Big 12 Tournament: Anyone Could Win

[BeastCY]

With the Big 12 Men's Basketball tournament just a month and 2 days away, I have never seen the Big 12 so open. I mean on any given night Iowa State could win it, Texas, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and even TCU could win it. There's a chance Iowa State could be beaten the first round and still be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. So my question is this: Is it better to win it all and then be gassed for the NCAA tournament, or bow out early and get rested and healed up before the BIG tourney?

 

[Clonefan32]

Not sure there is a right or wrong answer and probably ample evidence to support both sides. I figure you always play to win but if you lose it's not the end of the world by any means.

 

[Clonehomer]

With the Big 12 Men's Basketball tournament just a month and 2 days away, I have never seen the Big 12 so open. I mean on any given night Iowa State could win it, Texas, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State and even TCU could win it. There's a chance Iowa State could be beaten the first round and still be a high seed in the NCAA Tournament. So my question is this: Is it better to win it all and then be gassed for the NCAA tournament, or bow out early and get rested and healed up before the BIG tourney?

For the Big12 with only 3 rounds, I don't think it matters as much. Getting rest would be good for a team that only goes 6 or 7 deep. But if we have a decent bench that your starters aren't putting in 35+ minutes, 5 days seems like sufficient rest.

But for a tournament like this, you need to avoid that first day.

 

[cyfanatic13]

1) This should be one hell of a tournament. Wish I could go

2) If we play in the championship, there will be at minimum a four day break before the first NCAA tourney game. These are college athletes in tremendous shape. I don’t buy the “don’t wanna get too gassed” thing

 

[OPCyclone]

I'll be there, so I hope they have at least three games at the Big 12 tourney I can watch on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday......so go ahead and win the damn thing.

 

[CascadeClone]

I don't think you have preferences, you just enjoy the upside of however it turns out.

Big picture, I think people remember the NCAA more (wins or bad losses), so if I had to CHOOSE, I would trade a win (or two) in the conference tournament for one in the NCAA.

 

[ClonesFTW]

This is potentially going to be one of the best B12 tournaments in some time.

 

[allfourcy]

For the Big12 with only 3 rounds, I don't think it matters as much. Getting rest would be good for a team that only goes 6 or 7 deep. But if we have a decent bench that your starters aren't putting in 35+ minutes, 5 days seems like sufficient rest.

But for a tournament like this, you need to avoid that first day.

I think we do have decent depth bench this year. Doesn't mean Gabe will have less than 40 minutes a game, tho. He's a warrior, thats for sure.

 

[IASTATE07]

1) This should be one hell of a tournament. Wish I could go

2) If we play in the championship, there will be at minimum a four day break before the first NCAA tourney game. These are college athletes in tremendous shape. I don’t buy the “don’t wanna get too gassed” thing

I'm sure there are examples of teams having a full week off between conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament coming out flat and losing in the first round. Fanbases are going to question having too long of a layoff or too short of a layoff either way.

 

[RonBurgundy]

1) This should be one hell of a tournament. Wish I could go

2) If we play in the championship, there will be at minimum a four day break before the first NCAA tourney game. These are college athletes in tremendous shape. I don’t buy the “don’t wanna get too gassed” thing

Yea, if we could make the final, KC will be such an awesome place for Cyclone fans. Not knowing if we get shipped off in the NCAA tourney, winning the Big 12 in front of thousands of Cyclone fans would truly show the conference that the CYCLONES are back!!

 

[Al_4_State]

2015 and 2019 loom too large in people's minds. I don't think either of those teams screwed up in the Dance because they were exhausted from winning the Big 12 tourney.

Look at what happened after other conference tourney titles:

1996 - Round of 32
2000 - Elite 8
2014 - Sweet 16
2017 - Round of 32 (and this close to Sweet 16)

I always want to win the conference tournament. I always want to go as far as possible in March. I don't think they're mutually exclusive.

 

[CoKane]

This certainly feels like a team that wins it. Will we? No clue

 

[cyfanatic13]

Last year KU won the conference championship and then went on to win the whole thing.

2021: Texas, won first round, lost second round to #3 seed Purdue

2020: covid

2019: ISU, lost first round to Ohio State

2018: KU, final four run

2017: ISU, lost second round to Purdue

 

[dahliaclone]

Will be going down Wednesday night at bellying up at Kelly's assuming we don't fold and have to play that night. Hoping we somehow don't get KU and KSU and ISU all in the same side of the bracket...tickets will be insane in that case.

I love the KC tourney...I always want to win it. Such a fun weekend.

 

[coolerifyoudid]

Unless you need to rest players and recover from injuries, you play to win and gain momentum going into the NCAA. It can also improve your seeding and get a better match-up.

Besides, I don't want my team to look inept in the the last game before March madness. It doesn't necessarily foreshadow their next performance, but positive momentum is good for the teams' psyche.

 

[cyclones500]

2015 and 2019 loom too large in people's minds. I don't think either of those teams screwed up in the Dance because they were exhausted from winning the Big 12 tourney.

Look at what happened after other conference tourney titles:

1996 - Round of 32
2000 - Elite 8
2014 - Sweet 16
2017 - Round of 32 (and this close to Sweet 16)

I always want to win the conference tournament. I always want to go as far as possible in March. I don't think they're mutually exclusive.

I agree with your main point ... impossible to gauge "exhaustion" or lack thereof.

One detail in your list is off a year -- '96 ISU won Big 8 tournament, lost in round of 32 ('97 was the Sweet 16 run).

 

[Al_4_State]

I agree with your main point ... impossible to gauge "exhaustion" or lack thereof.

One detail in your list is off a year -- '96 ISU won Big 8 tournament, lost in round of 32 ('97 was the Sweet 16 run).

I caught myself. I kinda conflate those teams in my mind (those were my very formative years of ISU basketball).

'97 should have been an Elite 8 season, but Cameron ******* Dollar...

 

[helechopper]

It's fun as hell to win the tourney in KC, but that's an immediate gratification type of thing.

Legends are made and seasons are measured by how far ISU goes in the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. We make our bones in March.

 

[CoKane]

2015 and 2019 loom too large in people's minds. I don't think either of those teams screwed up in the Dance because they were exhausted from winning the Big 12 tourney.

Look at what happened after other conference tourney titles:

1996 - Round of 32
2000 - Elite 8
2014 - Sweet 16
2017 - Round of 32 (and this close to Sweet 16)

I always want to win the conference tournament. I always want to go as far as possible in March. I don't think they're mutually exclusive.

People really forgot about 2019s awful chemistry and general dislike for playing with each other and 2014s disfunction mainly centered around 1 or 2 players huh?

Also I agree. Overall winning basketball games > losing basketball games. I want to win the Big 12 tournament every year. There are no scenerios where losing is actually winning in college basketball

 

[Cyclonepride]

It's a good question, and I'm not sure if someone compiles the stats on this particular thing, but I think it depends on a lot of other factors. Would a quick loss continue a skid you are on as you enter the tournament? How deep is your team? How resilient is your team and do they bounce back well from losses?