Big 12 Tournament Preview: Arizona, Houston, Kansas, and Iowa State Contend

The Big 12 tournament feels like the only conference tournament without a foregone winner. Arizona and Houston are the two biggest contenders, but at their best, Iowa State and Kansas can hang with anyone.

Arizona has been a top-three team in the country for most of the season because of its freshman duo of Koa Peat and Brayden Burries. For as great as the Wildcats have been, they still feel a little bit underrated. They have a top-10 offense and defense and a core built to compete in March. They go seven deep, which might not feel great, but once you get to March, I tend to favor top-heavy teams led by great guard play. They check all the boxes; betting on them at +115 is not a bad bet.

However, beating Kelvin Sampson in the Big 12 tournament is no easy feat. 

This Cougars team looks pretty familiar to the ones we’ve seen in the 2020s. Their offense is not elite, but efficient enough, and their defense causes absolute havoc. That said, I don’t love this version of Houston. I think the front-court play is too inconsistent, and I don’t think they match up well with Arizona. Houston already lost to Arizona once this year, at home, all while Koa Peat was absent as well.

Speaking of inconsistent, Iowa State and Kansas are just that. Iowa State has the best frontcourt in the conference, with Milan Momcilovic and Joshua Jefferson. They might be inconsistent, but I love their experience in March, and they are a team I am definitely keeping an eye on here.

With Kansas, they are more than just Darryn Peterson. The trio of Tre White, Flory Bidhunga, and Melvin Council Jr lead a top 10 defense for Bill Self. This team lacks a consistent offense, but if they can get full games out of Peterson, that issue should be solved. It’s never a bad bet to take Kansas to win the Big 12 tournament, especially at +850.

Texas Tech and BYU could make some noise in the Big 12 tournament, but I don’t love their health situations. Without JT Toppin for Tech and Richie Saunders for BYU, I just don’t see how either of them could do a whole lot in March.

If you’re looking to take a stab at a real long shot, Cincinnati would be the team to take. They’ve been playing with their full roster down the stretch and come into the Big 12 tournament, having won six of the last eight. They’re quietly the 12th most efficient defense in the country, but the offense has started to come alive down the stretch. Cincy will need to win a few games to make it into the dance, so I don’t mind taking a stab at +8000.

I hate betting on a team to win their conference tournament when there isn’t much juice, but I think this Arizona team is far too complete. I think if they win the Big 12, they’ll roll this momentum into a Final Four in April as well.