Big 12 Basketball: Final week approaches with tourney bids on the line

The last week of the regular season is upon us. For some teams with more to lose than gain, this is really good news. However, some teams may be feeling the pressure of potentially missing the tournament.

The Big 12 is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, basketball conferences in the country, which has a lot of teams vying for tournament bids.

One-by-one, let’s analyze each team’s tournament chances and what their March will look like.

Jan 27, 2014; Norman, OK, USA; Oklahoma Sooners forward Ryan Spangler (00) dunks over Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Marcus Smart (33) during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

For the Kansas Jayhawks, there is no doubt they are in the tourney. They’ve been a top ten team all season, and will undoubtedly get a high seed.

Their loss to in Stillwater to the Oklahoma State Cowboys seems to have not caused too much damage to their chances of a one seed. Syracuse’s recent slide gives them and another Kansas school a good shot at taking two of the four top seeds.

Kansas should still be a favorite in the tournament.

As for the Oklahoma Sooners, Texas Longhorns, and Iowa State Cyclones, those three should be able to occupy seeds in the 3-6 range. Iowa State ranks eleventh in RPI, with quality wins over the Michigan Wolverines, Brigham Young Cougars, as well as wins over every Big 12 school minus Kansas.

The Sooners could secure a top five seed if they can win out and do well in the tournament. They don’t have any huge wins outside of conference play, but OU has been solid at bouncing back from losses and have only lost one game all season by double digits.

The Texas Longhorns saw a drop in their stock after crushing losses to the Kansas State Wildcats, Kansas Jayhawks, and Oklahoma Sooners, but still should have a top half seed.

The Kansas State Wildcats should get in with a decent track record, though, Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology projects them as an eight seed.

The Baylor Bears and Oklahoma State Cowboys had tough times stay competitive in the Big 12, but likely get a bottom half seed. The Pokes secured their spot with a win over Kansas, and Baylor’s RPI and quality wins over Kentucky and Colorado.

Unfortunately for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and West Virginia Mountaineers, multiple losing streaks will prevent them from dancing this March. Both have quality teams, but were outmuscled by a tough conference slate.

The TCU Horned Frogs are 0-16 in conference play, and could become the first Big 12 team to go winless in conference play since the 2003-04 Texas A&M Aggies.

Here’s our rundown of where we see teams heading in to the Dance.

Kansas Jayhawks – 1 seed

Iowa State Cyclones – 4 seed

Oklahoma Sooners – 4 seed

Texas Longhorns – 6 seed

Kansas State Wildcats – 7 seed

Oklahoma State Cowboys – 11 seed

Baylor Bears – 12 seed