|
Big 12
Tournament Preview - 2009
It is hard to think of the Big 12 conference tournament without
thinking of Blake Griffin and the Oklahoma Sooners. The Kansas
Jayhawks may have won another Big 12 title, but the presence of
superstar forward Blake Griffin is hard to ignore in this tournament
and the Big Dance to follow.
The Big 12 have some talented teams, but only three teams in this
conference have made any impact on the country and their conference
this season.
The Oklahoma Sooners suffered a huge blow when they lost Griffin to
concussion earlier in the year. The injury was such bad timing that
it basically cost them the Big 12 title which they seemed destined
to win this season. Before the injury the Sooners were just red hot
as they looked unbeatable with their star forward playing like the
player of the year, but the minute he went down so did the Sooners
as they lost two straight.
Oklahoma was able to rebound from their disappointing losses after
Griffin became healthy, but it was too little too late for the
Sooners as the Jayhawks took control of the conference and the
Sooners dropped one to the Missouri Tigers.
The Kansas Jayhawks may not be the championship team they were last
season as they lost almost their entire team to the NBA, but they
came in this season ready to defend their title and have played as
if they have not missed a beat this year.
Another team in the Big 12 that has played well has been the
Missouri Tigers. They had a tough week to finish out the season by
losing two out of three games, but the one win was against Oklahoma
which could be huge if they end up playing them in the Big 12
tourney. The two losses came against Kansas and Texas A&M, the lost
to the Jayhawks was no real surprise, but the losing to A&M could
have put a dent in their confidence going into the Big 12
tournament.
This tournament will almost certainly come down to a head to head
match with the defending champion Jayhawks taking on Blake Griffin
and company. I really don’t see much chance for an upset here as
both Kansas and Oklahoma are far more talented then any teams below
them in the Big 12.
There are some teams that could possibly pull off some upsets in
this Big 12 tournament, but only these three have even the slightest
chance of doing so in Missouri, Texas A&M and Texas. Although I
think these teams will eventually fall to the Sooners or the
Jayhawks, there is always a chance for an upset in college
basketball especially at tournament time.
Ultimately I believe the Oklahoma Sooners will be too much for the
Kansas Jayhawks or any other team in the Big 12 tournament for that
matter as Blake Griffin has turned into a virtual match up nightmare
for every team he faces. The Jayhawks are a very talented team and
might go far into the NCAA tournament once again, but they will not
get past the Sooners in their conference tournament in my opinion.
Current Odds to win the Big 12 Tournament
Courtesy of
Sportsbook.com
Kansas +175
Kansas State +1500
Missouri +400
Oklahoma +160
Field (Any Other Team) +300
|
THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE KEY
RELEASES BEFORE THE LINES MOVE
