What-If Wednesday: Big 12 NCAA Tournament Bids, Jim Harbaugh Leaves, Noah Fifita Stays
Welcome into our newest feature, we’re calling, “What-If Wednesday”. In this column, I’ll propose a handful of questions that, at this point, have not come to fruition. But IF they do, what will come out of it? What’s the end game?
Join us for this one and let’s have some fun.
What If the Big 12 Gets 10 Teams into the NCAA Tournament?
Then it would be still one shy of the all-time NCAA Tournament record. The latest Bracketology has eight teams in March Madness, but the record is 11 teams from the Big East in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. In 2011, the Big East had five teams with Top 4 seeds, including No. 1 seed Pittsburgh, No. 2 seed Notre Dame, No. 3 seed Syracuse, No. 3 seed UConn, No. 4 seed Louisville. No. 3 UConn went on to win the NCAA Tournament that year, but only one other team reached the Sweet 16 (Marquette).
And while the Big 12 has eight teams in, according to the latest Bracketology, including (1) Kansas, (2) Houston, (3) Baylor, (5) Oklahoma, (6) BYU,(7) Iowa State, (9) TCU, and (10) Texas Tech, I could certainly see 10 making it, with Kansas State and Cincinnati on the outside looking in, but that was before both got Top 20 wins on Tuesday night.
To get to 11, BYU would probably need to step up, and they got back on the right track by beating Iowa State on Tuesday night.
What If Big 12 Jim Harbaugh Leaves Michigan?
Then expect Big 12 coaches to immediately start getting attention.
Heck, it’s already happening. Two Big 12 head coaches would be on the shortlist if that were to happen, according to The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman, and both of them hail from the Sunflower State. Kansas’ Lance Leipold is the first external candidate mentioned by Feldman, and his turnaround of the Jayhawks’ program makes him a prime contender. Meanwhile, Kansas State’s Chris Klieman is also a strong name on the hypothetical list and has plenty of winning experience himself.
This is not going to end.
Every time a Big Ten or SEC job opens, national media will just look to the Big 12 coaches who they perceive as “overachieving” and then throw their names into the conversation.
Most fan bases would rather have this attention, because it means their team is playing well, but it’s just going to be the way things are for the Big 12 going forward. Maybe the more the Big 12 coaches reject these opportunities, the less it will happen. But I won’t hold my breath.
What If Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan Ultimately Stay at Arizona?
Then Arizona will remain a Big 12 contender in 2024, even without Jedd Fisch, who left for the Washington job last week.
Noah Fifita and Tetairoa McMillan are reportedly planning to stay at Arizona, but nothing is official.
In 2023, Fifita completed 72.4% of his attempts for 2,869 yards and 26 touchdowns with just five interceptions. 90 attempts, 1,402 yards, and 10 of those touchdowns went to McMillan, as the All-American wideout led the Arizona offense with 15.6 yards per catch.
The two were the key pieces of Arizona’s high-flying offense that racked up 34.6 points per game in 2023 (tied for 18th in the country), and 8.64 yards per pass attempt (12th in the country). They were also eighth nationally in pass yards per game (308.3), and sixth nationally with 36 pass touchdowns.
If they do indeed stay, it would be a major boost for the Wildcats heading into the 2024 season and they will have every reason to believe they can compete at the top of what will be a wide-open Big 12 Conference next season.
