Stop me if you’ve ever heard this one before, but the Kansas Jayhawks enter the Big 12 Conference Tournament after having won at least a share of the conference title.
For the 10th consecutive season Bill Self’s team enters the postseason tournament after being the top team during the regular season, but unlike in year’s past, the Jayhawks face a lot of uncertainty with freshman center Joel Embiid out for the tournament and perhaps longer with a back injury that cost him the final two regular season games.
With a healthy Embiid, it would have been easy to pencil Kansas in the championship game again, but without him it opens the door for a number of teams in what is perhaps the deepest conference in college basketball.
The Oklahoma Sooners finished second in the conference followed by the Iowa State Cyclones and Texas Longhorns, but two teams who could be legit contenders are the Baylor Bears and Oklahoma State Cowboys who finished sixth and eighth in the standings, respectively, but they are playing their best ball now.
Baylor has won seven of eight to close the regular season while Oklahoma State has won four of five since Marcus Smart returned from his suspension for an altercation with a fan.
If you’re looking for another dark horse, look no further than the West Virginia Mountaineers who are coming off a big win over Kansas and claim wins against OU, ISU, Baylor and the Kansas State Wildcats.
Here’s all the information you need for the Big 12 conference tournament:
Dates:
Mar. 12-15
Where: Kansas City
Arena: Sprint Center
TV Info: First round on ESPN3, Quarterfinals on ESPN2 or ESPN3, Semifinals on ESPNU or ESPN3. Championship game on ESPN (March 15, 8 p.m. ET).
Live Stream: WatchESPN app
2014 Regular Season Champion: Kansas Jayhawks
2013 Conference Tournament Champion: Kansas defeated Kansas State
Sound off in the comments section with your pick to make it through the weekend and cut the nets down.