It’s conference preview time!
Over the next few months, we’ll break down one league every week, featuring key questions, preseason power rankings, preseason awards, and more.
This week’s focus is on the Big 12.
Check below for a comprehensive breakdown of the conference:
Five Questions entering the Big 12
1. Will the Big 12 be the best conference in the country?
It’s definitely going to be right in the conversation. The depth of the Big Ten — even if it has four more teams than the Big 12 — cannot be denied, but the Big 12’s star power is also formidable. Seven teams from this league are currently ranked in the Top 42 of the ROTHSTEIN 45, including five — Baylor, Kansas, Texas, West Virginia, and Texas Tech — in the Top 25. Expect no less than six teams from this conference to reach the 2021 NCAA Tournament.
2. How will Baylor handle being “the hunted”?
We’ll find out over the course of the upcoming season. It’s a new dynamic for the Bears despite their tremendous success under Scott Drew. Under Drew, Baylor has always been viewed as one of the top programs in the Big 12, but now the stakes have been raised. After years of being picked behind Kansas in the conference’s preseason poll, the Bears will now be the consensus favorite to win the league. Eight of this squad’s top nine scorers return from last year’s 26-win outfit, including several perimeter pieces who will form arguably college basketball’s deepest back court. For Baylor, anything less than reaching the Final Four next March in Indianapolis will be a disappointment. How will it handle the spotlight? We’ll find out between now and next March.
3. Which off-the-radar Big 12 guard is about to become a national star?
Miles McBride. While West Virginia may best be known nationally for its rugged power forward/center combo of Derek Culver and Oscar Tshiebwe, it is the 6-2 McBride that may ultimately control the Mountaineers’ overall ceiling in 20-21. Several well embedded moles in Morgantown believe that McBride has emerged as West Virginia’s best overall player during the offseason after averaging 9.5 points last year as a freshman. If McBride can become an All-Big 12 caliber player in 20-21, Bob Huggins may have the type of perimeter weapon he needs to complement Culver, Tshiebwe, and the rest of the Mountaineers’ rotation.
4. Will this be Shaka Smart’s best team yet at Texas?
Without question. Everyone of significance is back for the Longhorns, who won five of their final six games last season en route to a 19-12 finish. Texas also added a five-star forward in freshman Greg Brown, who figures to be an immediate starter and potential one-and-done prospect. This team has veteran guards, elite depth, and a hunger to return to its place as a national presence in college basketball. Smart has yet to win an NCAA Tournament game in five years at Texas, but his demeanor towards the end of last season resembled the same figure that made VCU into a program that went from a CAA contender to the Atlantic 10’s flagship. If Smart can get his team to play with the same edge it showed over the final month of last year, the Longhorns can be a top tier team in the Big 12 and maintain a regular place in the Top 25.
5. Who is the sleeper?
Oklahoma. While other Big 12 programs are set to enter 20-21 with more sizzle and expectations, the Sooners are more than comfortable operating in the shadows. Lon Kruger’s squad will be anchored by a pair of All-Big 12 players in Austin Reaves and Brady Manek as well as several other players who played meaningful minutes last season. If De’Vion Harmon has a breakout season at point guard and both Alondes Williams and Kur Kuath are capable contributors as starters, then the Sooners should be back in the field of 68. Remember: this program would have played in its seventh NCAA Tournament in the last eight years had the field of 68 not been cancelled last March due to COVID-19.
Big 12 Preseason Power Rankings
1. Baylor
2. Kansas
3. Texas
4. West Virginia
5. Texas Tech
6. Oklahoma
7. Oklahoma State
8. TCU
9. Iowa State
10. Kansas State
Big 12 Preseason First-Team
Jared Butler, Baylor
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State
Marcus Garrett, Kansas
Courtney Ramey, Texas
Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia
Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year
Jared Butler, Baylor
15 Impact Freshmen
*In no particular order
Dain Dainja, Baylor
L.J. Cryer, Baylor
Bryce Thompson, Kansas
Jalen Wilson, Kansas (redshirt)
Greg Brown, Texas
Isaiah Cottrell, West Virginia
Jalen Bridges, West Virginia (redshirt)
Nimari Burnett, Texas Tech
Micah Peavy, Texas Tech
Chibuzo Agbo Jr., Texas Tech
Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Oklahoma State
Terren Frank, TCU
Xavier Foster, Iowa State
Nijel Pack, Kansas State
5 Under-The-Radar Freshmen
*In no particular order
Zach Loveday, Baylor
Dajuan Harris, Kansas (redshirt)
Rondel Walker, Oklahoma State
Mickey Pearson, TCU (redshirt)
Eddie Lampkin, TCU
10 Impact Transfers
*In no particular order
*This does include transfers who have filed for waivers with the NCAA
Adam Flagler, Baylor (Presbyterian)
Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Baylor (UNLV)
Tyon Grant-Foster, Kansas (JUCO)
Kedrian Johnson, West Virginia (JUCO)
Marcus Santos-Silva, Texas Tech (VCU)
Joel Ntambwe, Texas Tech (UNLV)
Charles O’Bannon Jr., TCU (USC)
Ferron Flavors, Oklahoma State (Cal Baptist)
Jalen Coleman-Lands, Iowa State (DePaul)
Tyler Harris, Iowa State (Memphis)
5 Under-The-Radar Transfers
*In no particular order
*This does include transfers who have filed for waivers with the NCAA
Bryce Williams, Oklahoma State (Ole Miss)
Jamarius Burton, Texas Tech (Wichita State) — has not decided if he will play or redshirt in 20-21
Javan Johnson, Iowa State (Troy)
Kaosi Ezeagu, Kansas State (UTEP)
Kevin Easley, TCU (Chattanooga)
10 Breakout Players
*In no particular order
Matthew Mayer, Baylor
David McCormack, Kansas
Kai Jones, Texas
Miles McBride, West Virginia
Terrance Shannon Jr., Texas Tech
De’Vion Harmon, Oklahoma
Kalib Boone, Oklahoma State
PJ Fuller, TCU
George Conditt, Iowa State
DaJuan Gordon, Kansas State
