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Kansas sits atop Big 12 preseason basketball poll

By Mike Marteny

Kansas sits atop the Big 12 preseason basketball poll Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports
Kansas sits atop the Big 12 preseason basketball poll Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kansas sits atop the Big 12 preseason basketball poll

The results are in for the preseason Big 12 basketball coaches poll. Every one of the ten coaches cast a ballot, and this is the result heading into the 2014-15 men’s basketball season:

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The number of points are in parenthesis.

1. Kansas(78): The Jayhawks have dominated the conference since it’s inception in 1996. They have won or shared the regular season title 12 times, and won the conference tournament nine times. It doesn’t matter that they are missing Joel Embiid or Andrew Wiggins. They just reload!

2. Texas(74): The addition of Myles Turner has Texas shooting up the charts, even though he doesn’t have a defined role yet.

3. Oklahoma(67): The Sooners were the only other team to receive a first place vote. This is a solid team with Buddy Hield’s shooting and Ryan Spangler on the inside.

4. Kansas State(53): Marcus Foster made every preseason Big 12 team, and Thomas Gipson is no slouch on the inside.

5. Iowa State(51): Georges Niang is also on every preseason watch list imaginable and the Cyclones are still picked to finish fifth. That’s a testament to how strong the conference is.

6. Baylor(36): Seniors Royce O’Neale and Kenny Chery give this team an excellent chance to make the NCAA tournament this year.

6. West Virginia(36): Juwon Staten is one of the best players in the country, and the team around him is solid, yet they may only be the sixth best team in a ten team conference. You can’t really match the depth of the Big 12.

8. Oklahoma State(27): Many expect the Cowboys to take a big step back without Marcus Smart, but this is still a veteran team. They have six seniors and four juniors on the roster.

9. TCU(15): This is a very young team that should only improve. Of course, being young doesn’t matter in basketball.

10. Texas Tech(13): The Red Raiders seemed outmanned again this year in the Big 12.

This conference, on paper at least, has a shot at getting eight of the ten teams into the NCAA tournament. While history says that likely will not happen, you can bet that the Big 12 conference season in 2014-15 will be an enjoyable one!

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