Welcome to our first Big 12 men’s and women’s basketball mailbag of the 2024-25 season. It’s time for us to preview the best conference in all of college basketball.
Season openers are set for Monday, and we’ve got some great games on tap throughout non-conference.
In the tradition of my colleague, Derek Duke, who covers football here at Heartland College Sports, I’m going to take this opportunity most weeks to answer your questions about what’s happening in the Big 12.
If you ever want to pose a question all you have to do is hit me up on X (formerly Twitter) @PostinsPostcard or hit up our site’s X account @Heartland_CS. Or pose a question at our Facebook when we ask for mailbag questions during the week.
This week, we’re going to answer every question we got either on X or on Facebook. So, let’s dig in.
From John Kelly: Can the Big 12 get six teams as Top 4 seeds?
Let’s look at last year’s bracket — with the new Big 12 teams included — for reference. The Big 12 had Arizona, Baylor, Houston, Iowa State, and Kansas among the Top 16 seeds in March Madness. That’s five. Houston was the only No. 1 seed. I think that for it to happen, the league is going to need two No. 1 seeds (one could argue that ISU should have been last year after beating Houston in the Big 12 Tournament).
I’m going to say no. I think all five of those teams, barring injury, can get there. But I’m not sure which team will be that sixth team. That’s what keeps me from saying yes.
As for the women, I don’t believe they’ll have six of the Top 16 seeds. But, I think it’s possible they could have five.
From Alex Sosa III: Who do you predict will be the top three teams to bust and the top three teams to watch?
Big 12 Men’s Basketball
Teams to Bust (relative to where they’re at in the coaches’ poll): Cincinnati (No. 6), BYU (No. 9) and UCF (No. 11).
Teams to Watch: Texas Tech (No. 7), Kansas State (No. 8), Arizona State (No. 12).
Big 12 Women’s Basketball
Teams to Bust: Utah (No. 6), Kansas (No. 8), Oklahoma State (No. 11).
Teams to Watch: Arizona (No. 7), Texas Tech (No. 10), Cincinnati (No. 13).
I’m not offering context — just my gut reaction to the question.
From Chris Mackey: As we’ve seen in football season, moving conferences and being successful in your first season is very difficult. Can we expect a similar letdown for these teams in conference play in basketball too?
On the men’s side, you won’t see that from Arizona. That team is too talented, and, like Houston a year ago, the Wildcats are ready for this. I worry about Colorado and Utah. Both programs had a lot of turnover and could really struggle this year, but I think they would have struggled in their former conference for the same reason. Arizona State is the wild card. I love the talent coach Bobby Hurley has curated, but will it all come together?
On the women’s side, there are stylistic differences in how they play compared to the current Big 12 teams, and all four coaches acknowledged that at media day. Utah and Arizona are the best equipped to handle it. But watching those two teams adjust to the defensive excellence in this conference will be interesting.
From Lott Hall: Who outside of the preseason Top 5 will end up in the Top 5?
For the men, the top five were Kansas, Houston, Iowa State, Baylor, and Arizona. I’d say Texas Tech. Grant McCasland has assembled an array of high-percentage outside shooters, Devan Cambridge is back, and they should be better defensively in his second season.
For the women, the top five were Kansas State, Iowa State, Baylor, TCU, and West Virginia. Oddly, my answer here is also Texas Tech. I think—I THINK—coach Krista Gerlich finally has the pieces to get into the NCAA Tournament and should allow them to climb the ladder in this conference.
From Stan Hollinbaugh: What does the conference tournament bracket look like for a 16-team conference?
Easiest question of the week. The Big 12 unveiled the official bracket at media days.
The top four teams get double byes, and the next four teams get single byes. Same for the women. So, you get four first-round games on Day 1, followed by four second-round games on Day 2 and four more quarterfinal games on Day 3. If you love basketball, those are your days. The semifinals (two games) are on Day 4, and the championship game is on Day 5.
From Vic Kiser (OcalaVic on X): Is WVU underrated?
The women might be, even as they were selected No. 5 in the coaches poll. I think they have the goods to host an NCAA sub-regional.
As for the men? I don’t think so. While I like what they’ve done on the perimeter, I have concerns about the frontcourt and whether they have the depth to compete in the Big 12. I think their No. 12 coaches poll ranking is just about right.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
