NCAA Basketball: Villanova’s fall, holiday breakdown among biggest takeaways
By Joey Loose
7. Understanding the race for the Big 12
The Big 12 is a combined 54-11 and looks to be in fantastic shape, for the most part, three weeks into the season. This is usually one of the toughest and most deepest conferences in the nation, and that seems to be the case this year. Texas Tech poses the worst record in the league at 4-2, but dropped those two games in a tough Maui Invitational. Where exactly do the teams in this conference stand at this point?
The elite tier in the conference certainly includes Baylor, Kansas, and Texas. The Longhorns got a huge win over Gonzaga a few weeks ago and Chris Beard has this team playing great on both sides of the ball. Kansas lost the final of the Battle 4 Atlantis to Tennessee a few days ago, but still looks like one of the top teams in the game. Baylor just suffered a really rough loss at Marquette and might not be as elite as we thought.
The next tier has a few definite contenders who have had struggles at time this season. That tier includes #23 Iowa State, who recently did great work in the Phil Knight Invitational, including an upset win over top-ranked North Carolina. Texas Tech still looks great on defense even with their struggles in Maui. Additionally, TCU could still be destined for greatness this season, even after their poor start.
You could group the last four Big 12 teams into one final tier. Kansas State sits 6-0 but hasn’t really been challenged, at least not as they will be in conference play. West Virginia looks solid, winning a pair of games in Portland, but likewise haven’t been tested very much. Oklahoma lost on opening night to Sam Houston State but has responded well, winning the ESPN Events Invitational last week, with wins over Seton Hall and Ole Miss. Oklahoma State looks like the weakest link in the conference, with early losses to Southern Illinois and UCF, but have a chance to change that storyline with a Thursday night at Connecticut.
All in all there are ten strong teams here in this conference, though clearly a few of them will fall off once conference play begins in late December. It’s very likely that the six teams in those top tiers will be in the Big Dance, but don’t be shocked if one of those other four teams plays their way into consideration in the coming months. For now, this looks like Texas’s league until they show us a reason to doubt them.