It’s full steam ahead in the month of February, a time when college basketball typically starts to see separation ahead of March Madness. And we have already seen plenty of that in the Big 12 Conference. But as we get set for the final month of the regular season, here are the top five storylines to watch as Big 12 basketball heads down the home stretch.
1. Who Separates?
The Big 12 Conference has 5-6 teams stacked at the top of the standings. And over the next couple of weeks we will start to see some separation as these teams begin to play each other over the next two weeks or so. This weekend begins with Houston at BYU, followed by a Big Monday match up between Arizona and Kansas. Fast-forward to next weekend and Kansas plays at Iowa State, while Arizona hosts Texas Tech. The next Big Monday is Houston at Iowa State, with the following Saturday, February 21st, including Arizona at Houston and Iowa State at BYU. These two weeks will define who is standing at the end for the Big 12 regular season crown.
2. More Than 7 in the NCAA Tournament?
Is the Big 12 Conference going to get more than seven teams in the Big Dance? At this point, the locks are Arizona, Houston, Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech and BYU, while UCF is definitely right there. Oklahoma State is in the “First Four Out”, according to Joe Lunardi, after they beat BYU on Wednesday night.
It seems like an 8th team is down to Oklahoma State, West Virginia or TCU, but the latter two feel like stretches at this point. But none of these programs can suffer bad losses to the bottom of the Big 12 over the next few weeks if they want to keep themselves in the conversation to go dancing.
3. Undefeated Cats
How long can Arizona stay undefeated? They’re 22-0, and after Oklahoma State this weekend, it’s: at Kansas, vs. Texas Tech, vs. BYU and at Houston. There isn’t a tougher four-game stretch in college basketball than that right there. I don’t think they’ll finish the season undefeated. This league is just too much of a grind. But with each passing game, the conversation becomes more compelling, especially with so many ranked match ups on the horizon.
4. Whose Seat Gets Hotter?
Jerome Tang‘s in on fire, but he just might not be able to be fired due to the monster buyout on his contract that is north of $18 million. Bobby Hurley is playing out the string on the final year of his deal with Arizona State. After that, how hot does Wes Miller’s seat start to get at Cincinnati if they struggle this month? He has another sizable buyout of more than $9 million that drops to around $5 million after April. Is Jamie Dixon in any trouble at his alma mater if this season gets away from him? Those are the names that come to mind as the most likely to be in some trouble if February collapses.
5. Big 12 Star Power
The Big 12 Conference has the most star power in college basketball, led by its freshmen phenoms like Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa. The Big 12 Conference has half of ESPN’s Top 10 midseason college basketball stars.
And with the unbelievable games set to play out in the next two to three weeks, we are going to see these stars playing on the biggest stages in college basketball. And it’s all going to happen right here in the Big 12 Conference. It’s going to be a special month in this league.
