With the calendar flipping to February, the intensity of Big 12 Conference play is only going to crank up. Teams now have an idea of where they stand in the basketball pecking order and now is the time to make a move in the league race.
As expected, the conference has been a real battle royale. Each game in the conference feels like a do-or-die NCAA Tournament game with most coming down to the wire.
That's certainly been the case for the Texas Tech basketball team. Tech has already played one-point games against Kansas State and Oklahoma and four of their last five games have been decided by fewer than 10 points.
Currently, the Big 12 race is as tight as it can get with Houston holding a 1/2 game lead over Tech and Iowa State. What's more, Kansas and TCU are just 1/2 game behind the Red Raiders and Cyclones. So naturally, with over half of the league season left, there will be plenty of movement in the standings.
However, it isn't too early to begin thinking about how the teams would stack up in the Big 12 Tournament if the season ended today. So let's look at what the Big 12 bracket would look like if the current standings were final.
The Big 12 Tournament has a new format thanks to conference expansion
For the first time in the history of the event, the Big 12 basketball tournament has a 14-team format this season. What's more, this year will be the only time the league uses this format because next year, there will be 16 teams in the conference.
Previously, the tournament was a four-day affair starting on Wednesday and ending on Saturday. This year, it begins on Tuesday, March 12, and ends on Saturday, March 16.
On the first day, the bottom four teams will be squaring off. Wednesday, the teams seeded 5 through 8 will play as well. That means that the top four teams get a two-game bye until Thursday making it critical for Texas Tech to earn one of the four highest seeds.
What the Big 12 Tournament bracket would look like if the season ended today
Tuesday, March 12 - First Round Game 1: No. 12 Seed UCF vs. No. 13 Seed West Virginia, 11:30 a.m. CT Game 2: No. 11 Seed Texas vs. No. 14 Seed West Virginia, 2 p.m. CT
Wednesday, March 13 - Second Round Game 3: No. 5 Seed TCU vs. Game 1 Winner, 11:30 a.m. CT Game 4: No. 8 Seed Kansas State vs. No. 9 Seed BYU, 2 p.m. CT Game 5: No. 7 Seed Oklahoma vs. No. 10 Seed Cincinnati, 6 p.m. CT Game 6: No. 6 Baylor vs. Winner Game 2, 8:30 p.m. CT
Thursday, March 14 - Quarterfinals Game 7: No. 4 Seed Kansas vs. Winner Game 3, 11:30 a.m. CT Game 8: No. 1 Seed Houston vs. Winner Game 4, 2 p.m. CT Game 9: No. 2 Seed Texas Tech vs. Winner Game 5, 6 p.m. CT Game 10: No. 3 Seed Iowa State vs. Winner Game 6, 8:30 p.m. CT
Friday, March 15 - Semifinals Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8, 6 p.m. CT Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Winner Game 10, 8:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, March 16 - Championship Game 13: Winner Game 11 vs. Winner Game 12, 5 p.m. CT
How to watch the Big 12 Tournament
Dates: March 12-16, 2024
Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Missouri
TV: ESPN family of networks