Wednesday, March 10, 2010
The Kansas Jayhawks defeated the Missouri Tigers on the road Saturday to finish 15-1 in Big 12 play this season. Even though the Jayhawks have made it look easy this season, their run through one of the nation’s best conferences made me realize just how tough the Big 12 really is.
Kansas opened its Big 12 season with a hard fought 84-72 victory at Nebraska back in January. After a solid home win against Texas Tech, the Jayhawks barely pulled out a win in Allen Fieldhouse against Baylor. It was a challenging start to the conference season, but the team was just getting started.
Back-to-back overtime wins on the road against Kansas State and Colorado took the Jayhawks to 7-0 in conference play. A win against Iowa State got Kansas ready for a big February game against Texas, which had been ranked No. 1 just a few weeks earlier. The Jayhawks used a huge run in the fi rst half to put away Texas and improve to 9-0 in Big 12 games.
After the victory at Texas, it looked as if the Jayhawks had a great shot of going undefeated in conference games. But after winning another four games in a row, Kansas faltered on the road against Oklahoma State, who came out on fi re and shot well for the whole game.
Kansas had lost its perfect Big 12 record, but wins last week allowed the Jayhawks to fi nish 15-1 and secure the outright conference title.
More than anything this season, I noticed how Kansas always seems to get its conference opponents’ best games, especially when they are playing on the road. Nebraska finished last in the Big 12, but the Cornhuskers played one of their top games of the season against the Jayhawks. Colorado will probably not make the NCAA Tournament, but the Buffaloes took Kansas to overtime on their home court.
The way that other teams and their fans get excited to have a chance to knock off Kansas is really a tribute to the success of the program. The Oklahoma State Cowboys will be in the NCAA Tournament, but their fans still rushed the court when they defeated the Jayhawks just a few weeks ago.
It is really quite a feat that the Jayhawks have been so successful in the Big 12 Conference this season. Most analysts picked Kansas to win the conference title, but few would have guessed that the Jayhawks could go 15-1 with road games at Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Kansas State.
As of right now, the Big 12 will probably get seven teams into the NCAA Tournament. Kansas has wins over all of the seven teams except for Oklahoma State, including two victories against Kansas State, who is currently projected as a No. 1 seed.
Both Missouri and Texas are projected as No. 7 seeds, which puts them in a great spot to knock off a No. 2 seed and reach the Sweet 16. It would be tough enough for a No. 2 seed to hold off the Tigers or the Longhorns, but they won’t have to defeat Texas or Missouri on the road like Kansas already has this season.
This season has given me a new appreciation for the Big 12 Conference. The Jayhawks really had to earn all 15 of their conference wins, and seven teams in the Big Dance puts the Big 12 right on line with any conference in the country. The Big East might be the best conference at the top, but the Big 12 is likely the best league top to bottom this season.
After the Big 12 schedule the Jayhawks rolled through this season, it looks as if they should be in good shape to handle anything during March Madness.
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