So how good is the Big 12 in Basketball this year?

[jdoggivjc]

Just to reference the original question - how good are any other conferences?

The Big East to me looks like a great UConn, a frisky Marquette and Creighton, and then... very very average.
B1G is basically Purdue and a bunch of really meh and really bad teams. And all of them, including Purdue, have big flaws.
SEC looks good on paper, but Bama plays no defense, Tennessee has Rick Barnes, and Auburn is Auburn. I could see their next level down teams surprise though - SC, UK, FL.
Pac12 is Arizona, Wazzu, average Oregon, and then its pretty bad pretty fast.

I think the SEC is the only other conference where half the league isn't hot wet garbage.

It would be a good year to have say six or seven Big12 teams in the S16, but its always so random you can't count on anything.

Could also mean a year where the mid-majors shine, but outside of SDSU (who was better last year) and St. Mary’s (who is good but isn’t “Gonzaga at its peak” good), who would that be? There aren’t any mid-majors this year that are screaming “look at me” yet… then again, did anyone see FAU coming last year?

 

[HFCS]

Just to reference the original question - how good are any other conferences?

The Big East to me looks like a great UConn, a frisky Marquette and Creighton, and then... very very average.
B1G is basically Purdue and a bunch of really meh and really bad teams. And all of them, including Purdue, have big flaws.
SEC looks good on paper, but Bama plays no defense, Tennessee has Rick Barnes, and Auburn is Auburn. I could see their next level down teams surprise though - SC, UK, FL.
Pac12 is Arizona, Wazzu, average Oregon, and then its pretty bad pretty fast.

I think the SEC is the only other conference where half the league isn't hot wet garbage.

It would be a good year to have say six or seven Big12 teams in the S16, but its always so random you can't count on anything.

I can’t just ignore the past 5-10 seasons of actual ncaa tournament results.

To me it pretty much looks like:
P2: big 12 and big east
Group of 4: sec, acc, big ten, pac
High mid majors
Low mid majors

Purdue might change my mind and actually look like a high seed finally, but their results have been 10 seed results for a lot of years in a row. This is a pretty large sample size. The big 12 has done far more in 5 years than the big ten has done in 20…with just 10 teams!

 

[Texbudman]

The good news is that the B12 will get some pretty good seeds. Beyond that, the non-con makes it difficult to know for certain, at this point. They certainly pass the eye test and have some recent past results to hang theor hat on.

Agree on the eye test. Watching two Big 12 teams going head to head is like watching a different sport when compared to watching other conferences, especially the Big 10 where defense seems optional.

 

[rosshm16]

Here is, from what I can determine, some factors the selection committee considers (including but not limited to):

• NET and other computer rankings
• Injured players
• Performance in road and neutral-court games
• Conference strength of schedule
• Non-con strength of schedule
• Record against other tourney teams

If we give all those things roughly equal weight, I'd call it a wash between ISU and KU and the better seed should go to the team with the better record who also won the head-to-head matchup. But reality will likely be the "eye test" (one jersey says Kansas, the other says Iowa State) and we'll get a #3 to their #2, such is life as a redblood.

 

[cyclones500]

Could also mean a year where the mid-majors shine, but outside of SDSU (who was better last year) and St. Mary’s (who is good but isn’t “Gonzaga at its peak” good), who would that be? There aren’t any mid-majors this year that are screaming “look at me” yet… then again, did anyone see FAU coming last year?

MWC has possibilities beyond SD State - Utah State and New Mexico, perhaps. I don't really trust most of those teams to go deep, but it'd be the closest to an FAU comparison.

FAU '24 also is sort of like FAU '23. (But higher expectation, so maybe it doesn't count).

I feel like most of the mid-major-ish action might come 11/12/13 line with some teams that have dominated their conferences during regular season. Maybe it's only 1st round upset but some I could see going second weekend. More on those at some point later.

 

[t-noah]

Just to reference the original question - how good are any other conferences?

The Big East to me looks like a great UConn, a frisky Marquette and Creighton, and then... very very average.
B1G is basically Purdue and a bunch of really meh and really bad teams. And all of them, including Purdue, have big flaws.
SEC looks good on paper, but Bama plays no defense, Tennessee has Rick Barnes, and Auburn is Auburn. I could see their next level down teams surprise though - SC, UK, FL.
Pac12 is Arizona, Wazzu, average Oregon, and then its pretty bad pretty fast.

I think the SEC is the only other conference where half the league isn't hot wet garbage.

It would be a good year to have say six or seven Big12 teams in the S16, but its always so random you can't count on anything.

Good post. I'll add to your thoughts, and include the ACC, which I think you forgot.

The ACC has UNC and Duke, the usual twosome. Both are good, not sure how good or if either is a legit F4 contender. UNC's Bacot seems to have been there forever (he's using his Covid eligibility this year, his 5th year). Will Bacot make more at Chapel Hill than in the NBA? stay tuned. Clemson and Wake Forest are in the Top 25 currently.

 

[t-noah]

I'm a little worried the Big 12 only gets 8 in the Tourney, when they should get 9 or even 10.

Cincinnati looks like they maybe are solidly on the outside of the bubble. KState has upticked a bit. Texas is still there.

I'm assuming BYU and OU will make it. It's hard to make a good impression on the selection committee when our teams are beating up on each other.

 

[Drew0311]

Win it all contender: Houston
E8 and F4 discussion: ISU and Kansas
S16ish: Baylor, BYU
First weekend: TCU, Oklahoma, Texas, Tech

Then again if BYU is shooting great like they did against us
Baylor gets an easier path
And many other things can happen. I agree with your assessment. Just the tourney tends to make us throw out everything we know

 

[VeloClone]

I have this dream that the Big 12 advances a whole mess of teams to the second weekend and commentators make comments like welcome to the Big 12 Tournament.

Yeah, a guy can dream...

 

[AuH2O]

Good post. I'll add to your thoughts, and include the ACC, which I think you forgot.

The ACC has UNC and Duke, the usual twosome. Both are good, not sure how good or if either is a legit F4 contender. UNC's Bacot seems to have been there forever (he's using his Covid eligibility this year, his 5th year). Will Bacot make more at Chapel Hill than in the NBA? stay tuned. Clemson and Wake Forest are in the Top 25 currently.

Bacot absolutely was smart to cash in NIL dollars. He is not getting drafted.

 

[t-noah]

Bacot absolutely was smart to cash in NIL dollars. He is not getting drafted.

I haven't been following his career since ISU beat UNC last year ('22-23), seems like 2 years ago already.

If he isn't good enough to make the NBA, he's just another crazy example of how out of alignment current NIL values are.
Edit: Even if he does make the NBA.

 

[AuH2O]

I haven't been following his career since ISU beat UNC last year ('22-23), seems like 2 years ago already.

If he isn't good enough to make the NBA, he's just another crazy example of how out of alignment current NIL values are.
Edit: Even if he does make the NBA.

I think last year most had him outside the draft, though the end of the 2nd round is hard to predict. Seems like an overseas guy. But hey, clear some good NIL cash for a couple years and make some cash overseas isn’t a bad living.

 

[GTO]

Please let us draw Clemson in the tournament:

Clemson coach Brad Brownell frustrated Big 12 was able to 'manipulate' NET rankings

Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell is frustrated with the way the Big 12 has been able to manipulate the NET rankings.

www.on3.com

 

[cayin]

Really good and will be battle tested. I think 9 teams get in. Crazy **** happens in the Tourney, but I imagine we have someone go to the Final Four.

The big 10 gets 9 teams almost every year, and they have not been a good conference. I really think the Big 12 has to do more and be more to get to the level of recognition of some of the other leagues.

 

[CascadeClone]

I'm a little worried the Big 12 only gets 8 in the Tourney, when they should get 9 or even 10.

Cincinnati looks like they maybe are solidly on the outside of the bubble. KState has upticked a bit. Texas is still there.

Cincy is a team where the individual parts are more than the sum of the whole. They have talent and some skill, but just don't seem to play great together, and don't seem to have much of a plan later in games. They should be better than they have shown imho. Tells me Miller isn't the guy. Kind of getting Wayne Morgan type vibes from the whole thing.

 

[cayin]

I'm no KU, fan but they won the game. I hope they somehow miss the tournament.
They have a really good non-con resume. People choose to forget that but the bracjketologists haven't. Hopefuylly the committee does.

and our non con was horrible. We have zero quality wins. Maybe Iowa? But I contend that if we had Ward, we would have won those games in Florida.

 

[NoCreativity]

Please let us draw Clemson in the tournament:

Clemson coach Brad Brownell frustrated Big 12 was able to 'manipulate' NET rankings

Clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell is frustrated with the way the Big 12 has been able to manipulate the NET rankings.

www.on3.com

What a crybaby. Nine of Clemsons 20 conference games are Quad 3 or Quad 4 games. Get back to me when Big 12 teams get to play that weak of a league schedule.

They are also gaming the system by playing teams like Davidson and UAB in their non- conference.....games that Power 6 teams should win a majority of the time but look better than playing a sub-200 team.

They also only played 3 Power 6 teams in their non-conference schedule, we played 4.

 

[BWRhasnoAC]

What a crybaby. Nine of Clemsons 20 conference games are Quad 3 or Quad 4 games. Get back to me when Big 12 teams get to play that weak of a league schedule.

They are also gaming the system by playing teams like Davidson and UAB in their non- conference.....games that Power 6 teams should win a majority of the time but look better than playing a sub-200 team.

They also only played 3 Power 6 teams in their non-conference schedule, we played 4.

I'd like to give them an ass beating in the 2nd round.

 

[NoCreativity]

I'd like to give them an ass beating in the 2nd round.

We only got to play 2 Quad 3 games our entire league schedule and they got to play 9 Quad 3&4 games in the ACC.

**** that guy.

 

[qwerty]

This good . . . . .