Predicting the rest of the Big 12 season

Photo Attribution: USATSI

UPDATED: 11:10 CST — after the Kansas-Iowa State travesty on ESPN.

Four teams still have a chance of winning the Big 12 regular season crown this year and OSU is one of them.

Let’s take a look at the remaining schedule for each squad, what I think is going to happen, and where each team will end up heading into the Big tournament.

Iowa State (9-5)
Feb. 25 Kansas (11-3) – L
March 2 at Oklahoma (9-5) – L
March 6 Oklahoma State (10-4) – W
March 9 at West Virginia (6-8) – W
Combined opponent record: 36-20

Kansas (11-3)
Feb. 25 at Iowa State (9-5) – W
March 2 West Virginia (6-8) – W
March 4 Texas Tech (2-12) – W
March 9 at Baylor (7-7) – W
Combined opponent record: 24-32

Kansas State (11-3)
Feb. 25 Texas Tech (2-12) – W
March 2 at Baylor (7-7) – W
March 5 TCU (1-13) – W
March 9 at Oklahoma State (10-4) – L
Combined opponent record: 20-36

Oklahoma (9-5)
Feb. 27 at Texas (4-10) – W
March 2 Iowa State (9-5) – W
March 6 West Virginia (6-8) – W
March 9 at TCU (1-13) – W
Combined opponent record: 20-36

Oklahoma State (10-4)
Feb. 27 at TCU (1-13) – W
March 2 Texas (4-10) – W
March 6 at Iowa State (9-5) – L
March 9 Kansas State (11-3) – W
Combined opponent record: 25-31

So that would leave us with this…

Kansas: 15-3
Kansas State: 14-4
Oklahoma State: 13-5
Oklahoma: 13-5
Iowa State: 11-7

OSU needs to win out and hope KU loses to, uh, Baylor. That would (theoretically) create a three-way tie between Kansas, Kansas State, and OSU at 14-4.

The tiebreaker when three teams split their season series (assuming the Pokes hold serve against KSU at home) is this:

Each team’s record vs. the team occupying the highest position in the final regular-season standings, and then continuing down through the standings until one team gains an advantage.

In this case, that would be OU and since Kansas State went 2-0 against OU in the regular season, they would get the 1-seed in the Big 12 tournament. Although all three teams would be considered Big 12 regular season champs.