With the Big 12 basketball tournament in full swing, I thought it would be fun to make my own tournament. If basketball gets a tournament, then why not do one for football? Well, problem solved. Here is what a Big 12 tournament would have looked like last season based on standings.
Double Byes
Single Byes
First Round
#9 Cincinnati vs #16 Oklahoma State
#10 Kansas State vs #15 Colorado
#11 Baylor vs #14 West Virginia
Now comes the fun part, where I try to pick winners here. For the first game up, I would take Kansas over UCF. The Knights didn’t have the offense this season, and even though the Jayhawks’ defense wasn’t very good, I trust Jalon Daniels more than anyone on the field between those two.
As for Cincy and Oklahoma State, that’s a no-brainer. Give me Cincy all day. Then we move on to Kansas State and Colorado. The Wildcats had a down year, but Colorado was way worse. Easy pick, give me the Cats.
Baylor and West Virginia are probably the best matchup in this entire first round. Baylor had more talent, but I liked the way West Virginia finished compared to Baylor. The Mountaineers got better as the season went on, so I would take them over the Bears.
Second Round
#5 Arizona vs #12 Kansas
#8 Iowa State vs #9 Cincinnati
#7 TCU vs #10 Kansas State
#6 Arizona State vs #14 West Virginia
Starting with Arizona and Kansas, that is an easy one. Wildcats all day, and they already beat them once during the season as well. Now Iowa State and Cincinnati are a good one. While Cincy did beat them early in the season, that was a different Bearcats team than the one we saw towards the end of the year. I would like Iowa State since this tournament is held after the regular season.
Here is where I would take my first lower-seeded team in this second round. Give me Kansas State over TCU. The Wildcats put a beatdown on them during the year, and Avery Johnson is a bad matchup for TCU’s defense.
Finally, it is Arizona State and West Virginia. I gave the Mountaineers an upset win in the first round, but I won’t push my luck again. Even without Sam Leavitt, I would pick Arizona State in that spot.
Quarterfinals
#4 Houston vs #5 Arizona
#1 Texas Tech vs #8 Iowa State
#2 BYU vs #10 Kansas State
#3 Utah vs #6 Arizona State
The first game is a toss-up for me, but with Houston taking down Arizona earlier in the year, I like their chances. Both teams had a great year, but when it all boils down, I trust a Willie Fritz-coached team a little more. I’ll take Houston there.
Sorry, Iowa State fans, Texas Tech is night and day better. Tech in a landslide there. Now, while I think BYU and Kansas State could be interesting, BYU was far more consistent despite the talent being similar. I would take the Cougars.
Then we have Utah and Arizona State. The Utes dominated the Sun Devils the first go around, and I think the exact same thing would happen if they met again. Utah moves on.
Semifinals
#1 Texas Tech vs #4 Houston
#2 BYU vs #3 Utah
This is where things may get boring to some, but I am just keeping it real. Texas Tech blew the doors off of Houston once, and they would do it again. Houston is a great story, but they just don’t stack up against the boys from Lubbock.
A Holy War semifinal game would be epic and must watch tv. Anytime you get a rivalry game of this magnitude in a spot like this, ratings will go through the roof. With that said, both teams are great but to me, BYU was the better team, and they proved that once already and would likely do it again.
Finals
#1 Texas Tech vs #2 BYU
The first game between these two was one-sided, and we saw it again in the Big 12 championship game. But damn it, this is my postseason, and I can do what I want. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be much of a game as we all know. BYU would keep things interesting for a half to three quarters before Tech would pull away. To nobody’s surprise, the Red Raiders are your Big 12 regular-season and tournament champs.
