Big 12 Tournament 2018: Schedule and Conference Bracket Predictions

One aspect of Big 12 basketball seemingly never changes—the Kansas Jayhawks always come out on top.

Bill Self's bunch hasn't even completed its full slate yet and already secured its 14th consecutive regular-season title. That pushed the program clear of the 1960s and '70s UCLA Bruins for the longest conference title streak in Division I history, per ESPN.

But don't mistake that astonishing run of success for a sign that the upcoming Big 12 tournament will be predictable. Last year, the then-fourth-seeded Iowa State Cyclones took the crown at Kansas City's Sprint Center. (Don't expect a repeat, though; Iowa State has since plummeted to the bottom of the standings).

While the conference only had three representatives in the most recent AP rankings—Kansas at six, Texas Tech at 12 and West Virginia at 20—the field could be as competitive as they come. Eight of the 10 schools have suffered between six and 10 conference losses, and even those bottom-feeding Cyclones picked off the Red Raiders and Mountaineers in conference play.

"Every team in the Big 12 could win a game in the NCAA Tournament," West Virginia coach Bob Huggins told FanRagSports' Jon Rothstein on the College Hoops Today Podcast. "There is no bottom in this league—none."

Let's examine the schedule for the upcoming event—the seeds won't be determined until conference play concludes Saturday—and make some predictions about how the tourney might unfold.

2018 Big 12 Tournament Schedule

First Round: Wednesday, March 7

Game 1: No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Game 2: No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed, 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Quarterfinals: Thursday, March 8

Game 3: No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed, 12:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Game 4: No. 1 seed vs. Game 1 winner, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Game 5: No. 2 seed vs. Game 2 winner, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Game 6: No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed, 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Semifinals: Friday, March 9

Game 7: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Game 8: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Final: Saturday, March 10

Game 9: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN)

Projected Seeding

1—Kansas

2—West Virginia

3—Texas Tech

4—TCU

5—Kansas State

6—Baylor

7—Texas

8—Oklahoma

9—Oklahoma State

10—Iowa State

Tournament Prediction

Even with the regular-season schedule closing Saturday, so much about this field remains undecided. Kansas has claimed the top seed, and Iowa State is stuck in 10th, but there's a traffic jam between them.

Assuming West Virginia survives Saturday's road trip to Texas, the Mountaineers will grab the second seed. The Red Raiders would check in right behind them by taking care of TCU at home.

It gets a little hectic after that.

"Both Kansas State and TCU could tie Tech for third, but Tech wins all tiebreakers," Berry Tramel wrote for The Oklahoman. "If TCU and Kansas State tie for fourth at 10-8, TCU wins the tiebreaker. If TCU, Baylor and Kansas State tie for fourth at 9-9, TCU would be fourth (it swept Baylor), followed by K-State and Baylor."

The road map to different seeding scenarios only widens from there.

But let's focus on the top, since that's (unsurprisingly) where the strength lies and where the champion is most likely to come from. Even though the Big 12 is deep, the ranked trio hovers above the rest.

Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Kansas leads the pack in RPI (fifth), BPI (seventh) and adjusted efficiency margin (ninth), per kenpom.com. West Virginia is second in BPI (ninth), while Texas Tech claims the spot in efficiency (10th, one ahead of West Virginia). The Red Raiders boast the strongest defense in the field and third-highest stopping efficiency in the nation.

The Jayhawks enter as the favorites for a reason. They not only have the highest markings, they held their own against top competition. Kansas swept West Virginia and avenged an early home loss to Tech by squeaking out a 74-72 win in Lubbock.

Kansas' ninth-ranked offense features five players averaging at least 12 points, including Naismith Trophy semifinalist Devonte' Graham (17.7 points and 7.2 assists). The Jayhawks lead the Big 12 in threes per game (10.1) and have the second-highest perimeter percentage (39.9). They're also riding the conference's longest winning streak at five games, so they're trending the right way.

Texas Tech is headed the other way with four consecutive losses, but don't put the Red Raiders on upset alert just yet.

They've had injuries to several key players of late—including top scorer and fellow Naismith semifinalist Keenan Evans—but ESPN's Fran Fraschilla thinks they'll get healthy at the right time:

West Virginia is right on Kansas' heels with four wins in its last five outings. The Mountaineers also have superior two-way balance with the 16th-rated offense and 33rd-ranked defense. They aren't a great shooting team (eighth in the Big 12 in three-point percentage, tied for ninth in field-goal percentage), but they don't have to be when their high-pressure defense is causing havoc.

If you're searching for sleepers among the rest, TCU has the firepower to knock off anyone. It paces the conference in adjusted offensive efficiency (seventh overall), field-goal percentage and three-point percentage, and its top-five scorers are all three-point threats.

As for deep-sleepers, it's hard to overlook Texas and Oklahoma when each might have the best player in action on any given night.

Longhorns center Mohamed Bamba and Sooners point guard Trae Young will both be early lottery picks in the 2018 NBA Draft. Bamba sports an incredible 7'9" wingspan, which he's used to average 10.6 rebounds and 3.8 blocks in 30.8 minutes per game. Young leads the nation in points (28.0) and assists (9.0), and he's a legitimate shooting threat as soon as he crosses half court.

This tournament has the potential to get turned on its head, but there's no reason to overthink this prediction. The Jayhawks have experience, loads of offensive weapons and a short commute to the Sprint Center.

Prediction: Kansas over West Virginia in the championship.

Statistics used courtesy of ESPN.com and kenpom.com.