Big 12 Tournament 2012 Schedule: Ranking Best Possible Semifinal Matchups

The Big 12 is a conference that's heavy at the top. Kansas, Missouri, Baylor and Iowa State all made noise on the national landscape during the regular season, and each of them will look to make noise once again in the NCAA Tournament.

But first things first. The battle for the Big 12 championship gets underway on Wednesday. Before any of those four teams can look ahead to the Big Dance, they have to worry about taking care of business in the Big 12 Tournament.

Because the Big 12 is so heavy at the top, my guess is that we're going to see some pretty sexy semifinal matchups. Here's how I would rank the top prospective matchups.

4. Missouri vs. Texas

This is the matchup we'll get if Texas beats Iowa State in the quarterfinals and Mizzou gets past Oklahoma State or Texas Tech.

The Longhorns don't quite have the firepower to match up against Mizzou. J'Covan Brown can score with the best of them, but the Tigers have several players who can put the ball in the basket, and the team as a whole is extremely efficient on offense. Mizzou finished third in the country in field goal percentage this year.

But let's not forget that Texas nearly upset Mizzou in Austin in late January. In that game, the Tigers needed a late bucket from Michael Dixon to seal the deal. Texas was able to hold Marcus Denmon to 3-of-12 shooting, which definitely helped it keep the game close.

We know from that game that the Longhorns have the ability to hang with Mizzou in a tough game. Perhaps it could happen again in the semifinals.

3. Kansas vs. Kansas State

Kansas is a lock to make it to the semifinals, and the Jayhawks will take on Kansas State if it beats Baylor in the quarterfinals.

The Wildcats lost both of their meetings against Kansas this season. However, they didn't do a bad job of keeping Thomas Robinson in check in the last meeting between these two teams. Kansas State held Robinson to just 10 points on 3-of-7 shooting on Feb. 13, and ultimately only lost by six. It helped that they forced Robinson into committing five turnovers in that game. 

Robinson is one of the hardest players in the country to contain. But if the Wildcats can do it again, they might just make a run at upsetting the top seed in the Big 12 tournament.

2. Missouri vs. Iowa State

If Iowa State manages to avoid an upset against Texas, the Cyclones will likely take on Mizzou in the semifinals.

Iowa State lost to Mizzou twice during the regular season, but it didn't get blown out in either loss. Between the two games, the combined margin of defeat for Iowa State was a mere 13 points.

The key for Iowa State would be to knock down its three-point attempts. The Cyclones were among the league leaders in three-point attempts per game during the regular season, and they took a grand total of 54 threes in their two contests with Missouri.

If the Cyclones get hot against Mizzou, there's no reason to think they wouldn't be able to pull off the upset.

1. Kansas vs. Baylor

If Baylor manages to beat Kansas State in the quarterfinals, it will probably face Kansas in the semifinals.

Baylor wasn't much of a match for Kansas in the regular season, losing by double digits in both of their meetings. The Bears had no answer for Robinson, as he posted double-doubles in both of Kansas' victories.

To counter Robinson, the Bears would have to see Perry Jones III at his best. He had a good game in Baylor's first meeting against Kansas, but he was awful in Baylor's second meeting against Kansas, scoring five points on 1-of-8 shooting.

Regardless of what Jones does, Baylor has more than enough talent to stand tall against Kansas. This would be a great game.