Big 12 Tournament Preview: Separating the Pretenders from the Contenders

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will kick off Big 12 Tournament action at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri on Wednesday afternoon. And Round 3 of the Bedlam series carries more than just bragging rights, but also very real NCAA Tournament implications.

Winner advances and solidifies its standing among the Big Dance field, while loser — and more specifically, OSU — likely floats on the dreaded bubble all the way to the NIT.

Let’s sort out the pretenders and tweeners from the contenders as league tourney action nears.

Contenders

Kansas: Let’s face it, Kansas is always a tough out. And Kansas City is essentially homecourt advantage for the Jayhawks. They are guaranteed to not face a team seeded higher than 4 until the title game.

Texas Tech: Texas Tech’s been in a funk because All-America candidate Keenan Evans has been battling the injury bug. But he looked true to form in a win Saturday over TCU that snapped the Red Raiders’ four-game losing streak. This team has the goods — and the defense — to wreak havoc in postseason play.

West Virginia: If I’m being real, I don’t think WVU’s style of play is conducive to success in a tournament format. But the Mountaineers are loaded with talent and experience and have the best defensive point guard in the field in Jevon Carter.

Pretenders

Iowa State: Iowa State’s fans always show up in droves to the Sprint Center because the Cyclones always make noise in Kansas City. In fact, they’ve won the whole thing three of the last four years. But that won’t be the case this season. They are tanking worse than the Sam Hinkie-led Sixers.

Texas: Oddly enough, Texas is probably an NCAA Tournament team. But they are the team I trust the least in the Big 12 among those expected to hear their name come Selection Sunday. No Andrew Jones leaves the Horns guessing where their offense will come from each night, and relying on the unsteady play of Kerwin Roach and Jacob Young is a dangerous way to live.

Baylor: Given the right matchup, Baylor can throttle you on the offensive boards and suffocate you with its length and athleticism. But inconsistent play from Manu Lecomte and Terry Maston make the Bears a wild card I suggest you keep in your deck. They scream one-and-done to me.

Oklahoma: OU is not a good team right now. It has lost seven of nine coming into Wednesday, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see OSU win by double digits.

Tweeners

TCU: When TCU finds the right matchup, it can run away from teams with its offense, which ranks top-10 in adjusted efficiency this season. But its suspect defense might be its demise.

Oklahoma State: OSU is frustratingly up-and-down, but it has at least proven it can hang with any team in the league in any venue. I’m more confident in this team in a tournament format than I would be if they were a double-digit home favorite in regular season play.

Kansas State: K-State beats team it should and loses to teams it should, too. Not a flashy team but the Wildcats will have a favorable fan showing and motivation to improve their NCAA Tournament seeding, which makes them a bit of a wild card in Kansas City. A first-round draw of TCU is a toughie, though.