Is this the best conference in the country? This is one of only two conferences that I will even entertain that notion, but I think I would take the Big Ten…though it’s really close. The 10-team Big 12 opens tonight with its bottom four teams playing a couple of opening round games. The fall to 10 teams makes for a pretty uninteresting opening day in the Big XII tournament, as one game is a total mismatch, and the other is a fight to see who gets to get pummeled by Kansas tomorrow.
As for the title picks in the Big XII this year, it is just exactly split down the middle between #1 Kansas and #2 Missouri, with the lone dissident being Lynch, who went with Baylor.
Championship Picks
10 for #1 Kansas
9 for #2 Missouri (Alexi, Bry, Doogan, KA, Lil Lohse, Lohse, Primm, RSmith, Teddy)
0 for #3 Iowa St.
1 for #4 Baylor (Lynch)
Biggest Upsets
R1 – #10 Texas Tech (Teddy)
QF – #7 Oklahoma St. (Dave, J)
SF – #6 Texas (J, RDoc)
Previous CTC Champions
2011 – Bry
2010 – J/Stri
2009 – Alexi
2008 – Doogan
#8 Oklahoma vs. #9 Texas A&M
With all due respect to Pitt, UCLA, Arizona, and UConn, I think that Texas A&M might be the most disappointing team in the nation. OU has looked real good and real bad – sometimes within a couple of days. The winner here gets #1 Kansas tomorrow. 8 people have Texas A&M in the mild upset (Bry, Dave, J, Lohse, Primm, RSmith, Stri, Teddy). No one has either of these teams beating Kansas tomorrow.
#7 Oklahoma St. vs. #10 Texas Tech
TTech is in the conversation for worst major conference team in the nation. And, OSU has Keaton Page – who is Jimmer without the Latterday Saints. The winner here will get to deal with #2 Missouri. Teddy is the only one that took a shot at TTech here. Dave and J have a lot at stake here, as they both have the Cowboys upsetting Mizzou in tomorrow’s quarterfinal.
