Big 12 basketball: 5 bold predictions for 2020-2021 NCAA basketball season

Jan 11, 2020; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) drives against Baylor Bears guard Jared Butler (12) during the second half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2020; Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks guard Ochai Agbaji (30) drives against Baylor Bears guard Jared Butler (12) during the second half at Allen Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
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Big 12 basketball predictions
Texas Tech Red Raiders. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports /

Big 12 basketball predicted order of finish

  1. Baylor Bears
  2. Kansas Jayhawks
  3. Texas Tech Red Raiders
  4. Oklahoma State Cowboys
  5. West Virginia Mountaineers
  6. Texas Longhorns
  7. Oklahoma Sooners
  8. Iowa State Cyclones
  9. TCU Horned Frogs
  10. Kansas State Wildcats

Given that we have Butler winning Player of the Year and Drew winning Coach of the Year, it shouldn’t come as a shock to see that we also have Baylor winning the Big 12 this year. What is shocking is that they actually feel like a safer bet than Kansas, a program that has won 15 conference titles since the mid-2000s. The Jayhawks are still potent but the Bears are more so in that regard.

The middle of the Big 12 this season should be a lot of fun. Chris Beard has Texas Tech ready to play at a high level once again, Oklahoma State looms as a potentially dangerous and surely entertaining force, and the combo of West Virginia and Texas are highly capable of popping up as well. Oklahoma and Iowa State have questions but they too could be quality teams in the middle of the league.

Of course, the parity doesn’t spread through all 10 teams as TCU and Kansas State are going to be the proverbial doormats of the conference this season. Both teams suffered key departures from last year’s teams and even those groups weren’t that impressive. Subsequently, they’ll have a tough time winning even a handful of games when having to match up with the rest of the conference.