Today the 2011 Big 12 basketball tournament will get underway in Kansas City. Aside from the Big East, the Big 12 is the most powerful conference in the country this season.
Here are five potential upsets in this year's Big 12 basketball tournament.
The Big 12 tournament should be an exciting display of basketball. Baylor enters the weekend hoping to be the biggest story in the nation. They have just lost their biggest star in Perry Jones III to suspension.
For the 13th consecutive year, Texas will compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Big 12 basketball tournament, then, is mostly about seeding for Texas. The most interesting question is what happens to Texas if they win the whole thing. A "Big 12 tournament championship"--pretty much the only accolade short of a national title that has eluded Barnes' career at Texas--would almost assuredly mean a win over Kansas or Kansas State. And given that the Big 12 tournament is in Kansas City, that win would effectively be a road win.
Would three straight wins be enough to get Texas back to the top line?
With three more wins, Texas would finish the year 28-6 overall, with a Top 10 RPI, Top 4 KenPom rating, and an excellent 9-3 record vs the RPI Top 50 (assuming Big 12 tourney wins over A&M and KU or KSU). That would include wins at Kansas and at North Carolina, with a third win effectively either at Kansas or K-State in the Big 12 title game.
What about its competition for the top seeds? Let's assume for simplicity's sake that Ohio State, Kansas, and Pitt are all locks for top seeds. The teams in contention for a top line bid appear to be Notre Dame, Duke, BYU, North Carolina, and Purdue.
If it's Duke, Texas has no prayer. If it's North Carolina, though... well, that's more interesting, because while Carolina has come on strong lately, they have that head-to-head loss with Texas. It's the same reason Texas would have a harder time stealing a top-line bid from Pitt.
