My top 25 for college basketball and why the Big 12 is most prepared for the tournament:
- Purdue Boilermakers 22-2
- UConn Huskies 22-2
- Houston Cougars 21-3
- Kansas Jayhawks 19-6
- Tennessee Volunteers 17-6
- Iowa State Cyclones 19-5
- Baylor Bears 17-6
- Marquette Golden Eagles 19-5
- Arizona Wildcats 19-5
- North Carolina Tar Heels 19-6
- Auburn Tigers 19-5
- Alabama Crimson Tide 17-7
- Creighton Bluejays 17-7
- South Carolina Gamecocks 21-3
- Duke Blue Devils 19-5
- BYU Cougars 17-6
- Texas Tech Red Raiders 18-6
- Illinois Fighting Illini 18-6
- Oklahoma Sooners 18-6
- TCU Horned Frogs 17-7
- Kentucky Wildcats 16-7
- Virginia Cavaliers 19-6
- Colorado State Rams 19-5
- Clemson Tigers 16-7
- Utah State Aggies 20-4
Conference Breakdown
Big 12: 7 (3, 4, 6, 7, 16, 17, 19, 20)
SEC: 5 (5, 11, 12, 14, 21)
ACC: 4 (10, 15, 22, 24)
Big East: 3 (2, 8, 13)
Big Ten: 2 (1, 18)
Mountain West: 2 (23, 25)
The Strength of the Big 12
While of these losses may hurt Big 12 teams in ranking, I think every Big 12 team is better off because of their tough schedules. The fact that the top teams in the Big 12 have to bring their A game every week, means that they will be ready to play on a night in-night out basis come tournament time. I think Houston, Kansas, Iowa State, and Baylor all have the potential to win it all while BYU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, TCU, and even Texas, Kansas State, or Cincinnati could have deep runs. This conference has a very good chance of getting multiple Elite 8 teams this March.
JacobErwin.com 