Big 12 Basketball Tournament: What every team needs in Kansas City this week

The Big 12 tournament tips off on Tuesday, March 12th with 2 games of opening-round action. That is followed up by 4 games on Wednesday, and finally four games on Thursday which will be the first game played for the conference’s top four teams, Houston, Iowa State, Baylor, and Texas Tech. Whether it is soon to be a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament in Houston or 14th seeded (in the Big 12 tournament) West Virginia, each team finds itself in need of something this week in Kansas City.

14. West Virginia needs a miracle

It has been a year to forget for the Mountaineer basketball program, which finished the regular season with a record of just 9-22 (4-14). It would take a miracle of a week to flip that script. West Virginia enters the Big 12 tournament losers of 5 straight and 9 of their last 10. As if that’s not bad enough, their first-round matchup comes against Cincinnati who beat the Mountaineers 92-56 on the final day of the regular season. 

A miracle run to a Big 12 tournament championship for the Mountaineers may look something like this:

Cincinnati - Kansas - Baylor - Iowa State (highest seed possible) - Houston (highest seed possible)

5 games in 5 days against 4 teams ranked inside the top 16 in the AP poll and a fifth team that just handed the Mountaineers a 36-point loss. Yes, sounds like a miracle to me. 

13. Oklahoma State needs to go on a run if Mike Boynton wants to save his job

Oklahoma State finished the regular season with a record of 12-19 (4-14). Mike Boynton finds himself squarely on the hot seat as his OSU Cowboys are losers of 5 straight heading into conference championship week. While it may very well be a farewell run, Boynton and OSU will need a West Virginia-like miracle if they want to be playing on Friday or Saturday this week.