Big 12 Bubble Watch

I think it's safe to say that Oklahoma and A&M are off the Bubble Watch for good. The Aggies played inspired basketball last night in their defeat of K-State, looking like the team we expected at the beginning of the season. That was essentially a road game against the #3 team in the conference (who throttled them earlier in the year) without their starting center. Is it possible that Mark Turgeon has turned this team around just in time? I don't feel near as confident about Kansas winning this game today as I did on Thursday.

Oklahoma didn't exactly play inspired, and I don't really expect them to keep it close against Texas, but I think they've done enough to wrap up at least an 8/9 seed. What that means to me is that today's game is huge for them. Winning today probably means they avoid a #1 seed in the second round...I still don't think they can.

As for the teams that lost? K-State fans have to be exceptionally nervous right now. Their resume is eerily similar to last year (other than the 3rd place finish). Surely they don't get left out in the could two years in a row, right? Remember how mad Mizzou fans were when the conference allowed Kansas to get the BCS birth even though the Tigers won the North? K-State fans would have an even bigger gripe if the 4th, 5th and 6th place teams went dancing while they stayed home. I've got the Cats penciled in as a 10 seed.

The Bears still look good to me as well, although they could use some help today. Memphis is destroying Tulsa, so that helps. Other games the Bears and Cats should watch today?
-They need Georgia to lose either this afternoon or tonight, which is very likely
-Carolina embarrassing Va Tech wouldn't hurt anything
-They really need the winner of Michigan State and Wisconsin to win the Big 10. The other side of the bracket features Illinois vs. Minnesota, both teams that need to win the tournament to get in.

Like I said, I think they're both in good shape. But if all of those things went against them? I wouldn't want to be a Wildcat or Bear fan tomorrow evening.

I'd also like to say that I'm pretty irritated with the Missouri Tigers and Kansas State Wildcats...and all of KC should be. The bracket set up perfectly for the first Big 12 Tourney at the Sprint Center to be an incredible atmosphere. Kansas vs. Missouri on Friday night, the winner vs. Kansas State on Saturday...can you imagine what downtown would have been like? Worse yet, the Tigers and Cats needed only to beat teams they'd already beaten this year....but neither one did, and they did it in remarkably similar fashion throwing away any chance at the end with sketchy play calling and sketchier execution.