ShareThisMarch is upon us.
The Madness?
Not so much.
Despite this being the eve of the Big 12 Tournaments tipping off in Kansas City, we are still a week away from the start of the insanity. That's because the conference tournaments promise about as much drama as an elementary-school play.
We know right now the Big 12 Conference teams that will be in the NCAA Tournament and the ones that won't. For both the men and the women, the top seven teams are in while the bottom five are out. It is cut and dried. It is set in stone.
On the men's side, Kansas, Kansas State, Baylor, Texas A&M, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma State are in. Colorado, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, Iowa State and Nebraska are out.
On the women's side, Nebraska, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Texas, Baylor and Oklahoma State are in. Texas Tech, Kansas, Kansas State, Colorado and Missouri are out.
There has never been a year when everything was so clear heading into the Big 12 Tournament, where there was such a gulf from the top-tier teams to the bottom-tier ones.
With the men, Texas and Oklahoma State are tied for sixth with nine league wins, three games ahead of Colorado. On the women's side, the divide is even bigger with sixth-place Baylor and Oklahoma State four games ahead of the rest of the pack.
There will be no bubble teams in Kansas City. No last-in, first-out candidates. No should-be-in squads. No shouldn't-be-in ones either.
Does that mean no fun?
Not entirely.
First of all, a couple of the bottom five seeds have the talent to upset some teams and maybe even string together a little run. Colorado's men have beaten Baylor and hung tough against Kansas and Kansas State. Iowa State knocked off Kansas State just this weekend.
Texas Tech's women have beaten Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Missouri has beaten Baylor. And Kansas State nearly put an end to Nebraska's undefeated season.
Those teams need only remember Georgia. The Bulldogs won four games in four days to win the SEC men's tournament two years ago -- and because of storm damage to the Georgia Dome, they actually had to play the quarterfinals and semifinals on the same day -- so the impossible run is doable.
But barring that kind of Cinderella story, there are still plenty of teams playing to improve their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
The Kansas men and the Nebraska women are the only teams with a for-sure seed. They are locked into No. 1 seeds. Nothing they do, win or lose, will change that.
Everyone else has the potential to raise or lower their seed depending on what they do in Kansas City.
The Kansas State men could earn a No. 1 seed by winning the tournament. Then again, how can any team lose at home to Iowa State -- Iowa State? At home? -- and still be a top seed?
Texas A&M and Baylor have a chance to improve their seeding, too. Both are predicted to be somewhere around a No. 6 seed, yet both have an RPI in the top 15 and a strength of schedule in the top 25. Win a couple tournament games, the Aggies and the Bears could play their way into a No. 5 seed or better.
OK State has a similar opportunity. The Cowboys are expected to be a No. 7 or 8 seed, but their RPI and strength of schedule both rank in the mid 20s. Beat Oklahoma in the opener, then take care of K-State like they did earlier in the season, and the Cowboys could see big dividends on Selection Sunday.
On the women's side, Oklahoma and Texas A&M are ranked in the top 10 in RPI and strength of schedule. Yet, both are expected to be No. 3 seeds in the NCAA Tournament. Advancing to the championship game could be a ticket to a No. 2 seed.
Oklahoma also has a chance to improve its seeding, and with Andrea Riley suspended for the Cowgirls' NCAA opener, every little bit is crucial. The Cowgirls could be a five or six seed, or they could be an eight seed. There's a big difference between playing a 12 seed or a nine seed, especially when you're without your best player.
All of that should help bring some intrigue to the Big 12 Tournaments. With arguably the best men's and women's league in the nation, the quality of play should be high and the competition should be stiff.
Still, with teams already locked in or locked out of the NCAA Tournament, the drama will be limited.
The Madness will have to wait.
(Contact Jenni Carlson at jcarlson(at)opubco.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit Oklahoma City Oklahoman
