Conference tournament previews: ACC | Big East | Big Ten | SEC
Between Houston, Texas Tech and Iowa State, we should be in for a great week in Kansas City.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Big 12 tournament.
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3 storylines to watch
Houston cruising into Big 12 tournament
Houston has rolled through a very solid Big 12 this season, and the Cougars look like a legit national title contender. They closed out the regular season with 10 straight wins, including over both Iowa State and Texas Tech, and they’ve lost just once since the end of November. L.J Cryer has dominated offensively, and the Houston defense has been remarkable. The Cougars haven’t let a team score more than 65 points during their 10-game win streak, too.
If Kelvin Sampson is going to make a title run, this is the perfect chance to do it. That starts in Kansas City, where the Cougars will get the double bye.
The Cyclones looked incredibly dominant early in the season. They climbed as high as No. 2 in the national rankings, a program best, after opening the year on a 15-1 tear. But lately, the team has been dealing with both significant injuries and illness, which has caused it to drop three of its last five games to close out the season. Houston held the Cyclones to just 59 points in their only matchup last month, too.
Texas Tech may be the better option. The Red Raiders have climbed their way into the rankings after a very solid run through the Big 12, which included a wild overtime win against the Cougars last month. They have won three straight to end the season and finished second in the Big 12.
If anyone is going to dethrone Houston, it’s likely going to be one of these two.
What happened to Kansas?
The preseason No. 1 team in the nation is entering the Big 12 tournament in perhaps the worst possible way. The Jayhawks finished the regular season with a 20-11 record and lost seven of their last 13 games. They fell out of the national rankings for the first time in years and suffered one of the worst blowout losses in the Bill Self era when they lost to BYU by more than 30.
The team that generally dominates the Big 12 and has a huge advantage with what essentially is a home conference tournament looks far from a team that can make an NCAA tournament run. If there is any hope of that left, it will likely take a run to the Big 12 title game in order for the Jayhawks to get their confidence back.
Big 12 tournament bracket
How to watch the Big 12 tournament
All times ET
When: Tuesday-Saturday
Where: T-Mobile Center | Kansas City, Missouri
TV: ESPN, ESPN+
Game schedule:
Tuesday, March 11: First round
Game 1 – No. 13 Cincinnati 87, No. 12 Oklahoma State 68
Game 2 – No. 16 Colorado 69, No. 9 TCU 67
Game 3 – No. 10 K-State 71, No. 15 Arizona State 66
Game 4 – No. 14 UCF 87, No. 11 Utah 72
Wednesday, March 12: Second round
Game 5 – No. 5 Iowa State vs. No. 13 Cincinnati, 12:30 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 6 – No. 8 West Virginia vs. No. 16 Colorado, 3 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 7 – No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 10 K-State, 7 p.m. | ESPN+
Game 8 – No. 6 Kansas vs. No. 14 UCF, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2/ESPNU
Thursday, March 13: Quarterfinals
Game 9 – No. 4 BYU vs. Game 5 winner, 12:30 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 10 – No. 1 Houston vs. Game 6 winner, 3 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 11 – No. 2 Texas Tech vs. Game 7 winner, 7 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 12 – No. 3 Arizona vs. Game 8 winner, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
Friday, March 14: Semifinals
Game 13 – Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 7 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
Game 14 – Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN2
Saturday, March 15
Big 12 championship game, 6 p.m. | ESPN
