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John Rieger/USA TODAY Sports
The Big 12 conference has grown into far more than just “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.”
At the outset of the season, it was almost a forgone conclusion. The ACC – after adding Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame – would regain the mantle as the elite college basketball conference in America.
Just a few issues: The Irish have been thoroughly disappointing, the bottom third of the league has been dismal and North Carolina’s erratic play has had the Tar Heels as a fringe top-25 team for much of the season.
If not the ACC, there’s no debate, right? The Big Ten has made itself more than just a football conference lately, with Michigan’s resurgence – along with the consistency of Ohio State and the fact bottom-feeders Northwestern, Nebraska and Penn State have pulled off their share of quality victories.
While the Big Ten has had a quality season, with a legitimate chance to get seven of its dozen teams into the NCAA tournament when the field is unveiled in less than two weeks, there is another conference that stands above the rest in 2014.
The Big 12.
What other league will likely be able to claim that 70 percent of its members will earn a berth to the sport’s ultimate event? Answer: None, only the Big 12.
What other league can claim that all seven of those teams will have a legitimate chance to advance to the Sweet 16? Again, only the Big 12.
The league has been run by Kansas for the past decade, and that has taken away some of the luster from the “other” programs. The Jayhawks have once again earned a Big 12 regular-season championship banner in 2013-14 with a 13-3 mark in league play, but the conference is more than just “Rock Chalk, Jayhawk.”
Iowa State has a chance to go deep in the tournament with its talented trio of Melvin Ejim, DeAndre Kane and Georges Niang. No one wants to go up against Lon Kruger’s Oklahoma Sooners team – which currently sits in a four-way tie for second with Iowa State, Texas and Kansas State. Oklahoma may not boast a big-name player, but Kruger has more than enough talent – and is a proven coach.
Texas may not look like a typical Rick Barnes team over the past decade or so in terms of talent, but the Longhorns have what’s been missing in Austin of late: chemistry and team-oriented players. Mix that with enough talent and you get a team that is 21-8 overall and has wins over North Carolina, Kansas, Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and a sweep against Baylor.
Kansas State, not unlike Texas, wasn’t supposed to be in this position. However, Bruce Weber and the Wildcats got wins over Gonzaga and George Washington (two lock tourney teams) and have taken advantage in league play and accumulated 10 victories thus far.
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William Purnell/Icon SMI
While toward the bottom of the Big 12, it seems Marcus Smart and the Cowboys have their mojo back.
Baylor and Oklahoma State are down toward the bottom of the league with sub-.500 marks of 7-9, which shows more of the strength of the conference than their weakness. There is just one cupcake in the Big 12, a TCU team that remains winless with an 0-16 mark. This league is unforgiving, with no games off except for the Horned Frogs. Even Bob Huggins’ West Virginia team was on a bubble for a minute, after a three-game stretch that included wins at Baylor and at home against Kansas State and Oklahoma.
Marcus Smart and Oklahoma State appear to have their mojo back. Remember, this is a team that was trying to figure itself out when Smart got hit with the three-game suspension. The Cowboys lost their interior defensive presence, Michael Cobbins, and also their backup point guard, Stevie Clark, for the rest of the season. But who would want to face Oklahoma State in the NCAA tournament nowadays? No one.
If the season ended Monday, the ACC and the Big East would each likely get 30 percent of its teams in the NCAA tournament. The SEC will probably wind up with four of its 14 teams in the field, and the A-10 should end up with a handful of its 13. The top half of the new American Athletic Conference has fared well, but the other five have been downright terrible – and none of Cincinnati, Louisville, UConn, Memphis or SMU have done enough to warrant a top seeding. The Pac-12 has enjoyed a quality season, with Arizona carrying the torch for what could wind up as a seven-team NCAA tourney group. However, Washington State and USC have been walkovers with a combined three league wins – and Utah, Washington and Oregon State are all likely NIT or CBI-bound.
The only argument is between the Big Ten and the Big 12. The Big Ten has five teams considered a lock to go dancing: Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Iowa. Minnesota, for the time being, is on the right side of the bubble – while Nebraska likely remains on the outside looking in. That’s 50 percent of the league’s teams. Let’s face it: Michigan State hardly looks like a team (unless Keith Appling’s wrist heals quickly) that could go deep come March, and Ohio State doesn’t resemble a team that could make any noise. Penn State and Northwestern have had their moments, but let’s face the facts: Indiana, Illinois and Purdue are all mediocre this season.
The Big 12 has a team that could cut down the nets come April in Dallas, and six more teams that could be still standing entering the second week of the NCAA tournament.
That qualifies it as the best conference in America.