Big 12 hoping for better Friday after 0-3 mark Thursday
Save us, Buddy Hield.
The Big 12 went 0-for-3 in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, turning the conference from a Selection Sunday winner into a serious opening-day loser.
No. 11 Texas losing was understandable. Third-ranked Baylor and Iowa State falling was far less justifiable, and casts doubt on the perceived strength of the conference, which saw seven of its 10 teams earn tournament bids.
But there's still time, with four more Big 12 squads in action Friday:
- No. 2 Kansas vs. No. 15 New Mexico St.
- No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Albany
- No. 5 West Virginia vs. No. 12 Buffalo
- No. 9 Oklahoma State vs. No. 8 Oregon
Oklahoma State is essentially in a pick-'em game and West Virginia has been a trendy upset pick. Oklahoma could be in trouble as both a 3-seed and a Big 12 squad. Kansas seems safe as 9.5-point favorites, but, really, who knows what to expect after Thursday?
"It's been a rough day," Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford said Thursday. "I fielded a lot of questions the last two or three days about how the Big 12 has been the best league in America all year long ... I'm not going to base anything on one day or three weeks."
Ford's Cowboys are one-point underdogs, while their in-state rival, the Sooners, are 13-point favorites and seemingly the safest team in the conference.
"I'm very surprised," Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said. "That's the nature of the NCAA tournament, I guess."
For whatever it's worth, the public believed in the Big 12, too. Texas was selected on 42 percent of CBS brackets as an 11-6 underdog, Iowa State on 97 percent and Baylor on 95 percent.