Missouri, 22-2 and 9-2 in the Big 12. Baylor, 21-2 and 8-2 in the Big 12. Kansas, 18-5 and 8-2 in the Big 12. Is there a better top three in any conference than that? Maybe the Big Ten comes close with Michigan State, Ohio State and…oh wait. How about the ACC? FLorida State, North Carolina and Duke? Close. But Duke has slipped as of late. The Big 12 has three legit Final Four contenders.

Some of Mizzou’s impressive wins include, Notre Dame 87-58, Cal 92-53, Illinois by 4, at Baylor and Kansas. Upcoming games include Baylor on Saturday, Oklahoma State after that (one of their two losses) and also Kansas State (their other loss) and Kansas in a four day stretch in two weeks. The Tigers have four players averaging in double figures led by Marcus Denmon at 18 points a game.

Baylor wins include San Diego State by 10, BYU, West Virginia, Mississippi State, and Oklahoma State 106-65. Their two losses? Mizzou and Kansas. They get a shot at Kansas tonight. This game is huge for Baylor’s confidence because they were beaten pretty soundly the first time, 92-74. This game is at home and the Bears need to beat one of the big dogs.

Kansas has wins against Georgetown, Ohio State, Kansas State and Baylor. They have a bad loss to Davidson. But KU is still the team in the Big 12 that the rest measure themselves against. They are the big brother of this group. They come into the Baylor game knowing what to expect. Kansas has played in many of these games before. Their upcoming games include rival Kansas St next week, and Mizzou on Feb 25th.

So that’s the top three, but it doesn’t end there. Iowa State is 17-7 and 7-4 in the Big 12. Wins over Kansas and Kansas State has gotten them into the NCAA conversation. Upcoming games for them include two with Baylor and also Kansas State and Missouri. A couple more wins from those four and Iowa State should be NCAA bound.

Kansas State is at 17-6 and 6-5. They’ve beaten Virginia Tech, Alabama, Missouri, and close losses to Baylor and Iowa State. They have a three game stretch coming up against Baylor, Kansas and Missouri which could make or break them. Win one or two of those and the NCAA may take them seriously. Lose all three and it may be off to the NIT.

From there it looks like four teams will be trying to gain a berth in the NIT. Texas is at 15-9 overall and would still be on the bubble for an NCAA bid if they can finish strong. They have Kansas State, Baylor and Kansas left. They would need to win at least two of those three plus avoid any upset to an Oklahoma or Oklahoma State. UT is most likely NIT bound.

Oklahoma is also a good bet for the NIT. Under first year head coach Lon Kruger, that would be a good start. The Sooners are 13-10 overall and have beaten Arkansas, Kansas State (twice) and Washington State. They have lost three straight though and need to right the ship.