For the fourth straight week, nine Big 12 men’s basketball teams have made it into ESPN’s rankings. Bracketing for next March’s men’s NCAA tournament.
If the tournament started today, the only team not on the field would be Oklahoma State. Last week, the Cowboys made him one of his teams in the Top 8 bubble. But after losing to Virginia Tech, the Cowboys were completely off the board. However, after an undefeated week, the Cowboys became his second team in the First Four Out.
The bigger news is that Kansas has moved to the No. 1 seed line. It’s a week after him when Texas fell off its line. Kansas has been blowing away opponents in its last two games, a “Border War” game against Missouri and then against his then-No. 14 Indiana.
The nine Big 12 teams in the field currently predicted are:
KansasNo. 1 seed in the Midwest region (Kansas City)
BaylorNo. 3 seed in the Western Division (Las Vegas)
texasNo. 4 seed in the Southern Region (Louisville)
west virginia4th seed in the Eastern Region (New York City)
IowaNo. 8 seed in the Southern Region (Louisville)
TCUNo. 10 seed in the Southern Region (Louisville)
Kansas10th seed in the Midwest region (Kansas City)
texas tech11th seed in the Eastern Region (New York City)
Oklahoma11th seed in the Southern Region (Louisville)
Kansas moved up the seed line after overpowering the Indians. The face of the Jayhawks ranked Indiana on Saturday, Kansas, where he will play either SIUE or Nicholls State in the first round.
Baylor stayed on the same seedline from last week, facing UC Irvine in the first round.
After head coach Chris Beard was suspended after being arrested on third-degree assault charges last Monday morning, Texas dropped the seed line despite winning two games last week. Texas will face Oral Roberts in the first round.
West Virginia surged again as the Mountaineers moved from the 6th seed to the 4th seed this week. The Mountaineers will play Yale in the first round.
Iowa performed well as the 8th seed. The Cyclones will face Utah State in the first round.
Both TCU and Kansas State University are the 10th seed. K state has raised the seed line since last week. The Horned Frogs will face Maryland in the first round, while Kansas State will face Marquette in the first round.
Oklahoma and Texas Tech are both 11th seeds. The Red Raiders faced Xavier in the first round, while Oklahoma faced Clayton in the First Four Games.
Houston is the only future Big 12 team on the field, and the second-seeded Cougars will face Norfolk State in the first round.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter Postcard @Postins.
