Who Will Win the Big 12 Battle?

The conference tournaments mean very little in the grand scheme of things. For example, if you are a team like Kansas, and you win the Big 12 championship but then you lose in the Sweet 16, do you consider that a successful season? I'd have to imagine you don't. For a team like Iowa State or maybe even Kansas State the goal may be the National Championship, but the Big 12 win could be a big deal for them. Who should we back for the tournament?

Kansas won the Big 12 regular season title and were granted the #1 seed in the conference tournament as a result. Their path to the championship game isn't very complicated. They likely will have to face Baylor, and I'd say maybe Texas Tech. The other option would be West Virginia, and I think that might be a more favorable matchup for the Jayhawks. Assume they advance and then face Baylor. Baylor and Kansas faced each other twice and split the matchups with the home team winning both games. After that they probably need to take down Texas, another team they split the games with. But, keep in mind, the most recent game (this past weekend) was a game that Kansas didn't care about.

Texas is the #2 seed in the conference tournament and has been very good this season. They are fresh off a great win over Kansas, but they struggled the last few weeks. Over their last six games, they are just 3-3. The Big 12 was quite a challenge for many this year and Texas wasn't excused from those tough matchups. Texas is one of three teams in the conference with only one loss at home. At +330, they do offer some value, but I wouldn't feel very confident in it.

The rest of this is a complete toss-up. If you've watched this conference you know that almost anyone can win. Who should we eliminate? I don't think Oklahoma State or Oklahoma will win. Texas Tech has a shot in my opinion at +4000 they are undervalued. It would be a tough matchup as they'd have to beat Kansas, Baylor, and Texas (if all favorites survive). It would be a challenge, but West Virginia is +1500 and would have the same path. So, again, there is value on Texas Tech. I'm not saying they will win though.

I'd look at Kansas State as a real chance at +650 to win the tournament. If they can get past their opening-round matchup with TCU, they probably face Texas. They have played Texas very well this season and I think you have a real shot with them. They are someone I'll grab a ticket on and use for hedging opportunities lately, hopefully.

Part of me thinks whoever wins this tournament is going to have battled so much that they are not likely to win the national championship. The longest winning streak of any team going into the tournament is West Virginia with two games in a row. Only one team has a winning record as a road team in the entire division (Kansas). Baylor was .500 on the road, everyone else was at least two games under .500.

I'm going to back Kansas at +300, another unit on Kansas State at +650, and a sprinkle on Texas Tech at +4000. I know the money is going to be lost on Texas Tech, but it does serve as the potential for later cash if they win a game or two.

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