Big 12 Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

Key players

Although the Big-12 tournament won’t have future NBA lottery pick Tyrese Haliburton from Iowa State due to injury, the league still has loads of talent.

Kansas has two studs in Devon Dotson and Udoka Azubuike forming arguably the best one-two punch in the nation. Dotson averages 18.1 points (Atop the Big-12), 4.1 rebounds, and 4 assists per game, as the sophomore took a huge step forward from his freshman season. Azubukie was voted the Big-12 player of the year, as he produced stats of 13.7 points a contest, along with 10.5 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game.

Baylor’s star player is Jared Butler, as he finished third in the conference in scoring, with 16 points a game. The 6’3 guard is one of the most complete players in the conference, as he also produced 3.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.6 steals a game.

The third-seeded team in the tournament is Oklahoma, as they have a trio of scoring options, with three in the top 10 in scoring in the Big-12 (No other team in the conference can say that). Kristian Doolittle is fourth in the conference in scoring, as he averaged 15.8 points per game, 8.9 rebounds per game, along with two steals and 1.3 blocks a contest. Austin Reaves is fresh off of a 41 point outing, where he hit the game-winning shot in Oklahoma’s massive comeback victory to earn the Sooners the 3rd seed in the conference tournament. The guard is averaging 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3 assists a game.

Along with Doolittle and Reaves ranking 4th and 6th in the conference respectively in scoring, Brady Manek is tied for 8th, as his season totals are 14.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per contest.

A player I’m excited to watch is TCU’s Desmond Bane. He’s second in the conference in scoring, as he’s putting up 16.6 points per contest. If the seventh-seeded TCU Horned Frogs want to go far in the conference tournament, they’re going to need all of Bane’s almost 17 points a game, along with his 6.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals.

Bane has proven this season his heroics can single handily drag his team to victory, as he led TCU to a victory over the Baylor Bears February 29th, as he scored 23 points, and chipped in five rebounds and four assists. He has the ability to catch fire, and lead his team to a few victories in the conference tournament, and sneak into the tournament potentially as well.