The Big 12’s top four teams are ranked nationally anywhere from third to twenty-second. Here’s the way it looks.
Kansas State (#22) hold a 7-1 conference record and a 17- 5 mark overall. They’re in first-place in the Big 12, but of the four teams with national ranking possess the weakest overall record. Earlier this season, the State Wildcats upset the Kansas Jayhawks, beating them 84- 75. March first will see the two clubs meet again. That game could determine who takes the Big 12’s top spot. In January, KS has been on a roll, going 8- 1. Their one loss was to the unranked Missouri Tigers 74- 77. That’s the clubs only conference loss.
Kansas (#3) is considered to be one of the premiere teams in the nation. They have Final Four potential. The Jayhawks sport an 8- 1 Big 12 mark and a 23- 2 in and out of conference record. Kansas University was undefeated until the Wildcats shocked them on January 30, beating them by nine points. After that, the Hawks won three straight. Then they met the Big 12’s Texas Longhorns in Austin and suffered their second loss as they were out muscled in the second half of the contest. Two losses should be it for this club. Still, they do have to play the Wildcats again.
Texas (#11) may not be the team that they were last season, but they are still darn good with a 7- 2 conference record and a 20- 4 overall grade. During January, the team from Austin posted a 5- 2 record. They lost to spoiler Missouri 97- 84 and to #16 Texas A&M 80- 63. Watch this one—Texas meets the Kansas Wildcats on February 25. That could be a huge conference game with the Longhorns presently only one-half game out of first place.
Texas A&M (#16) possess the same overall mark (20- 4) as Texas. They’ve got one more conference loss (6- 3) and are 1.5 games out of first-place. After losing three straight in January, including one to conference opponent Kansas State (75- 54) and an OT game to BU (116- 110), the Aggies ripped off five win in a row. Big games include a February 18th game versus Texas and their final contest of the regular season against Kansas on March 8. They also face the Texas Tech Red Raiders on February 27. The unranked Raiders beat the Aggies 68- 53 earlier this season. Texas A&M is on a roll. The question is will they go into another three-game skid like they did last month?
The Kansas State Wildcats have risen to the top. This was not unexpected. Look for them to go to the Big Dance this season. The Kansas Jayhawks are a very fine team, but maybe not as good as everyone thought they’d be. The Final Four is still possible. Although inexperienced, Texas seems to have matured quickly. A conference championship could be in the team’s near future and an Elite Eight might be on the horizon. Texas A&M started their comeback in 2005 and made it to the Sweet 16 last year.
The Big 12 looks to be a dynamic force once again as the NCAA makes a mad rush towards March.
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