Many people think that the Big XII is the best conference in basketball this year. I see their point, and I think it’s close. But, I think that this league is clearly 2nd to the Big Ten. People seem to discount the Big Ten because it has been clearly the best for several years now, but we’ll get to that on the Big Ten page. This is all about just how great the Big XII has been this year. Even Texas Tech is really well right now. I think every team in this league except for pitiful TCU, would have the ability to win at least one game in the NCAA Tournament. And, I think there are at least 3 legitimate Sweet 16 teams here – one of them happens to be in 8th place because of, well, you all know. One last thing – I am not sure that you can possibly overstate what is going on in Lawrence, KS, right now. Bill Self and the Jayhawks have won TEN STRAIGHT BIG XII TITLES! WHAT?!?!?!?!? That is so incredibly amazing that it doesn’t get its due. Seriously, that is absolutely ridiculous in this day and age. The question now is – how will they fair without Joel Embiid? I don’t know, but I wouldn’t bet against them.
It is not ridiculous to say that the CTC overall title could easily be decided right here. This tournament is so all over the place, it’s ridiculous. SIX different teams are represented with championship picks, including five picked by multiple people, and most incredibly, FOUR teams are supported by at least FOUR people as the Big XII champ. #1 Kansas has the most, but it’s barely one-quarter of the field (8). #4 Iowa State and #8 Oklahoma State each have 5 people backing them. #2 Oklahoma has 4. #3 Texas has 2 and #5 K-State has 1. WOW! Sleepers? The whole tournament is a sleeper, except the bottom two teams, apparently, as only 3 people picked an upset in either game in the opening round. The past two Big XII champions are not back this year, so we have to go all the way back to 2011 to find the “defending champ,” which is Bry. No one has ever won this tournament more than once, so Bry, J, Stri, Alexi, and Doogan are all trying to become the first to do that.
CHAMPIONSHIP (March 15th – 60 points)
#4 Iowa State vs #7 Baylor
The Cyclones won back-to-back brutally tough games over Kansas State and Kansas to get here to the championship. Baylor has won three in a row (and 10 of 11 overall), beating TCU, Oklahoma, and whooping Texas in the semis. Both teams are playing at truly elite levels. The two teams split in the regular season including a 74-61 Baylor win 11 days ago.
No one has Baylor winning this championship, but Alexi, Bry, Lynch, Scoot, and Stritts all have Iowa State here. Scoot wins the Big XII outright with an Iowa State win here, but has to share it with Dave and Gersh if Baylor wins.
SEMIFINALS (March 14th – 40 points each)
#1 Kansas vs #4 Iowa State
Both of these teams survived incredibly tough quarterfinal tests to get here to open a great Big XII semifinal double-header. Andrew Wiggins put on a show for Jayhawks fans in Kansas City, as KU won in overtime against a beat-up Ok State team. Iowa State got double-doubles from Hogue and Ejim in a tough, hard-fought win over K-State. Now, these two will go at it in what might be the best game of the 44 games today.
10 people (Alexi, Bry, Dave, Gersh, GrossJr, Lynch, PapaCim, Scoot, Stritts, Teddy) have Iowa State in the upset here, with half of them (Alexi, Bry, Lynch, Scoot, Stritts) putting their champion at risk with ISU. Only 8 people (Caleb, Chris, Colton, GrossSr, J, Mac, Stri, WaTers) have Kansas winning this game, but all 8 have them taking the championship. Needless to say, this is a huge CTC game, as at least 5 people will lose a champion here.
Iowa State 94 – Kansas 83
#3 Texas vs #7 Baylor
These fierce in-state rivals will battle it out in Kansas City for the right to play for the Big XII title on Saturday. Texas absolutely destroyed West Virginia in the quarters, while Baylor jumped out to a big lead and then held on against #2 Oklahoma. May the worse coach lose…
Only 12 of the 25 entries can earn points here. 8 people (Dave, Gersh, GrossSr, J, RDoc, Scoot, Stritts, WaTers) have Texas, while 4 (Chris, Doogan, Lazarow, Primm) have Baylor. No one took Baylor to win the tournament, but Dave and Gersh both have Texas doing it.
Baylor 86 – Texas 69
QUARTERFINALS (March 13th – 20 points each)
#4 Iowa State vs #5 Kansas State
I love this Iowa State team. I don’t know who you would consider the third-best player on this team, but I know that I would take whoever it is over any 3rd-best player on any team in America. They don’t have a superstar (though, I have always loved Deandre Kane from his days at Marshall), but they have three guys who complement each other so incredibly well and are so versatile and brutally hard to match up against, that I seriously think that this team is a legit Final Four contender. They open against a really quality K-State team that looked terrible for much of the noncon, but have really turned it on. But, I guess that’s what happens when your best player is a somewhat raw freshman. And, by “somewhat raw” I kind of mean “completely amazing.” There are a lot of great freshmen around the country – and in the Big XII, specifically – but Marcus Foster may be the most underrated, if not having the best year. And, let’s hear it for Bruce Weber, who was kicked out of the Illinois job and has now done two spectacular coaching jobs in Manhattan, KS. Oh, and one quick note on the Big XII quarterfinal quadruple-header. There are 8 teams playing in Kansas City today – and ALL EIGHT OF THEM are legit NCAA Tournament-caliber teams. I can’t remember that ever happening. It has been quite the season in this league.
Only 6 people (Chris, GrossSr, Mac, Primm, Stumpf, WaTers) went with the slight ‘dog of K-State here. Stumpf has them going to the finals, while Primm has them winning the whole thing. 5 people (Dave, Gersh, GrossJr, PapaCim, Teddy) have ISU going to the finals and losing, while 5 more (Alexi, Bry, Lynch, Scoot, Stritts) put their Big XII champ on the line with the Cyclones here. So, no matter what happens, someone will lose a champion in this quarterfinal.
Iowa State 91 – Kansas State 85
#1 Kansas vs #8 Oklahoma State
I am officially calling this the “best quarterfinal in the history of conference tournaments.” Because of OK State’s injuries and suspensions, they finished 8th in the conference, which means they are grossly underseeded. Because of Kansas’s RIDICULOUS run of Big XII titles, they are – as always – the 1-seed. So, now they face off in what should be an incredible game, Elite Eight type game. Oh, and I won’t spend too much time on a Kansas team that gets plenty of press, but I have to ask one question – is there anyone with out there with the balls to come out and say “I was wrong when I called Andrew Wiggins a bust?” Didn’t think so. Shameless. Anyway, the dude is a total stud and could be the next Tracy McGrady on the next level (people forget just how great McGrady was for a short period of time).
Obviously, with a game this big in reality happening so early in a tournament, the entire shape of the CTC could be at stake here. At least 5 people are gonna lose a champion here in the quarterfinals. Becks, Doogan, Lazarow, Lohse, and RDoc all have the Cowboys winning this tournament. 8 others (Caleb, Chris, Colton, GrossSr, J, Mac, Stri, WaTers) have Kansas. Interestingly, no one that has either of these teams making the finals has them losing there. So, Dave, Gersh, PapaCim, Scoot, and Stumpf, who all have Kansas here, don’t have them in the finals. And, Alexi, Bry, GrossJr, Lynch, Primm, Stritts, and Teddy, who have OK State here, have them losing in the semis. Should be just a phenomenal game.
Kansas 77 – Oklahoma State 70 (OT)
#2 Oklahoma vs #7 Baylor
The amazing quadruple-header with 8 tournament teams kicks off its evening session with a really interesting matchup between an Oklahoma team that is solid and consistent and just flat-out won games all year against a Baylor team that is eye-poppingly athletic and huge, but frustratingly inconsistent and just didn’t win games. Wednesday night was the perfect example, as this Baylor team should have run a terrible TCU team right off the court, but they let them hang around and hang around and just never really finished them off with any force. They will need to play A LOT better to beat a very well-coached OU team led by an underrated backcourt of Buddy Hield and Cameron Clark. The frontcourt has also really come along and is incredibly young. Lon Kruger is going to have this team relevant for a long time to come.
This is yet another GIGANTIC game for the CTC. Another split, as 13 people have the upset with Baylor, and 12 have OU (Becks, Caleb, Colton, GrossJr, Lohse, Lynch, Mac, PapaCim, RDoc, Stri, Stumpf, Teddy). Interestingly, everyone who has OU winning here except RDoc has them winning again in the semis. And GrossJr, PapaCim, Stumpf, and Teddy all believe that the Sooners will win this tournament. As for Baylor, their supporters – though more of them – aren’t quite as strong believers. Chris, Doogan, Lazarow, and Primm are the only 4 that have the Bears even getting to the finals, and none of them have them winning it.
Baylor 78 – Oklahoma 73
#3 Texas vs #6 West Virginia
Can these coaches have any more opposite reputations? Bobby Huggins is the cranky old basketball guy who gets players he can handle and mold, but who may not be the most coveted and then he wins with them. Rick Barnes, on the other hand, is more of a folksy recruiter, who lands the big fish and then doesn’t win with them. Well, interestingly, this year, it took Huggins a while to bring his guys around – though they are playing REALLY well now – and Barnes has been winning all year with seemingly inferior talent. Maybe chasing the big fish isn’t the best way to win in Austin after all. Well, we will see. Either way, this game should close out a terrific day of hoops in Kansas City. Oh, and speaking of coaches, how crazy is it that 8 of the 10 coaches in the Big XII have been to the Elite Eight? That’s insane.
10 people (Alexi, Becks, Bry, Chris, Doogan, Lazarow, Lynch, PapaCim, Stumpf, Teddy) went with a decent upset pick with WVU here. Alexi and Bry have the Mountaineers reaching the finals. Of the 15 that have Texas winning this game, 8 of them (Dave, Gersh, GrossSr, J, RDoc, Scoot, Stritts, WaTers) have the Longhorns in the finals. Dave and Gersh both have them winning this tournament.
Texas 66 – West Virginia 49
OPENING ROUND (March 12th – 10 points each)
#8 Oklahoma State vs #9 Texas Tech
Marcus Smart…well, you all know all the stories. I don’t care about all that. What I care about is the fact that this dude can flat-out play. And, they are going to make the tournament and be GHASTLY underseeded. It’s kind of unfair to whoever has to play them. Kind of like them being an 8-seed in the 10-team Big XII. They face a Texas Tech team that probably could upset most other teams in the league, as they are playing very well under Tubby. But, this Cowboy team is legit. And, with the winner of this game getting Kansas in the quarters, will an OkState-Kansas game be the best conference tournament quarterfinal in NCAA history? Don’t just blow it off – think about it. Has there ever been a better quarterfinal in the history of conference tournaments than Kansas-OK State?
The intrigue in the opening round from a CTC standpoint is only in the future ramifications of these games. Only Colton, GrossSr, and PapaCim have Tech here and none of them have the Red Raiders beating Kansas. But, this is a HUGE game nonetheless. This is unprecedented. 5 people (Becks, Doogan, Lazarow, Lohse, RDoc) have the Cowboys winning this entire tournament. They are the only 5 that have them even reaching the finals, but 7 more (Alexi, Bry, GrossJr, Lynch, Primm, Stritts, Teddy) have them beating Kansas in the quarters. Bracket-buster potential here, for sure.
Oklahoma State 80 – Texas Tech 62
In what is clearly the most memorable Ok State-Texas Tech game of the year, Marcus Smart made some news against Tech. He had 18 points, 7 boards, 7 assists, 6 steals, and a block in a monster performance that even Jeff Orr would be impressed by. Now, we are officially set up for, what I am calling, the greatest quarterfinal in the history of conference tournament history when they take on Kansas.
Colton, GrossSr, and PapaCim miss a minor upset here, but that isn’t the news here. Becks, Doogan, Lazarow, Lohse, and RDoc all keep alive their 8-seed champion. 7 more keep alive a semifinalist.
#7 Baylor vs #10 TCU
TCU is just plain awful. Absolutely terrible. Baylor is very talented and playing their best right now. This is just a bye before a really nice 2/7 date between Baylor and Oklahoma. Oh, and by the way, I think I could watch Brady Heslop shoot 3’s all day and never get bored. Just sayin’. The winner of this game gets #2 Oklahoma in the quarters.
No one has TCU here, but there is still a TON of intrigue in this game (if it stays close). Chris, Doogan, Lazarow, and Primm have the Baylor Bears going to the finals. 9 others (Alexi, Bry, Dave, Gersh, GrossSr, J, Scoot, Stritts, WaTers) all have Baylor going to the semis before losing.
Baylor 76 – TCU 68
It wasn’t pretty, but the Bears took care of TCU and moves on to face #2 Oklahoma in the quarters on Thursday. Cory Jefferson had 20, and Isaiah Austin added 18, as the talented Baylor team ends a terrible season for the Horned Frogs, who just don’t belong in this conference.
Everyone got this right, including a bunch of people with Baylor going pretty far. The biggest relief came from Chris, Doogan, Lazarow, and Primm, who keep alive a finalist.
CTC UPDATE
Championship Picks
- #1 Kansas (8) – Caleb, Chris, Colton, GrossSr, J, Mac, Stri, WaTers
- #2 Oklahoma (4) – GrossJr, PapaCim, Stumpf, Teddy
- #3 Texas (2) – Dave, Gersh
- #4 Iowa State (5) – Alexi, Bry, Lynch, Scoot, Stritts
- #5 Kansas State (1) – Primm
- #6 West Virginia (0)
- #7 Baylor (0)
- #8 Oklahoma State (5) – Becks, Doogan, Lazarow, Lohse, RDoc
Biggest Upsets
- R1 – #9 Texas Tech (Colton, GrossSr, PapaCim)
- QF – #8 Oklahoma State (many)
- SF – #8 Oklahoma State (Becks, Doogan, Lazarow, Lohse, RDoc)
Previous CTC Champions
- 2008 – Doogan
- 2009 – Alexi
- 2010 – J, Stri
- 2011 – Bry
- 2012 – KA
- 2013 – LohseJr (perfect)
2014 Scores
