Texas and Kansas top Big 12
By: Adam Markowitz
We all know that the Big East is going to send the most teams to the NCAA Tournament this year. But the Big XII is probably the next best conference for NCAA basketball betting action, and it might actually have more teams with a legitimate shot of getting to the Final Four.
Check out how the teams in this conference are doing as we count down the weeks to Selection Sunday.
Texas Longhorns (21-3 SU, 15-4 ATS)
The Longhorns are well on their way to a No. 1 seed if this keeps up. The oddsmakers are starting to throw some big numbers this way, but they are still one of the best teams against the college basketball odds this year in the entire country.
Kansas Jayhawks (23-1 SU, 12-10 ATS)
It's hard to argue with how good Kansas has been of late, and that tremendous blowout of the Tigers earlier this week was one of the biggest statements of the year, especially since it came without Josh Selby in the fold.
Baylor Bears (16-7 SU, 5-11 ATS)
Baylor has been poison to NCAA basketball wagering warriors, but that doesn't mean that it hasn't had a great season in terms of outright wins and losses. The Bears have some big games ahead, and they probably need four more wins to guarantee entry into the NCAA Tournament.
Texas A&M Aggies (18-5 SU, 8-6-1 ATS)
A&M is in a lot of trouble right now, as it is sliding in the wrong direction. The Aggies are just barely above .500 in conference play, and thanks to a bad out of conference schedule, if this slide continues they could find themselves on the bubble.
Missouri Tigers (18-6 SU, 9-10 ATS)
The Tigers have really gotten killed by the best and brightest teams in the Big XII this year, but these men are still a bunch that we don't want to mess with come tourney time.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (16-7 SU, 10-7-1 ATS)
Okie State is sitting firmly on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, and that win a bit over a week ago against Mizzou was the biggest of the year. This is a huge four game set against Nebraska, Texas, Texas A&M and Kansas coming up, and at least one, if not two of these four need to be won.
Kansas State Wildcats (16-8 SU, 6-12 ATS)
Jacob Pullen and company have won three of their last four, but only the win at home against Nebraska was really all that impressive. On Saturday, KSU takes on Colorado in a bubble battle, and a win either in that one, or against Kansas on Monday would be a real help for its tourney chances.
Oklahoma Sooners (12-11 SU, 8-9 ATS)
The Sooners came together too late this year to make a run at March Madness, but they are likely to continue to be thorns in the sides of the biggest teams in this conference for the rest of the year.
Colorado Buffaloes (15-10 SU, 9-9 ATS)
That home loss in OT to Texas A&M dropped the Buffs for the sixth time in their last seven games. They have a brutal schedule the rest of the way as well, and they really need to find four wins and probably one or two in the Big XII Tournament to get into March Madness.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-8 SU, 8-8 ATS)
It's really hard to justify putting the Huskers in the field of 68 right now with just three wins in conference play, but if they can get on the move here and snare a few big wins in a row, they have a shot to get to 20 wins, and from that point, it would be hard to keep them from dancing.
Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-13 SU, 6-13 ATS)
Mike Singletary and company really just have never gotten it going this year, as the Red Raiders have been a huge embarrassment.
Iowa State Cyclones (14-10 SU, 11-9 ATS)
The Cyclones have just one win in conference play thus far this year, and things probably aren't getting any better this weekend at Kansas.
Big XII Bubble Watch
By: Joe Nelson
The Big XII appears to feature two championship contenders with Texas and Kansas but the rest of the conference features great mediocrity with seven teams between 4-6 and 6-4 in the conference standings. Seven teams still appear to be on the bubble for the NCAA tournament but they all have work to do to make sure that spot is assured. Here is a look at those teams and the road ahead to Selection Sunday.
Baylor: After beating Nebraska on Wednesday night the Bears have moved to 6-4 for a commanding third place spot in the conference. Baylor was a popular final four pick last season, falling to Duke in the regional final and the Bears would certainly be crowd favorites if they can make it this year with the Final Four in Houston. This season has not gone so smoothly for the Bears however with three losses in non-conference play and no quality non-conference wins to speak of. In conference play Baylor has lost on the road to the only two teams out of the tournament picture falling at Iowa State and at Oklahoma. Baylor still has to play Texas twice and also has tough games at Missouri and at Oklahoma State so this is team that could fall out of the picture. Finishing above .500 in conference play will be a challenge and the Bears may need to beat Texas in one of the match-ups to give the committee a standout quality win that is sorely lacking on the resume.
Texas A&M: The Aggies have the best overall record of the teams on this list but the non-conference slate was favorable. Wins over Washington and Temple can help to hide some of the incredibly weak teams that the Aggies beat up on early in the ear and the lone loss to Boston College is forgivable. After starting out 4-1 in conference play the Aggies slipped with three consecutive losses but finding a way to win in overtime in Colorado this week was a huge boost. The schedule the next two weeks lines up favorably for the Aggies to get back in the picture however and this is a team with a great chance to finish with a winning record in the conference. A&M will have more quality wins than some of the other teams on this list and while winning on the road will be a must down the stretch the schedule sets up favorably for this team to right the ship and find a tournament spot.
Colorado: The Buffaloes have the most work to do down the stretch as this is a team that will need to move up in the standings to be considered and falling to 4-6 in conference play with an OT loss to Texas A&M at home may have been the dagger for this team. Losses to Harvard and San Francisco early in the year will not go away and while the Buffaloes have wins over several of the teams on this list they have also lost to Oklahoma and Nebraska which will not help the cause. Games against Kansas and Texas are still on the schedule but road games at Texas Tech and at Iowa State could allow Colorado to sneak back into the mix provided the Buffaloes take care of business at home. The computer ratings are going to hurt Colorado but the quality wins may tip the scales in its favor if the Buffaloes get on a great late season run to get above .500 in league play.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys started 2-5 in conference play and there are still road games at Texas and at Kansas on the schedule but this is a team that can make a run for a bid. The only truly damaging loss came at Texas Tech by one-point in overtime as the other losses have come against quality teams. Non-conference wins over Alabama, Stanford, Tulsa, Murray State, and Missouri State won't impress too much but collectively there is some depth of quality to the schedule and it will show in the computer ratings. Winning the battles in the coming weeks against the teams in this group fighting for the middle of the Big XII standings will determine the fate of the Cowboys barring an upset on the road against one of the top two teams, something that OSU may need to get if they slip up anywhere else.
Missouri: The Tigers lack a great record in conference play but this stands to be the team likely to gain the most ground before the end of the season. Missouri’s only non-conference loss came in a multi-OT game against Georgetown and wins over Illinois and Vanderbilt give the Tigers a huge edge over the rest of the competition for the final at-large spots. Missouri has lost five games in conference play already but all five games came on the road and Texas and Kansas are already included in that picture. Baylor should be favored in five of the final seven games and seeing the Tigers going 6-1 down the stretch would not take much imagination. The closing schedule sets up very well for Missouri to move up and finish as a top four team in the Big XII but they will need to win a road game at some point.
Kansas State: The Wildcats made a great run last season and were a trendy pick to have a big season but a lot has gone wrong and it will be an uphill battle to reach the tournament. None of the losses for Kansas State are overly damaging independently but they are adding up with eight on the season. There are a few decent wins on the non-conference resume but nothing that stands out so beating Kansas at home next week or taking out Texas might be a stamp that Kansas State needs to move up in the conversation among these Big XII bubble teams. Kansas State needs to at least go 5-2 in the final seven games to move into a lock position. With some star power Kansas State is a team that everyone would like to see in the field so a decent finish may be enough although reaching .500 in conference play would be the bear minimum for this team to have a shot.
Nebraska: The Cornhuskers were so close to winning at Kansas early in the conference season at that win would have completely changed the outlook for this team. As it is Nebraska is an extreme long shot to get the call on Selection Sunday but they make this list as the schedule will offer opportunities even though they currently sit at 3-6 in conference play. Three of the next four are at home including the lone meeting with Texas this season and the road games are all of the winnable variety. Nebraska probably needs to run the table to get into tournament position or at least go 6-1 and win a few conference tournament games but it has been a big step forward for the program. A few a close losses will ultimately doom this team, losing by three against Davidson early in the year, losing by one at Texas Tech, and the Kansas loss that could have made the season.
At 1-8 in conference play Iowa State is out of the picture as are Oklahoma at 12-11 overall and Texas Tech at 11-13 overall. The Sooners played a very tough non-conference schedule but picked up no quality wins and suffered a few troublesome losses but this is a team that has won four of its last six and will be a spoiler threat especially at home. Iowa State has two overtime losses and two one-point losses among the eight conference losses so this team is much better than the record indicates and could surprise at some point. Texas Tech may be the worst team in the conference as most losses have been by wide margins although the Red Raiders did beat Oklahoma State and Nebraska.