Even though Kansas has dominated the Big 12 through the regular season slate, the previous Big 12 tournament champions have been dominated by not just the Jayhawks, but one other team. Since 2012 when Missouri won the title, Iowa State and Kansas have been the only winners of the title, with West Virginia falling in the finals the previous seasons.
Kansas has just lost Lagerald Vick for the rest of the season and Iowa State has showed flaws throughout the season. This might be the season that another team could break through and hoist the trophy. And with what both those teams are dealing with, it’s a legitimate possibility.
First Round: Wednesday
#8 TCU vs. #9 Oklahoma State. 6 PM, ESPNU
Oklahoma State has quietly been the hottest team in the conference as they are playing their best basketball right now. Oklahoma State has nearly beat Texas Tech on the road and nearly upset Kansas. They did pull off the upset against Baylor on the road and finished with a home win over West Virginia.
For TCU, it started out with high expectations with a near flawless record heading into Big 12 play (against really bad competition). With a mixture of odd transfers and new players getting more minutes, they would go 7-11 in the conference and losing 6 of their final 8 games. They did end on a positive note with beating Texas In Austin in a impressive showing for the Horned Frogs.
Thomas Dziagwa has been leading the charge for the Cowboys with his electric shooting and ability to score. He’s scored in double figures in 6 of their last 7 contests and has passed 20 points 3 times (23 vs. Texas, TCU, 20 vs. Kansas State). Cameron McGriff has been the leading scorer this year for Oklahoma State, but has fallen off a cliff recent with shooting under 40% in 6 of his last 8 games.
With the transfers to Jaylen Fisher and Yuat Alok being main factors, it’s been up to Senior Guard Alex Robinson (12 PPG, 7 APG) and Desmond Bane (15 PPG, 5 RPG). TCU shoot 52% from 3 in the last contest against Texas and had 6-8 from Bane. Shooting that well will be important and a good chance of winning with that percentage.
Final Verdict: Oklahoma State is the hotter team and TCU is right in the middle of the bubble. Oklahoma State looks like the hungrier team and will end up ruining the Horned Frogs chance at the NCAA’s. Oklahoma State 81, TCU 75.
#7 Oklahoma vs. #10 West Virginia. 8:30 PM (ESPNU).
It was expected to many that Oklahoma would be near the top of the conference with how much experience they had returning and a big neutral site win over Florida and (SoCon Champion) Wofford. But they didn’t quite gel and fell behind in the standings. Oklahoma did get a home win over Kansas (Kansas is horrible on the road), and have been playing their best ball recently. Winning 4 of 6 with wins on the road against TCU and Iowa State.
This has been a season to forgot for West Virginia for very small victories that have had Mountaineers fans just shrug their shoulders. West Virginia has had 2 of their 4 conference wins in the previous 4 games with zero road wins. With a mixture of injuries and new players, it’s been frustrating. Freshman Derek Culver is going to leading the charge as he has been a huge bright spot as he is averaging 12 points and 10 rebounds on the season and seems to be the only rebounding threat (no one else averages more than 6).
Final Verdict: Oklahoma seems to be on a roll and West Virginia doesn’t full court press this season. Oklahoma will be able to knock down some shots and the Oklahoma bigs will be able to contain Culver and get a rather easy first round win. Oklahoma 77, West Virginia 64.
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