Big 12 Tournament 2022: Schedule and Conference Bracket Predictions
Chaos could be coming soon to the Big 12 men's basketball conference.
In a way, it's already here, since the 10-team field will hold a nine-team tournament next week due to Oklahoma State's ineligibility by way of its postseason ban. That might be a minor footnote by the tourney's end, though.
There are no easy outs in this field. West Virginia comes closest to wearing that label, but the Mountaineers: beat Iowa State, lost by a single point to Texas, lost both games to Baylor by single digits and came within seven points of knocking off Texas Tech. West Virginia is ranked 73rd by KenPom.com, making it the conference's only club ranked outside of the top 60 and one of only two to not crack the top 45 (Kansas State, 56th).
While the most likely outcome of the upcoming tournament is a juggernaut like Baylor, Kansas or Texas Tech taking down the field, it doesn't feel remotely hyperbolic to say any team could go on a run.
Buckle up, folks. It's sure to be a wild ride.
Tournament Schedule, Bracket
Schedule
Wednesday, March 9
No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed, 7 p.m. ET
Thursday, March 10
No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed, 12:30 p.m. ET
No. 1 seed vs. No. 8/9 seed winner, 3 p.m. ET
No. 2 seed vs. No. 7 seed, 7 p.m. ET
No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed, 9:30 p.m. ET
Friday, March 11
Semifinal 1, 7 p.m. ET
Semifinal 2, 9:30 p.m. ET
Saturday, March 12
Championship, 6 p.m. ET
Current Bracket
No. 1 Baylor
No. 8 Kansas State/No. 9 West Virginia
No. 4 Texas
No. 5 TCU
No. 3 Texas Tech
No. 6 Iowa State
No. 2 Kansas
No. 7 Oklahoma
Prediction: Iowa State Gets Knocked out and onto the Bubble
The Cyclones won their first 12 games this season and climbed all the way to No. 8 in the AP poll. It seems strange to even bring up bubble talk for this bunch, but the in-conference portion of the campaign has been rocky enough to do it.
Iowa State has 10 conference losses so far. A Saturday visit to Waco against top-seeded Baylor could easily bring about No. 11. If the Cyclones follow that up by losing their tournament opener in Kansas City, they'd go into Selection Sunday with three consecutive losses, at least one of which was suffered in particularly brutal fashion.
In Iowa State's last outing, its offense never made the short trip to its home arena, and the Cyclones stumbled through a 53-36 loss. It was the second time this season the program has set the record for its fewest points ever scored at Hilton Coliseum.
The Cyclones should have the resume to get an invitation to the Big Dance. They have 20 wins under their belt and some really quality victories on their resume (Iowa, Texas Tech, Texas). But they have a single consistent scorer Izaiah Brockington, and when he can't get it going, this group plays some of the worst offense in the nation. If Iowa State closes with another anemic showing or two, it could wind up sweating through Selection Sunday.
Prediction: Kansas Gets Upset in First Game
Kansas often controls this conference, and this year hasn't really been different. The Jayhawks enter their season finale tied with Baylor atop the standings.
But this isn't one of the most talented teams Bill Self has ever coached, and it might be running out of steam. Kansas just followed up back-to-back double-digit losses (the first to Baylor, the next to TCU) by sweating out a four-point victory over that same TCU team.
Now, the Jayhawks wrap up against a Texas team they lost to last month. It's possible this mini-skid carries over into the tournament, and Kansas—which can struggle to find consistent offense from anyone not named Ochai Agbaji or Christian Braun—could get a tricky draw there, too.
If the current bracket holds, the Jayhawks would open up against Oklahoma. While Kansas swept the season series 2-0, the two games were decided by a total of five points. The Sooners coaxed some uncharacteristically rough outings out of Agbaji (21 total points on 7-of-23 shooting) and have a coach in Porter Moser who knows how to win in March, having previously led Loyola Chicago the 2018 Final Four.