Much like the Mountaineers, Oklahoma is able to defeat their opponents through a balanced core of scorers. After capturing the league's scoring title a year ago, Hield turned things up a notch this season, finishing with an average of 25.1 points per game on nearly 50% shooting from the field. However, a 5-4 finish to the year that included losses to Kansas State, Texas Tech, and Texas on the road, dropped OU out of the running for the league championship.Īny conversation about the Sooners' roster has to begin with future consensus All-American Buddy Hield. Oklahoma got off to a red-hot start to the year, building a 19-2 record and capturing the aforementioned top spot in the rankings. (3) Oklahoma Sooners 24-6 overall, 12-6 Big 12, 6 th in AP Pollĭespite spending the longest period of time ranked #1 in the nation of any Big 12 school, the Sooners travel to Kansas City as the #3 seed in this week's tournament. With a full-court defense that rivals the best in the nation, the Mountaineers could make a serious run at the championship game before turning their attention to the NCAAs. West Virginia enters the Big 12 Tournament riding a four-game winning streak that saw the team notch two road wins as well as two wins over ranked opponents. This balanced core of Daxter Miles, Jr., Tarik Phillip, Jonathan Holton, and Jevon Carter help shoulder the load and have been a major key in West Virginia establishing a top 50 scoring offense with 79.6 points per game. From there, four different Mountaineers average between nine and 10 points per game. Jaysean Paige leads the team with 14.3 points per game, while Devin Williams is just behind with 12.7 points each night. Huggins' key to success this season has been a strong defense and a balanced scoring attack. Texas was the only unranked team to knock off the Mountaineers in Morgantown, capturing a seven-point victory there in late January. Four of WVU's six losses this season came at the hands of ranked opponents, while another came on the road. (2) West Virginia Mountaineers 24-7 overall, 13-5 Big 12, 9 th in AP Pollīob Huggins and the West Virginia Mountaineers narrowly missed capturing their first-ever Big 12 title this season after a mid-February hiccup that saw the team give up its position at the top of the standings. With an offense firing on all cylinders and a defense that has made even the best of opponents look silly, the Jayhawks are gunning toward the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. KU will take the short bus trip to Kansas City riding an 11 game winning streak that has seen six victories over top 25 opponents. The Jayhawks look as good right now as they have the entire season. Collectively, the team is averaging 82.0 points per game on nearly 50.0% shooting from the field. Devonte Graham has been another scoring machine for the Jayhawks this season, knocking in 11.2 points per game while dishing out a team-high 3.5 assists each night. provide Bill Self's group with some support inside, as both junior guards enter the Tournament averaging 13.4 points per game. The Sunflower State native averages 16.5 points per game to go along with a team-high 6.3 boards. Sporting the best scoring offense in the Big 12, and one of the best in the entire nation, Kansas is led offensively by super senior Perry Ellis. The Jayhawks cemented their championship streak thanks to a season sweep of Oklahoma, who battled KU for the top spot throughout much of the season. Kansas fell just three times in league play, all on the road, with two of those losses coming against ranked foes. Even in a year where the conference looked as strong as it has ever been, Bill Self and his team came out on top once again. The Jayhawks enter the Big 12 Tournament on the heels of their unprecedented 12 th consecutive league championship. Semifinal #2 Winner, 5:00 PM, ESPN Team-by-Team Previews (1) Kansas Jayhawks 27-4 overall, 15-3 Big 12, 1 st in AP Poll Quarterfinal #4 Winner, 8:00 PM, ESPN2 Saturday, March 12Ĭhampionship: Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinals #2: Quarterfinal #3 Winner vs. Semifinals #1: Quarterfinal #1 Winner vs. (6) Iowa State, 8:00 PM, ESPNU Friday, March 11 (10) TCU, 8:00 PM, ESPNU Thursday, March 10 (9) Oklahoma State, 6:00 PM, ESPNUįirst Round #2: (7) Texas Tech vs. Tournament Bracketįirst Round #1: (8) Kansas State vs. With six ranked teams and as many as seven likely heading to the NCAA Tournament, this week's Big 12 Tournament looks to provide some early postseason fireworks for college basketball fans. The Big 12 once again finished the regular season as the toughest college basketball conference in the country.
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