How many Big 12 teams made the NCAA Tournament this year?

The NCAA Tournament has been a place where the Big 12 can put its reputation as the best basketball conference in America to the test. While the SEC is in the midst of a historic season, the Big 12 has become a basketball powerhouse that requires a ton of willpower to navigate league play to reach March Madness.

The Big 12 welcomed four former Pac-12 members to their ranks this season to remain at 16 members even after Oklahoma and Texas left for the SEC. While the league had a down year by its lofty standards, the Big 12 will still be well-represented at the NCAA Tournament.

Big 12 NCAA Tournament breakdown

The Big 12 ended up sending seven teams to the field, with a notable snub as West Virginia got bypassed in favor of North Carolina in arguably the most controversial bubble decision of the year. Other than the Mountaineers getting hosed, there was no real bubble drama from the conference as Cincinnati couldn't make enough statements against top competition while late pushes from TCU and Kansas State to make things interesting fizzled out.

While there are some top contenders in Houston and Texas Tech, the biggest surprise here is that Kansas checks in with their first seed below the 4-line since 1999. The Jayhawks have been on the court for 34 straight NCAA Tournaments (their active streak is technically just five due to having a 2018 Final Four run be vacated), but expectations here are as low as they've ever been under Bill Self.

The Cougars landed a 1-seed in the Midwest and have a perfectly reasonable road to the Final Four with Tennessee as its 2-seed, Kentucky as its 3-seed and Purdue as its 4-seed. All of those teams have exploitable flaws, but having to potentially deal with Gonzaga or Georgia in the Round of 32 is not ideal.

Texas Tech and Iowa State landed on the 3-line, which should set them up for Sweet 16 runs, but the potential for upset-minded 11s (First Four participants North Carolina or San Diego State for Iowa State, Drake for Texas Tech) in the Round of 32 is scary. The strong 2-seeds in those regions (Michigan State for Iowa State and St. John's for Texas Tech) are bad matchups since they are both deep, rugged squads that can defend as well as anyone in the country.

Arizona's trip to the Big 12 title game was rewarded with a 4-seed and an Akron team that won 28 games during the regular season out of the MAC. Getting to the Sweet 16 would earn the Wildcats a rematch with Duke, who beat them back in November during the first week of the regular season.

BYU feels a bit low as a 6-seed but it is important to remember that the school's religious exemption prevents them from being scheduled in a pod that plays games on Sundays, which may have altered their seed line. Drawing VCU as their 11-seed is a tough contest that will be one of the highlights of the opening round, but if they survive it the Cougars have an excellent shot to upset Wisconsin and reach the second weekend.

Kansas' early work was enough to land the Jayhawks on the 7-line despite a rough Big 12 season, and their reward is a path full of Hall of Fame coaches to combat Bill Self. Arkansas and John Calipari are the Jayhawks' first matchup before a potential showdown with Rick Pitino and St. John's in the Round of 32.

The lowest-seeded Big 12 team is Baylor, which began the year in the Top 10 of the AP poll but finished unranked. While Mississippi State is battle-tested from its SEC competition, the Bulldogs are definitely beatable, which could earn the Bears a date with Duke in the Round of 32.

Big 12 players to watch in March Madness

While Houston's J'Wan Roberts and LJ Cryer helped power the Cougars to a dominant regular season finish, the league's Player of the Year honors actually went to Texas Tech's JT Toppin. The New Mexico transfer was a dominant force for the Red Raiders, averaging 18.4 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game to power Texas Tech to the second best record in the conference.

Arizona and Kansas also bolster names familiar to March Madness fans. Wildcats' guard Caleb Love was a key figure in North Carolina's run to the National Championship Game in 2023 while Jayhawks' big man Hunter Dickinson has been an imposing force in the paint for two years after transferring in from Michigan.

While the big names may not be as big nationally as Johni Broome or Cooper Flagg, the Big 12 tends to produce a lot of very good players that are part of dangerously deep teams. Whether it is Baylor's Norchad Omier, BYU's Richie Saunders, or Iowa State's Curtis Jones, the Big 12 will have someone deliver a star performance on the March Madness stage.

How has the Big 12 done in the NCAA Tournament recently?

The Big 12's rugged regular season has done well to prepare its teams for the NCAA Tournament. Kansas captured the conference's most recent national championship in 2022 and they have made the Final Four two other times since 2010, although the 2018 trip was vacated.

Baylor also has been a March Madness regular and took home their first national title in 2021 during the bubble edition of the tournament in Indianapolis. Oklahoma (in 2017) and Texas Tech (in 2019) also made Final Four runs as Big 12 members, which doesn't count the deep March Madness runs of Houston in 2021 (when they were in the American) and West Virginia in 2010 (as a Big East member).

Can a Big 12 team win the national championship?

The Big 12's best shot at a champion lies with Houston, which snagged a 1-seed and has been dominant since the start of conference play. The one area of concern for Houston is that the Cougars' best win outside of the Big 12 came against Butler, which is not ideal for a team looking to win it all.

Texas Tech is playing very well and BYU is red-hot, raising potential for a second-weekend run out of both schools. Iowa State looked like a potential Final Four entrant earlier in the season but have been slumping down the stretch, while Kansas and Baylor both went from the preseason Top 10 to unranked, a sign of tremendous talent that hasn't performed at a consistent level s