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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 dont 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 5dimes.com
Kansas +175
Kansas State +1500
Missouri +400
Oklahoma +160
Field (Any Other Team) +300
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