Big 12 Basketball: 5 Way-Too-Early Bold Predictions for 2021-22
By John Scimeca
2. The Big 12 Bounces Back in 2022 NCAA Tournament
The Big 12 will rebound from its underwhelming 2021 postseason performance. That might not be saying much, considering that only one of its seven teams in the Big Dance made it past the second round. Three teams were upset by squads seeded eight slots or more lower — No. 3 seed Texas to No. 14 seed Abilene Christian, No. 4 Oklahoma State to No. 12 Oregon State, and No. 3 West Virginia to No. 11 Syracuse.
Much of the national attention is rightfully on the Big Ten for its all-out face plant during this year’s March Madness — just think of top seeds Iowa, Illinois, and Ohio State losing in the first or second round — but the Big 12 wasn’t far behind in terms of disappointment after lofty expectations from the regular season.
The Big 12, now operating with only 10 teams, has placed six or more teams in each NCAA Tournament since 2013.
Placing 60-70% of your league in the Big Dance is impressive, but the collective performance of Big 12 teams hasn’t quite matched the expectations. Since 2006, Big 12 teams have appeared in 19 Elite Eight games and have advanced to the Final Four only six times. This 6-13 record (including Baylor from this year) must improve for the conference to improve its national billing.
If the Big 12 wants to be consistently on par with the Big Ten and the ACC and definitively better than the SEC, it has to show up in March. The 2022 tourney is a good bet, considering that the Big 12 has advanced a team to three consecutive Final Fours for the first time since 2004.