Texas Longhorns Basketball NCAA Tournament

The Texas Longhorns loss to Baylor was hard to take, I'll admit it. Baylor seemed to be on the fast track to self destruction in the first half, and Texas was rolling. I was quite happy about the lead Texas had at the half, more than happy - confident.

In the second half, Baylor stepped up and started taking care of the ball, switched from zone defense to man-to-man, and became far more aggressive on both ends of the court. And then... you know what happened.

With two losses this week, Texas now sits with the rest of the teams on the NCAA tournament bubble, close but so far away from the dance. Texas does get several more opportunities to improve their resume, but one wrong step and its game over for the Longhorns.

For months now, Texas has declined opportunities to turn itself into an NCAA tournament team. Despite their best efforts to watch the tournament from their couches, the Longhorns might still have a couple chances anyway.

Monday's loss to Baylor, in which they wasted a 12-point second-half lead and once again victimized themselves with poor late-game decision-making and lapses of judgment, left the Longhorns 17-11 overall and 7-8 in the Big 12. A few years ago, a record like that would have had Texas laughed out of the committee room for the tournament selection.

This year, though, it seems the Longhorns have a shot. What they don't have is a quality win over a highly rated opponent. If they beat both Texas Tech and Oklahoma to clinch a .500 record in the Big 12, the Longhorns have two more chance to make an impression on the committee.

The Longhorns cap off their regular season at Kansas, and their Big 12 tournament opener could be a rematch with Baylor. A Longhorns victory over either of those two nationally ranked foes wouldn't guarantee an invitation, but it sure would help.

Longhorns In Position to Dance

After spending most of this Big 12 season playing catch-up, the Longhorns are finally in position to make the NCAA tournament. Now the Longhorns are being charged with protecting that position.

With the tournament's expansion to 68 teams, the Longhorns' current credentials are deceivingly sold. Their record clearly isn't spectacular as they sit at 16-9, 6-6 in the Big 12, but their come-from-behind victory over Kansas State set the Longhorns in at No. 45 in the Ratings Percentage Index.

Assuming that a 9-9 Big 12 record will allow the Longhorns into the tournament, the Longhorns simply need to win three of their final six games. Four of those six games come against the teams in the bottom four of the conference. The Longhorns' final stretch begins this week with games at Oklahoma on Tuesday and Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Kansas Missouri Basketball Enter Three-way Tie

Missouri is not leaving unnoticed. The Tigers pulled their arch rival, Kansas, back into a three-way tie atop the conference race, beating them 74-71 Saturday.

The Tigers sit at 8-2 with Baylor and Kansas, and are heading into Missouri's Big Monday night game at Oklahoma.

The Jayhawks are chasing their eighth regular-season championship in as many years, but the upshot is that they are no longer in control. To put Kansas' string of Big 12 championships into perspective, take a look at the other conferences. The Big East has crowned four different regular-season champions in the past four years. Same in the Pac 12. The Southeastern conference has rotated divisional winners the past three seasons.

Keep an eye on this race - you can bet we will be!

Michigan State: The 'Why' Behind the Rank

Michigan State is a cohesive, clear-cut leader in Draymond Green and a good core mix. Keith Appling and Travis Trice offer different looks at point guard. Branden Dawson is a future star. Favorable schedule could springboard the Spartans into a lot of early conference wins.

Michigan State is for sure a No. 3 and could likely battle Wisconsin for the No. 2 (at least in my rankings).

Wisconsin: The 'Why' Behind the Rank

Jordan Taylor is a scorer, playmaker, defender and rebounded. The Badgers have guards who rebound and big centers and forwards who guard. Opponents will have extreme difficulty in defending. Those who leave center Jared Berggren alone on the perimeter will meet their demise. Sixth man Ben Brust and Josh Gasser are exceptional 3-point shooters.

Wisconsin deserves their #2.

Ohio State: The 'Why' Behind the Rank

I picked Ohio State to finish atop the Big 12 this year in college hoops. Here's why:

Jared Sullinger may be the best player in college basketball. If that isn't enough, Aaron Craft is a brilliant sophomore point guard and William Buford and Deshaun Thomas are reliable scorers.

Ohio State is the clear favorite!

Big 12 Hoops Race

Here are my picks for the Big 12 hoops race!

1. Ohio State

2. Wisconsin

3. Michigan State

4. Michigan

5. Illinois

6. Indiana

7. Northwestern

8.Purdue

9. Minnesota

10. Nebraska

11. Iowa

12. Penn State