Big 12 hoops preview: Storylines, players to watch, hot seats and more

The Big 12 has established itself as one of the deepest basketball conferences in the country.

Every school has a respected coach in the industry, and the ability to win on any given night.

That’s why the league has sent at least half of its teams to the NCAA tournament in each of the past four years. However, the Big 12 has tended to fizzle during March Madness.

The last school from the conference to make a Final Four run was Kansas in 2012.

So there’s no question the league would like to change that beginning this year, and there are multiple teams with Final Four potential.

Kansas and Oklahoma are at the top of the list, and Iowa State, West Virginia and Baylor all have the talent to make a deep tournament run.

1. Will Kansas’ run continue? One of the more underappreciated feats in sports may be KU’s run in the Big 12. Bill Self has led the Jayhawks to 11 consecutive regular-season championships, and has them in position for No. 12 this year. It’s quite remarkable considering how much turnover teams go through every year, plus the fact that the Big 12 is deep. As the saying goes, Kansas never rebuilds, it reloads.

2. Hello, OU. Kansas is the favorite to win the conference, but Oklahoma isn’t far behind. The Sooners have one of the most talented teams in the country, led by superstar guard Buddy Hield. At 63, Lon Kruger has a team that can get him back to the Final Four for the first time in more than two decades (1993-94 Florida). OU hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2002.

3. Shaka time. Texas seemed to hit the lottery by luring Shaka Smart to Austin, and it will be interesting to see how his up-tempo style fits into the Big 12. So far, it has shown promise, evident by the Longhorns’ upset victory over North Carolina last month. Smart has the potential to bring basketball enthusiasm back to UT, something it had lost in the later years of the Rick Barnes era.

4. Replacing the Mayor. Steve Prohm has the unenviable job of taking over for Fred Hoiberg, a beloved figure at Iowa State. But at least Hoiberg left the cupboard full for Prohm, as he inherited a roster capable of contending for the conference championship and a nice run in the tournament. It’s been a seamless transition to this point with the Cyclones beating teams such as Cincinnati and Iowa.

5. Baylor’s time? Scott Drew has done an impressive job by building Baylor into a perennial contender, but he has yet to get them over the hump in terms of winning the conference championship or reaching a Final Four. Is this the year that changes? The Bears returned three starters, as well as Taurean Prince, one of their biggest scoring threats. A 19-point loss at Texas A&M last month wasn’t pretty, but Baylor rebounded with easy wins over New Mexico State and Texas Southern going into Big 12 play.

Trent Johnson, TCU: The Frogs have a renovated basketball arena, and must generate more interest in the team. That falls on Johnson, who has taking every school he’s coached to the NCAA tournament but has yet to do it at TCU. The Frogs have shown improvement each of the past three years under Johnson, but must become more competitive in conference play (they went 4-14 in Big 12 a year ago).

Bruce Weber, Kansas State: Weber took the Wildcats to the NCAA tournament in each of his first two seasons, thanks in part to players he inherited from Frank Martin. Last year, though, the Wildcats fell back to mediocrity by going 15-17 and 8-10 in conference play, and Weber responded by getting the worst recruiting class of all Big 12 teams. However, so far K-State is off to a promising start, going 10-2 in nonconference play. But for Weber and the Wildcats, the wheels can’t fall off in conference play.

Travis Ford, Oklahoma State: He’s been a solid, not spectacular, coach in his time with the Cowboys. He has taken them to five NCAA tournaments in seven seasons, but has never advanced past the second round. They made the tournament the past two seasons despite playing sub-.500 ball in the conference. That has been enough to get by, although one has to wonder whether it’s just a matter of time before Oklahoma State feels it can do better than Ford.

Starting five

Buddy Hield, Oklahoma: The reigning conference player of the year could have bolted for the NBA, but opted to return for his senior season. He’s the front-runner to win the Big 12’s player of the year again, and should be a strong candidate for national player of the year.

Georges Niang, Iowa State: If Hield falters for some reason, Niang would seem to be the next best guess for the conference’s player of the year. He became a beast in Hoiberg’s open-floor offense, and the key will be keeping that production up under Prohm. So far, so good. Niang averaged 19.2 points in the first 11 games for the Cyclones.

Cheick Diallo, Kansas: He had a delayed start to his college career, running into issues with the NCAA, but has since been cleared and should become one of the conference’s most-talked about players. He is the only five-star recruit from the 2015 class in the conference, and should give the Jayhawks a dynamic player in the post.

Jevon Carter, West Virginia: He earned All-Big 12 Defensive Team honors a year ago as a freshman, and proved to be a critical piece in helping the Mountaineers go 11-7 in conference play and reach the Sweet 16. West Virginia led the nation in steal rate, and Carter ranked among the best on the team in that department.

Ricardo Gathers, Baylor: The senior is a double-double machine for the Bears, averaging 14.1 points and a conference-leading 11 rebounds a game. Gathers is a force in the middle for the Bears, and one of the best big men in the conference.

This story was originally published January 1, 2016 at 5:26 PM with the headline "Big 12 hoops preview: Storylines, players to watch, hot seats and more."