Big 12 Basketball: 2024 conference tournament preview and predictions

Bracketology

#1 Seeds: Houston

Houston just needs to stay healthy to ensure they’re on the top line of the region they draw. The Cougars have the potential to be the overall one seed if they take care of business and win the Big 12 tournament to pair with their regular season title.

#2-3 Seeds: Iowa State, Baylor

The Cyclones have had a phenomenal season, and that defense is legitimate. TJ Otzelberger’s team excels at creating turnovers (second-best turnover rate in the country) and forcing opponents to take difficult, contested shots far from the basket. Their defense should carry them through both the conference tournament and the national tournament, but there are still question marks for how they score away from home.

For the Bears, they are currently locked in to a #3 seed for the tournament. Should they win the tournament they have an argument to move up to the #2 line should they outlive Iowa State in the tournament.

#4-6 Seeds: Kansas, BYU

Tough to find a team free-falling faster than the Kansas Jayhawks in the back half of this college basketball season. Bill Self announcing that McCullar and Dickinson won’t be dressing for the tournament all but closes the book on a conference tournament run for the Jayhawks, which is something that Self and company could have used to prove to the committee that they’re about to put their best foot forward once the NCAA tournament starts. Instead, major question marks could lead to a mystery of a team headed into the first round.

The BYU Cougars might be one of the biggest surprises out of any in the country. The Cougars didn’t leave the WCC on a high note before migrating this summer and a nonconference of weak opponents made evaluators unsure if their production was fool’s’ gold. Well, instead of finishing second-to-last as the preseason poll predicted, BYU finished fifth. The outperformance largely came from a massive uptick in offensive proficiency, with a two-point shooting percentage of 58.3%, the seventh-best in the country. Should the Cougars outperform yet again in the tournament, they’re a surefire #5 seed.

#7-10 Seeds: Texas Tech, Texas, Oklahoma, TCU

The four teams listed above are proof of the power of Big 12 basketball. All three have been wildly up and down but have proven that they can compete with any team if things are going right. Outside of going on a strong run it’s hard to imagine any of these teams will greatly change their seeding come Sunday. Of the three, Texas has the best chance with their range of weapons and what they look like when they’re right. However, the Red Raiders’ have grinded their way to the close of the season and could carry their 10 point win over Baylor into a Pop Isaacs and Joe Toussaint run this week.