they are to get the number 1 overall seed. If they bring their A game into this tournament, there ' s not a team that can beat them. However, if they let up there are certainly a few teams like Kansas State, Baylor, and Texas A&M that could sneak up on them and steal a win. But for now it ' s Kansas ' championship to lose.