Big12 Tournament Round 1 Preview

Tomorrow starts a furious 4 days of Big12 basketball! While our favorite isn’t in action until Thursday, there are still a couple of teams fighting for their NCAA lives which always make things fun and ups the intensity level from the get go. The most intriguing first round game is probably the Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State game which kicks things off but all of them have something to watch for. Continue reading to get a short break down of each match-up and predictions of who will still be playing on Thursday.

1: #8 Nebraska (19-11, 7-9) vs. #9 Oklahoma State (18-12, 6-10)

In the match-up between these two teams earlier in the season Nebraska won 65-54. Neither team has been anything great since then and neither will be seen in the big dance barring a miracle run to the Big12 title. Nebraska plays a slow down style of basketball and loves to see final scores as low as possible but their defense doesn’t help that much. Oklahoma State has a good player in Marshall Moses and that little punk Keiton Page who always seems to be a pain for Kansas State. I think this one is a complete toss up but I’m going to predict that the Cowpokes come away with a win and the chance to face Kansas in the quarterfinals.

Game 2: #5 Colorado (19-12, 8-8) vs. #12Iowa State (16-15, 3-13)

Iowa State is not as bad as their record looks. Both games against Kansas State were close and had it not been for Pullen’s lucky lose the handle to yourself with no one in the lane lay-up as time runs out play, the season series would have been split. Unfortunately for Cyclone fans, that shouldn’t matter against Colorado. The Buffaloes are more athletic and simply a better team. I expect them to win no problem which sets up an opportunity for Kansas State to clear up any confusion that might have come as a result of the season sweep by Colorado.

Game 3: #7 Baylor (18-12)-, 7-9) vs. #10 Oklahoma (13-17, 5-11)

The good news is that Oklahoma finished the regular season with a victory over their rival Oklahoma State. The bad news is that they had lost the previous 8 games before that. The worse news is that they face a Baylor team who underachieved horribly this season and is probably a little hacked off at this point. Baylor has had the athletic ability all season to do damage but just didn’t put it all together. They split the regular season series with Oklahoma but I expect them to move on to and face Texas on Thursday.

Game 4: #6Missouri (22-9, 8-8) vs. #11 Texas Tech (13-18, 5-11)

Texas Tech is dead in the water with a coach who has already been terminated but gets the awkward opportunity to coach one last game. If that doesn’t deflate any hope you had for winning another game I don’t know what would. Missouri on the other hand has plenty to play for as one of those should be in the tournament teams that still needs a good showing to be absolutely sure. The Tigers have already beat Texas tech once and tomorrow should be two in a row.

If all that comes true here’s what Thursday will look like:

#1 Kansas vs. #9 Oklahoma State

#2 Texas vs. #7 Baylor

#3 Texas A&M vs. #6 Missouri

#4 Kansas State vs. #5 Colorado

I know that means there wouldn’t be any big upsets in the first round but the Big12 has such a big gap between the top half and bottom half it just makes sense. However, if you are putting money on any of these games I would advise going against everything I just said because that’s how it usually turns out. Enjoy the first round and get ready for the real games on Thursday!