Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Kansas coach Bill Self could be considered an expert on the Big 12 Tournament.
Self’s teams are 11-2 in the tournament and have won the last three titles in a row. So it’s worth noting Self’s thoughts on the 2009 Big 12 Tournament, which will run Wednesday to Saturday in Oklahoma City.
“I think it will be the hardest tournament to win three games,” Self said. “In other years — no disrespect to other years — I’ve felt like maybe you didn’t have to play great all three nights to win.”
breakbox1
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
Kansas vs
Baylor/Nebraska
Thursday, 11:30 a.m.
Ford Center
Oklahoma City
TV: ESPN2 (Channel 34)
As a result of winning the Big 12 regular season championship, Kansas received a bye on the first day of the tournament and won’t play until 11:30 a.m. Thursday against the winner of the Nebraska vs. Baylor first-round game.
Both of these teams scare Self. Although Baylor, the No. 9 seed in the tournament, went 5-11 in Big 12 play, it was picked third in the conference at the start of the year, and Self said it has the talent to upset any team. Nebraska, the No. 8 seed, nearly knocked off Kansas early in the year before Kansas pulled off a narrow 68-62 victory at the Devaney Center.
But Self’s feelings on the tournament extend past Baylor and Nebraska. It’s about the depth in the conference. Self mentioned how sixth-seeded Texas A&M was on a six-game winning streak and how seventh-seeded Oklahoma State has won six of its last seven games.
Members of the 2007-2008 KU men's basketball team celebrate their 2008 Big 12 Championship victory. Many are saying this year's tournament will be tougher than usual.
“There are going to be some good — really good — second round games,” Self said. “Because as the league has gone on, what we’ve found out is there are a lot better teams in the middle of the pack than what we thought.”
Nationally, the Big 12 has battled a perception that it was in a down year all season. Only three teams have consistently stayed in the Top 25: Kansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. NCAA tournament projections such as ESPN’s Bracketology at one point predicted as few as four teams making the tournament: Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas.
The conference fought the negative reputation by dispersing handouts to members of the media before games. These sheets listed some of the Big 12’s strongest nonconference victories and juxtaposed favorable statistics with the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is seen as one of the nation’s best.
Kansas players never needed any convincing: They said they knew how tough the Big 12 was.
“I don’t think the Big 12 is weak,” junior guard Sherron Collins said. “I think we’ve got some good teams in our conference, better than any other conference in the country.”
The Big 12 still ranks third, behind the ACC and the Big Ten, in the Ratings Percentage Index, a statistical system used by the NCAA Basketball Tournament selection committee, according to RealtimeRPI.com.
But ESPN’s latest bracketology has six teams making the NCAA tournament: Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. Fourth-seeded Kansas State is considered on the bubble.
“There are a lot of teams here that don’t get credit,” senior center Matt Kleinmann said. “There have been a lot of competitive games. Look at Texas Tech.”
Kleinmann is, of course, referring to Kansas’ 84-65 loss to Texas Tech, who finished 11th and 3-13 in the Big 12. If that doesn’t show the depth of the conference, then nothing will.
Self figures that depth will make the tournament tougher than ever.
— — Edited by Casey Miles
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