Big 12 Tournament 2018: Semifinals Schedule, Live Stream, Bracket Predictions

Even though the Big 12 tournament has gone to chalk so far, it's still produced its share of excitement.

Kansas State won an overtime thriller over TCU in Thursday's quarterfinal opener, while Texas Tech was pushed to the limit by Texas on the other side of the bracket.

Kansas and West Virginia experienced little trouble on the way to their respective victories over Oklahoma State and Baylor at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri.

Friday's semifinals present us with two intriguing contests, as Kansas and Kansas State face off in a Sunflower State showdown, while West Virginia and Texas Tech fight it out for the third time after splitting the regular-season series.

Big 12 Tournament Semifinals Schedule

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 Kansas State (7 p.m., ESPN) 

No. 2 Texas Tech vs. No. 3 West Virginia (9 p.m., ESPN2)

*Games can be live-streamed on Watch ESPN

Bracket Predictions

No. 1 Kansas def. No. 4 Kansas State

No. 2 Texas Tech def. No. 3 West Virginia

Kansas Looking to Get Even More Out Of Newman

Kansas sophomore Malik Newman bounced back from a nine-point performance against Oklahoma State in the regular-season finale to score 30 in the Jayhawks' Big 12 tournament opener against the Cowboys.

The career-high total for Newman came on 11-of-15 shooting, and as ESPN Stats & Info noted, Kansas is 13-1 when the sophomore shoots better than 50 percent:

Reaching that milestone has been tough for Newman, who has eclipsed 50 percent from the field four times since the start of February, with the latest occurrence before Thursday coming February 24 against Texas Tech.

Newman could end up being the X-factor for Bill Self's team throughout the Big Dance, as he won't draw the top defensive assignment because of Devonte' Graham, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and Udoka Azubuike.

With an opponent's third- or fourth-best defender on him in March Madness, Newman could experience a wealth of success as the Jayhawks look to make a deep run from their position as a No. 1 seed.

Brad Tollefson/Associated Press

Speaking of the No. 1 seed, Kansas should lock that up with a victory over Kansas State, as it adds to its growing resume.

The Jayhawks have five wins against ranked opposition, and they survived one of the toughest conferences in men's basketball to win their 14th straight regular-season title.

The only challenger left for a No. 1 seed is Duke, who faces North Carolina in the ACC tournament semifinals Friday.

If Duke knocks off North Carolina and Virginia on its way to the ACC crown, and Kansas falls in the Big 12 tournament final, an intriguing discussion could occur.

However, Kansas' Big 12 regular-season title should hold enough value to keep it on the top seed line.

Rest Of Field Playing For 1st Big 12 Tournament Title

There's a 75 percent chance the Big 12 tournament crowns a new champion by the end of Saturday night.

Texas Tech, West Virginia and Kansas State all haven't won a conference tournament title, while Kansas is the holder of 10 trophies from the event.

West Virginia came close by reaching the championship game the last two years, but the Mountaineers fell to Kansas in 2016 and Iowa State a year ago.

Kansas State dropped results in the 2010 and 2013 finals to Kansas, while Texas Tech's lone championship appearance was a defeat to Oklahoma State in 2005.

After watching Iowa State win the Big 12 tournament three of the last four seasons, each of the three teams has hope it can knock off Kansas.

Kansas State has the most difficult route to the Big 12 tournament final since it plays Kansas in the semifinals. Bruce Weber's Wildcats lost both meetings with Kansas in the regular season, with the first defeat January 13 coming by one point.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

The Wildcats used a well-rounded attack to defeat TCU in overtime Thursday, as four starters found their way into double digits, but the concerns lie on defense where they might not have enough resources to shut down each of Kansas' star players.

Texas Tech and West Virginia split their regular-season contests, as the Red Raiders won 72-71 January 13 and the Mountaineers came out on top February 26 by a 84-74 score.

The Red Raiders boast three players who average over 10 points per game, with Keenan Evans leading the team at 17.6. He scored 20 points in the one-point win over the Mountaineers but didn't play in the second meeting.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

Evans, a senior, scored over 20 points in each of his last two games, and there's a good chance he continues that trend against a team he's already achieved success against.

As for West Virginia, it needs to replicate its shooting performance from the win over Texas Tech at home two weeks ago, when it shot 43.5 percent from three-point range.

Senior guard Jevon Carter experienced the most success of any West Virginia player against Texas Tech, as he scored 49 points in the two contests, with 28 coming in the defeat in Lubbock, Texas.

If the trends continue, we should witness a showdown between the two best players on the court in Evans and Carter with a spot in the Big 12 tournament final on the line.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90

Statistics obtained from ESPN.com