Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Postseason conference tournaments offer one final chance to build the resume or make a miraculous run to the NCAA tournament.
The Big 12 tournament will likely have a different kind of feel this year.
Barring an unexpected champion or major meltdown, the tournament will likely be a four-day warmup for the seven teams expected to reach the NCAA tournament. A brutal, that's-going-leave-a-mark warmup, but still a curtain raiser for the real madness of March.
"It's going to be an interesting tournament," Missouri coach Mike Anderson said. "You better bring it each time you take the floor."
Top-seeded Kansas enters with a No. 1 ranking, 1,999 wins all-time and a chance to earn the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament. Kansas State, even with its loss to Iowa State in its season finale, is likely looking at a top-three seed. Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma State all figure to get into the NCAAs if they avoid disaster in the Big 12 tournament.
That would give the Big 12 seven teams in the NCAA tournament for the first time since its inception in 1996 -- and a huge boost in reputation.
It's not like the Big 12 is held in low regard. With Kansas making a seemingly annual run toward a national championship and three Big 12 teams in the round of 16 last season, the conference is thought of as one of the best in the country.
But even with those successes, the Big 12 is still considered good, not quite great, not quite at the same level as powerhouse conferences like the ACC and Big East.
This year's run could be another step in changing that perception.
"Everything is Big East, Big East, Big East and, to be honest, we should be in that conversation based on the consistency we've had at least since I've been here and even prior to that," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "In a down year we're RPI four, a good year we're RPI one, so we're one of the premier leagues."
Everyone already knows about Kansas.
The Jayhawks won a national title two years ago and have won six straight Big 12 regular-season crowns. Now, the rest of the conference is starting to nip at the Jayhawks' talons.
Texas was ranked No. 1 this season before faltering down the stretch. Ninth-ranked Kansas State reached as high as No. 5 and took Kansas to overtime in one of the league's best games. No. 21 Baylor, all the way back from the lowest point in program history, is surely headed to its second NCAA tournament in three years after a 20-year absence.
Texas A&M, at No. 23, has climbed steadily in recent seasons and appears headed to a fifth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance. Missouri has become a consistent winner under Anderson and Oklahoma, despite a down year, is no longer just a football school.
"They [Kansas] deserve it, they are by far the best-coached and best program in our conference," Kansas State coach Frank Martin said. "But when you get to the NCAAs, we've had multiple programs make runs and that's what to me separates the Big 12 from other conferences."
So what happens to that reputation if the Big 12 gets eight teams into the NCAA tournament? It could happen, though it is unlikely.
Though Kansas ran away with the regular-season title at 15-1, the conference has more parity than ever.
Colorado, the eighth seed, beat Baylor and played Kansas and Kansas State tight. Iowa State closed out the season by winning at K-State. Texas Tech was ranked earlier in the season and 12th-seeded Nebraska, despite winning just two conference games, has shown flashes of toughness.
"It's a time when anything can happen, especially with teams [where] their only shot at making the NCAA tournament is to win the conference tournament," Texas Tech coach Pat Knight said. "I think you'll see some teams all over the country and some guys get hot and teams ride them for a couple of games and get a couple of extra wins."
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