Big 12 Tournament 2021: Schedule, Bracket Predictions and Players to Watch

A champion will soon be crowned winner of Big 12 basketball.

The 2021 men's conference tournament will be held at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center between Wed. March 10 and Sat. March 13.

Some of the best teams and players in college basketball will be present at the annual win-or-go-home collision. While some of the seeding still needs to be ironed out, we have enough data to lay out bracket predictions and examine which club has the best shot at getting the last laugh.

After, we'll spotlight a couple of players you won't want to miss when this tourney tips.

Tournament Schedule

Garett Fisbeck/Associated Press

Schedule (Game Times TBD)

First Round

Wednesday, March 10

No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed

No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed

Quarterfinals

Thursday, March 11

No. 1 seed vs. 8/9 winner

No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed

No. 2 seed vs. 7/10 winner

No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed

Semifinals

Friday, March 12

Championship

Saturday, March 13

Bracket Predictions

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Current Standings

No. 3 Baylor Bears 10-1 (18-1 overall)

No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers 10-4 (17-6)

No. 13 Kansas Jayhawks 12-6 (18-8)

No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys 10-6 (17-6)

No. 15 Texas Longhorns 8-6 (14-7)

No. 16 Oklahoma Sooners 9-7 (14-8)

No. 18 Texas Tech Red Raiders 7-7 (15-8)

TCU Horned Frogs 5-8 (12-10)

Kansas State Wildcats 3-14 (7-19)

Iowa State Cyclones 0-15 (2-18)

Predictions

The depth in this conference is unreal, to the point it feels like almost anything could happen in the tournament—well, anything outside of a Cyclones' run to the title, at least. Even Bruce Weber's young bunch at Kansas State has displayed tremendous growth, having knocked off Oklahoma and losing by seven points or fewer to Oklahoma State and Texas in the month of February.

Saying all of that, this should be Baylor's tournament to lose. The Bears are a cut above their conference foes with the third-best national ranking at KenPom.com. The next-highest ranked Big 12 team is Kansas down at 18th.

The timing could certainly be better for Baylor, though. The Bears had most of their February slate postponed or cancelled due to COVID-19 issues and went more than three weeks without playing. They've only suited up twice since, barely beating Iowa State at home before suffering a 13-point loss at Kansas.

But Baylor has an opportunity to get itself back in rhythm with three more Big 12 bouts left on the schedule, starting with Tuesday's tilt at West Virginia. If the Bears look like themselves, they should be considered the team to beat in Kansas City.

Player to Watch: Jared Butler, Baylor

Eric Gay/Associated Press

When Big 12 coaches picked their preseason honors, Jared Butler was named the conference's preseason player of the year. When ESPN's Byron Medcalf handicapped every conference's player of the year award race, Butler again landed above everyone in the Big 12.

The 6'3" junior guard is a coach's dream. He competes at both ends, does a little bit of everything and does a lot of the really important stuff, like scoring efficiently (16.4 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting) and lethally shooting from long range (2.6 triples on 43.3 percent).

"Jared brings great energy, charisma and confidence," Bears coach Scott Drew said in August. "He's an absolutely tremendous player."

Butler had a chance to turn pro after last season but stuck around Waco for the chance to win big at Baylor. That possibility is absolutely on the table, and he's a major part of the reason why.

Player to Watch: Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State

Brody Schmidt/Associated Press

Oklahoma State basketball became appointment viewing the second Cade Cunningham touched down in Stillwater.

The 6'8" guard entered this campaign as the favorite to be the first overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, and he's been every bit as electric as advertised. If anything, he has used this season to cement his status as the best prospect in a class that's loaded with elite talent at the top.

B/R's draft guru Jonathan Wasserman had Cunningham first in his most recent draft, noting the Cowboys star "ranks in the 95th percentile out of isolation while also shooting 44.6 percent from three."

Good things tend to happen when Cunningham has the basketball, and that's been especially true of late. Over his last four outings, he's averaged 24 points on 55.6 percent shooting.