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Big 12 Tournament 2019: Schedule and Conference Bracket Predictions
March 8, 2019
For the 10th straight year, the Big 12 college basketball tournament will take place at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, with teams competing for the tourney championship from March 13-16.
However, a new team could capture the conference title this year.
Kansas and Iowa State have combined to win the last six Big 12 tournaments, and 11 of the last 13. The only other school to win during that stretch is Missouri, which is now in the SEC.
But this year, Kansas State and Texas Tech could be the favorites, as those schools will be the top two seeds in the tournament.
Neither the Wildcats nor Red Raiders have ever won the Big 12 tournament since the conference's first tourney in 1997. Kansas State hasn't been to the championship game since 2013, and Texas Tech hasn't been since 2005.
Big 12 Tournament Schedule
All Times ET
Wednesday, March 13
No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed (7 p.m., ESPNU)
No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed (10 p.m., ESPNU)
Thursday, March 14
No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed (12:30 p.m., ESPN/2)
No. 1 seed vs. Winner of No. 8 vs. No. 9 (2:30 p.m., ESPN/2)
No. 2 seed vs. Winner of No. 7 vs. No. 10 (7 p.m., ESPN/2)
No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed (9 p.m., ESPN/2)
Friday, March 15
Semifinal No. 1 (7 p.m., ESPN/2)
Semifinal No. 2 (9 p.m., ESPN/2)
Saturday, March 16
Championship (6 p.m., ESPN)
Bracket Predictions
1. Kansas State
2. Texas Tech
3. Kansas
4. Baylor
5. Iowa State
6. Texas
7. Oklahoma
8. TCU
9. Oklahoma State
10. West Virginia
Kansas State and Texas Tech are tied atop the Big 12 standings with 13-4 conference records entering the final day of the regular season on Saturday. Both teams should win its final game, with Texas Tech traveling to face Iowa State and Kansas State hosting Oklahoma.
That means it will require a tiebreaker to award the No. 1 seed. The Wildcats and Red Raiders split their season series, and both teams went 1-1 against Kansas, the next highest seed at No. 3. However, Kansas State went 2-0 against Baylor (the No. 4 seed) and Texas Tech went 1-1 against the Bears, so the Wildcats would have the advantage and earn the top seed.
The rest of the seeding for the Big 12 tournament should not be as complicated, as there shouldn't be much, if any, movement from Nos. 3-8.
West Virginia and Oklahoma State play on Saturday, with the winner getting the No. 9 seed and the loser slotting in at No. 10. Expect the Cowboys to pick up the win on their home court and get the higher seed.
Final Prediction
Kansas will return to the championship game, beating Texas Tech in the semifinal on the bottom side of the bracket, but the Jayhawks won't repeat as champions.
That's because Kansas State will avenge its Feb. 25 loss to Kansas, using the momentum from earning the No. 1 seed to notch the first Big 12 tournament championship in program history.