Big 12 Insider: Will the league be able to make up every postponed basketball game?
As expected, there’s been disruptions throughout the college basketball season amid the coronavirus pandemic. And it’s borderline wishful thinking at this point to believe the Big 12 will play its full slate of league games in the regular season.
Yes, it’s only January but the games that must be rescheduled are piling up. Every Big 12 school has had at least one conference game postponed with seven teams already having multiple games that must be rescheduled.
Here’s the breakdown:
Iowa State (4): KU, K-State, Texas, Texas Tech
Texas (3): Baylor, Iowa State, TCU
TCU (3): West Virginia, Texas Tech, Texas
West Virginia (3): Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma State
Baylor (2): Texas, West Virginia
Texas Tech (2): TCU, Iowa State
Oklahoma State (2): OU, West Virginia
Oklahoma (1): Oklahoma State
Kansas (1): Iowa State
K-State (1): Iowa State
Again, it’s only January and maybe the Big 12 can figure out a way to get every game made up before the conference tournament is scheduled to start on March 10 in Kansas City.
As a Big 12 spokesperson said, “We are working to reschedule all postponed games. There might be some instances where teams play three games within five or six days to get them all rescheduled.”
West Virginia, for instance, is scheduled to play four games within a one-week stretch February 13-20 (vs. OU on Feb. 13; vs. Baylor on Feb. 15; at Baylor on Feb. 18; at Texas on Feb. 20).
Of that four-game stretch for WVU, only one is a rescheduled game (the Feb. 18 game at Baylor had been scheduled for Jan. 12). The Mountaineers still have two additional games to make up on their schedule.
The TCU at Kansas game scheduled for next Tuesday, for example, has already been moved to Thursday, giving the Horned Frogs more time to get through protocols after coach Jamie Dixon revealed earlier this week that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
At the end of the day, as one source acknowledged, signs point toward the Big 12 not being able to play every scheduled game. But it’s going to try and has a built in week at the end of the regular season to play postponed games before the conference tournament.
But the safe bet is basketball is headed toward a similar finish line as football. In football, six teams played all nine conference games and four teams played eight games. The final basketball tally could be similar with a few teams falling short of playing 18 Big 12 games.
Say what, Kim Mulkey?
Baylor women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey created headlines last weekend when she said the NCAA will host the men’s and women’s tournaments for monetary reasons amid the pandemic.
“The answer is this: The season will continue on. It’s called the almighty dollar,” Mulkey told reporters. “The NCAA has to have the almighty dollar from the men’s tournament. The almighty dollar is more important than the health and welfare of me, the players or anybody else.”
Nobody would argue the financial incentive as being a reason to go forward with March Madness. But it’s also worth noting that schools such as Baylor receive a nice payout from the NCAA when it distributes the money generated by the tournament. And that money allows schools such as Baylor to pay million-dollar salaries to coaches.
Baseball buzz
College baseball isn’t too far away. Fans in this area should be thrilled, too, with Globe Life Field hosting six of the top 10 teams next month in a Big 12/ SEC tournament.
The Big 12 is loaded once again with baseball talent. Texas Tech, Texas and TCU are all participating in the tournament at Globe Life Field. Tech is ranked No. 3 with Texas checking in at No. 9 and TCU at No. 10. Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Arkansas will represent the SEC.
Expect full schedules for teams to be released in the coming days. Big 12 coaches flirted with the idea of playing four-game series in league play this offseason, but decided to stick with the traditional three-game series.
The conference’s athletic directors supported the coaches’ decision to stick with the three-game series this week.
This story was originally published January 22, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
