The sleeper conference in this year’s NCAA Tournament is the Big 12.
The SEC is weak without Kentucky (and obviously weak if Ole Miss is in), and the ACC’s hype has dropped with the fall of North Carolina. The Big East and Big 10 got all the attention during the season, so while others are busy cheering on St. Louis and Virginia Commonwealth (I mean, come on. How can you pick teams whose mascots are the Billikens and Rodney the Ram?), I’ll be watching the Big 12 dominate the field of 68.
Let’s start with Kansas. The Jayhawks have a rather easy walk to the sweet 16, facing either UNC or Villanova, who are both having down years, in their second game. Freshman Ben McLemore, who may be the No. 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft, has more than enough help to get the Jayhawks to the sweet 16.
The West region holds the final two sweet 16 teams from the Big 12. Kansas State is being overlooked, which is all the fire the Wildcats need to make a run. Just because they couldn’t hang with Kansas in the Big 12 tournament championship doesn’t mean Rodney McGruder and company can’t handle the pressure.
The Wildcats have one of the easier first round matchups against the Explorers of LaSalle (yet another intimidating mascot), and a second round matchup against Ole Miss or Wisconsin could go well for K-State. Plus, first-year head coach Bruce Weber has been to the Big Dance eight previous times and has the experience to lead his team through the West.
My final sleeper Big 12 team is the Iowa State Cyclones. At fourth in the nation averaging just under 80 points per game, the Cyclones have “Cinderella” written all over them. During the regular season, they beat Kansas State and lost to Kansas in overtime twice.
Point guard Korie Lucious leads the Cyclones, averaging about six assists per game. Lucious is better remembered for his days at Michigan State, where he hit a buzzer beater to advance the Spartans to the sweet 16 over Maryland in 2010. MSU lost in the Final Four that year. There’s the postseason experience the Cyclones need.
Plus, who can pick against former Minnesota Timberwolves great Fred Hoiberg, who coaches the Cyclones?
The fourth Big-12 team in the sweet 16 would be Baylor — no, not the men’s team but the women’s. If Brittney Griner and the Baylor women were in the men’s field, they’d make a run at the sweet 16, but since the Bears will win the women’s NCAA Tournament, there’s some extra hype for the Big-12.
I’ll take it even further and pick Kansas State to get to the final four. The sweet 16 match up of Kansas and Michigan may be one of the best games to watch in the whole tournament, and the winner will advance to the national championship against the Florida Gators.
I can’t betray the SEC. Billy Donavan has a team very similar to the Joakim Noah/Al Horford team that won back-to-back titles, and the Gators will enjoy “One Shining Moment” and keep the SEC atop men’s basketball for yet another year.