As college basketball enters March and the Big 12 conference tournament begins, here’s a look at three storylines every fan should be watching as the tournament tips in Kansas City this Wednesday, March 13.
The Kansas Jayhawks are entering this week’s tournament with a very realistic shot at being awarded a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Jayhawks are ranked fourth in the country, are 26-5 overall and 14-4 in Big 12 play. They’re entering the tournament having won at least a share of the last nine consecutive regular season conference titles, an astounding mark of unmatched consistency head coach Bill Self has engineered in Lawrence, Kan. What the majority of the basketball-watching public has yet to realize is that there’s a talented team in Manhattan, Kan. that would like nothing more than to knock the Jayhawks off their incredibly sturdy pedestal.
Kansas State University, who won a share of this year’s regular season title thanks to a Kansas loss to Baylor, lost both regular season meetings with their hated rival, adding more fuel to an already blazing fire. Both the Jayhawks and the Wildcats lost their season finales, leaving a bitter taste in their collective mouths as they travel to Kansas City looking for redemption. To get to the big dance, they’ll likely have to go through each other in the championship game on Sunday with the league’s automatic bid to the big dance and the chance to call themselves the best team in the state of Kansas. Here’s to hoping for a Sunday afternoon showdown in Kansas City.
Bubble teams looking to make a run
As with any conference tournament, the 2013 Big 12 Tournament features a handful of desperate teams looking to end the season on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble. Iowa State University and Baylor University are the two teams that would benefit the most from a deep conference tournament run, although the Cyclones are thought to be in good position after winning their last two regular season contests. Barring a first-round loss to Oklahoma – which is possible considering the Cyclones have lost seven Big 12 Tournament games in a row – Fred Hoiberg’s team should hear their name called on selection Sunday.
Baylor, however, would be wise to win at least one of their tournament games. They open the tournament with Oklahoma State, a solid but hardly spectacular team, and would advance to play Kansas State, Texas or TCU in the semifinals. A semifinal victory, likely against No. 2 seed Kansas State, would go a long way in boosting the Bears’ resume. One or two wins in the tournament, coupled with the Bears home win against Kansas to close out the regular season would give Scott Drew’s club a realistic shot at an NCAA Tournament selection.
Five teams could win the championship
The only other conferences that could boast the same amount of parity are the Big Ten and the Big East. Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State are the undisputed favorites, but Oklahoma and Iowa State could easily catch lightening in a bottle and find themselves hoisting the trophy on Sunday afternoon. The Cyclones second game with the Jayhawks came down to a questionable block/charge call in overtime that gave Kansas the win in overtime. The other four teams all beat at least two of the other teams in the regular season, which makes for very interesting rubber matches with more at stake.
Other than favorites Kansas and Kansas State, the team with the best shot at winning the tournament is Oklahoma State, who beat Kansas in Lawrence and Kansas State at home. When a team has topped its two toughest competitors, once on the road no less, it does a lot for their confidence. The Cowboys won’t be intimidated by the Jayhawks or Wildcats because they know they can beat both on any given day. If the Cowboys were able to beat the Jayhawks in “The Phog,” which some refer to as the best home court in college basketball, they won’t be intimidated by the bright lights of Kansas City or the name on the front of any opposing team’s uniform.