Big 12 Tournament Kicks off Wednesday in Kansas City
by Andy Edwards on Mar 9, 2010 11:15 AM CST
in Kansas Jayhawk Basketball
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The greatest sporting month of the year is about to get into full swing this week, as the Big 12 tournament (and every other major conference) kicks off its men's and women's basketball tournaments. It has returned to its rightful home this year (I'm a bit biased, obviously) in Kansas City, Mo. at Sprint Center. As was the case last year, the tournament has been moved up a day and now runs Wednesday through Saturday.
It was a wild last weekend to the regular season with teams rising and falling as far as seeding for the tournament goes. Missouri could have ended up as high as the number three with a win over Kansas on Saturday, or as low as five with a loss and a Baylor victory. Obviously, it was the latter that played out in reality.
Seeding
1. Kansas 2. Kansas State 3. Baylor 4. Texas A&M 5. Missouri 6. Texas 7. Oklahoma State 8. Colorado 9. Texas Tech 10. Oklahoma 11. Iowa State 12. Nebraska
The top four teams have a first round bye. First round matchups will be as follows: 8/9, 7/10, 6/11, 5/12.
A quick rundown of each first round game and some potential matchups after the jump...
First Round Matchups
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No. 8 Colorado vs. No. 9 Texas Tech 11:30 a.m. CST - Big 12 Network Season Series - Colorado, 1-0. In Boulder, 101-90. |
No. 5 Missouri vs. No. 12 Nebraska 2:00 p.m. CST - Big 12 Network Season Series - Missouri, 2-0. In Columbia, 70-53. In Lincoln, 74-59. |
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No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 Oklahoma 6:00 p.m. CST - Big 12 Network Season Series - Tied, 1-1. In Norman, 62-57 in OT, Oklahoma. In Stillwater, 87-76, Oklahoma St. |
No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Iowa State 8:30 p.m. CST - Big 12 Network Season Series - Texas, 1-0. In Ames, 90-83 |
Potential Playouts
Second Round
Oklahoma State vs. Kansas State - 6:00 p.m. CST Thursday - Big 12 Network - A potentially great rematch. If you remember, the Cowboys went into the Octagon of Doom just days after Kansas State's upset of then-number one Texas and shocked the Wildcats, 73-69.
Missouri vs. Texas A&M - 2:00 p.m. CST Thursday - Big 12 Network - The Aggies ended Missouri's 32-game homecourt winning streak in early February. Something tells me that the Tigers would like a shot at revenge for that. Not that Kansas wouldn't have ended it a month later, but the point stands. Also, a chance at Kansas in the semifinals? Missouri would be ready to go for that one.
Texas vs. Baylor - 8:30 p.m. CST Thursday - ESPN2 - Baylor got the best of the Longhorns twice this year - 80-77 in OT in Austin and 92-77 in Waco. In a year where Texas really struggled in conference play, Baylor established themselves as the top team in the state of Texas. Could the Longhorns get revenge in a third matchup? Anything can happen, but on no days rest against four days rest, good luck, Texas.
Semifinals
Kansas vs. Texas A&M/Missouri - 6:00 p.m. CST Friday - Big 12 Network - A rematch with Missouri would rock the core of Kansas City. There would be cars on fire and children crying in the streets. The rematch with A&M would likely be the better game, though. The Aggies took the Jayhawks all the way to the end of the game in a battle in College Station, losing 59-54, while Kansas throttled the Tigers twice this year.
Kansas State vs. Baylor - 8:30 CST Friday - Big 12 Network - The Wildcats recovered well from the shocker at home against Oklahoma State when they got a huge road victory over the Bears in late January. That was one of the first big road victories during the "the home team rules in the Big 12" days. A real contrast of styles, as Kansas State prefers to be physical and rough you up, while Baylor would rather run on you and shoot threes.
Finals
Kansas vs. Kansas State/Baylor/Texas - 5:00 p.m. CST Saturday - ESPN - While putting personal bias aside, it looks to be Kansas vs. the field this year. They are the superior team to the tune of a four game gap in the regular season standings over second place. Kansas State played them tough in Manhattan, but this would be a pro-Kansas crowd. Texas has to be put in the discussion simply for the fact of the amount of talent they have. If they put it together, they are dangerous and could win the whole thing. Of the three teams, Baylor would be the toughest matchup, personally. The way they shot and the way they played in Allen Fieldhouse say a lot about their team.
Quick Predictions
First round - Texas Tech, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas
Second round - Kansas, Missouri, Kansas State, Baylor
Semifinals - Kansas, Baylor
Finals - Kansas (what did you expect?)
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welcome to the site Isaiah
53 Conference Championships!! and now 6 IN A ROW!!! Holy Hell...Good Luck with That!!
Working on a Big 12 scouting report now...
should have it done tonight/early tomorrow.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
hypothetically
Assuming that KU is upset, would you rather have K-State win the tournament to see if they can sneak in to the fourth #1 seed? Or would you rather have a team like Baylor get the tournament championship, moving them up to a #3 seed?
I’d say K-State, but it’s an interesting question.
I'd take K-State...
I don’t think they can still get a one seed though…that ISU loss killed that dream.
53 Conference Championships!! and now 6 IN A ROW!!! Holy Hell...Good Luck with That!!
I've seen them as low as the last #2 right now.
Glad I came, just wish I hadn't stayed so long.
People ask me what I do in winter when there’s no baseball. I’ll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring.
If KU gets knocked out, I'd hate to settle buttttt
For me it’s a toss up between K-state and OSU…K-state is a rival, but atleast it makes the state of Kansas look good as a whole lol….OSU otherwise, because Anderson is playing like a man possessed
I'd rather see OSU get it
It could really bump up their seeding in the tourney cuz it would mean they’ve collected at least two real quality wins in the Big12 tournament. I think at this point KSU can’t get higher (or lower) than a two, but OSU has the most to gain out of anyone.
Of course it would be freaking epic if a non tourny team made a run like Baylor did last year to the final to try and give the Big12 an 8th team in. I don’t see it happening but you never know. Maybe OU gets on a roll (shown flashes of decency this year). Maybe Brackins and Gillstrap just go off and Iowa State makes a little run. Maybe Colorado puts it all together (would have to beat us). That’d be aces if a low team made a run.
I would love to see KU and K-State get a #1 seed.
KU is set with one, but unforunately the only way for K-State to get a #1 seed is to probably win the Big 12 Championship Game. So K-State can live with a #2, or #3 seed.
by ChiefsFan90s on Mar 9, 2010 11:52 PM CST up reply actions
This year’s tournament is interesting because there aren’t really any Big 12 teams on the bubble right now. It seems like the top 7 are pretty solidly in, and are really only looking to possibly improve their seeding.
I still feel like if Texas can somehow get itself together and run through this tournament, they could help themselves the most. Right now Lunardi has them as a 7, but I could see them possibly getting up to a 6 or even a 5 with a tournament title. Baylor and aTm both could possibly get themselves into a situation where they would play their first two games much closer to home with strong performances, as well.
"Here are our top priorities: recruit, beat Missouri, recruit, win the North, recruit, win the Big 12, and in most cases if you win the Big 12 then you're playing for a National Championship. And then we're going to recruit."
by KennyGregoryRockThaCradle on Mar 9, 2010 12:29 PM CST reply actions
Thats the crazy thing about this tournament.
The Big12 has so many quality teams that whoever wins it (if it isn’t us) is going to collect two to three really impressive wins. Right before Selection Sunday too. No drama for teams making the dance, but a team could massivly improve its seed the way the league is. Especially if someone knocked off us on the way to a title.
CBS Big 12 Preiveiw
Saw this link on a OU board and though it was funny. http://tournament-blogger.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/20091884/20381556
Names to Know
Sharon Collins – Collins is a delightful elderly lady who will be lingering in the bar of your hotel, sipping a 7-on-7 and working her way through three packs of Marlboro Reds. Often confused with Kansas point guard Sherron Collins, Sharon has developed some witty pick-up lines involving "ball handling" and "going to the rack". Stay away.
Kim English – Not to be confused with Gary Parrish’s Missouri man crush, natives of Kansas City know Kim English for exactly what it is – an institution of learning. Sue Ann Kim established Kim English in 2001 after relocating from Beijing and has now helped over 75 Chinese transplants gain American citizenship and master their new language.. 好！
Tiny Gallon – In basketball circles, Tiny Gallon is the freshman center for the Oklahoma Sooners. In Kansas City, though, tiny gallon has two completely different meanings. It’s most commonly (and most boringly) used a reference to anything smaller than 128 ounces. For example, you might tell the gas station attendant that their soda machine is out and he will reply, "Dammit son, just grab one of them tiny gallons in the cooler". The less frequently used version in Kansas City is used as part of a phrase such as "Dang, did you see that tiny gallon the red dress? She must not be from ‘round here". This variation often does not appear in Kansas City vernacular at all, making appearances only when a large amount of visitors come to town. Because women in Kansas City are fat.
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