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Big 12 Basketball: 5 key questions and storylines for 2021-22 season

By Tristan Freeman

Mar 12, 2021; Kansas City, MO, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Scott Drew talks to his players during a timeout in the first half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 12, 2021; Kansas City, MO, USA; Baylor Bears head coach Scott Drew talks to his players during a timeout in the first half against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports /
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Big 12 Basketball Bruce Weber Kansas State Wildcats (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images)
Big 12 Basketball Bruce Weber Kansas State Wildcats (Photo by Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images) /

5. Between TCU, Kansas State, and Iowa State, who is more likely to surprise this season and fight for a mid-tier spot?

Mumm

This is by far the toughest question of the five and it’s because Iowa State, Kansas State and
TCU all made strong offseason moves. The lean and extra confidence in the Horned Frogs
however will be the continued emergence of Mike Miles Jr.

The freshman from nearby Lancaster HS was a promising signing by head coach Jamie Dixon. Miles was a key member of the U19 Team USA FIBA gold medal team this offseason and the growing accomplishments should only help to get the TCU program back on track.

Dixon found Miles some help this summer landing former top-100 recruit Micah Peavy (Texas Tech), JaKobe Coles (Butler), Maxwell Evans (Vanderbilt), Shahada Wells (UT-Arlington), and Emanuel Miller (Texas A&M).

This group features offensive upside on par with signings for Iowa State and Kansas State,
however, the Horned Frogs also landed superior defensive talent that will help them pull off
wins in a tough conference.

Tineo

I’m going to go with Kansas State. Iowa State’s roster has gotten worse since last year and TCU is bringing in a lot of new pieces and my trust with Jamie Dixon taking the Horned Frogs to an average Big 12 team continues to dwindle.

Kansas State played their best basketball down the stretch last year, winning three of their last four games in conference, alongside a 21 point win over TCU in the Big 12 Tournament.

Kansas State’s roster was extremely young last year and return a bulk of their starting production. Sophomore guard Nijel Pack and forward Davion Bradford made tremendous strides last year and Mike McGuirl is using his COVID year for a fifth and final run with the Wildcats.

The ceiling for Kansas State this year is relatively high, compared to last and I think this team is a NCAA Tournament bubble team if they can make the strides in the off-season they showed toward the end of last year.

Walter-Warner

TCU. None of these teams have players that really reach the national basketball conscience – maybe Mike McGuirl at Kansas State comes closest? Without a lot of high-level talent, it falls on the coach to get the most out of it and it’s just hard to keep Jamie Dixon down for too long. Wouldn’t expect any of these teams to be in the NCAA Tournament conversation come March, though.

Ranking all D-I head coaches for 2021-22. dark. Next

Massey

I like what TCU has done with their roster a lot. They brought in Micah Peavy, Emanuel Miller, and Shahada Wells, who I believe will all immediately impact this team. I think TCU has a chance to be sneaky good this year and could even find a way to squeeze into the NCAA tournament. The biggest question for them is their depth and who will lead for them offensively. I feel very confident they’ll be better than Kansas State and Iowa State.

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