Kings of the Hill 

The Big 12 tournament will be held at the Sprint Center starting on Wednesday March 11th and ending Saturday March 14th. The team sitting in the number one spot will be Kansas after their win against Baylor. Coming into the match, Baylor was 24-1 and favored to win. Baylor had previously beaten Kansas 67-55 earlier in the season in Lawrence. Kansas was coming into the game with a record of 23-3. The game ended with Kansas beating the former top team in the conference and nation 64-61 putting them as the top seed for the Big 12 tournament. What this means for the conference is that they have two very dominant teams.

On the Fence 

These teams may not be top of their conference but may still have a shot at playing in the NCAA Tournament. The Big 12 Tournament will help decide if they get the golden ticket to get in. The third seed team in the conference behind Baylor is Texas Tech. They currently have a record of 18-10. They are ranked 22nd nationally but just suffered a hard loss to Oklahoma 65-51. 

Not far behind Texas Tech is West Virginia with a record of 19-9. They are tied for 4th in the Big 12 conference with Texas and Oklahoma but they are 20th nationally  placing them above Texas Tech in the top 25 rankings. They recently suffered a hard loss as well to Texas 67-57. They have a good chance of making it into the NCAA tournament but you never know what could happen at the Big 12 tournament. Texas is currently tied with West Virginia with a record of 17-11 and their win against West Virginia has helped in their quest to make the NCAA tournament. Oklahoma is also tied for 4th with a record of 17-11. Their big win against Texas Tech was a big step in securing a bid to the NCAA tournament. The results of the Big 12 Tournament will determine the fate of these border teams and send some to the bench and some back on the court. 

Missing out 

There is also a part of the Big 12 that will get to compete in the Big 12 tournament but will miss out on the NCAA tournament if they don’t capture the Big 12 championship. TCU will not make it this year with a record of 15-13. Also joining TCU on the bench will be Iowa State with a record of 12-16. Taking the next seat on the bench will be Oklahoma State with a record of 14-14. At the far end of the bench in the conference basement is Kansas State with a record of 9-19. Kansas State had a good run in 2017-2018 making it all the way to the Elite Eight  and winning the Big 12 title last year but this season has been a disappointment. 

The Big 12 Tournament will be a gateway for the selected teams to play in the NCAA tournament. The selections will be held on March 15th with the madness beginning on March 17th. That means its bracket time! Get your pencils sharpened.