Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship Pairings Set
March 08, 2020 10:35 AM | Men's Basketball
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Pairings have been set for the 2020 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men's Basketball Championship taking place later this week at the Sprint Center in Kansas City.
Top-ranked Kansas (28-3, 17-1) is the tournament's No. 1 seed and on Thursday afternoon will face the winner of Wednesday night's game featuring ninth-seeded Iowa State and No. 8 Oklahoma State.
Second-seeded Baylor (26-4, 15-3) will open the second quarterfinal-round session on Thursday when it faces the winner of Wednesday night's second game pitting seventh-seeded TCU (16-15, 7-11) against 10th-seeded Kansas State (10-21, 3-15).
No. 3-seeded Oklahoma (19-12, 9-9) will meet sixth-seeded West Virginia (21-10, 9-9) in Thursday's final quarterfinal game, while No. 4-seeded Texas (19-12, 9-9) and No. 5 Texas Tech (18-13, 9-9) will open quarterfinal-round play on Thursday afternoon.
The Friday night semifinal session will begin at 7 p.m. ET with game two following immediately afterward.
Saturday's championship game will tip off at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Of the four teams tied for third with 9-9 records, Oklahoma won round robin play among the four with a 4-2 record against the other three (1-1 vs. Texas, 1-1 vs. Texas Tech, 2-0 vs. West Virginia).
Texas and Texas Tech were both 3-3 in the round robin of tied teams.
UT received the fourth seed and was ranked ahead of fifth seed TTU due to its 3-1 record against OSU and TCU.
WVU is the sixth seed due to its 2-4 record against the tied teams.
In the tie for the seventh seed, TCU is ranked ahead of Oklahoma State because of its 1-1 record against Baylor.
Veteran West Virginia coach Bob Huggins admitted last Friday that he has become a big fan of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
"It took a while because it's hard to get New York out of your system and it's hard to get Madison Square Garden out of your system, but I like it," he said. "When I was at K-State (in 2007) we had the tournament in Oklahoma City and that was a disaster. Nobody went.
"Everybody says what an advantage it gives Kansas, well, it also gives Iowa State an advantage because their people travel," Huggins said. "They buy tickets. I can remember the first time we went out there and I met with the lady at the Marriott and I was like, 'Well, I guess Kansas has bought all of the tickets' and she started laughing and said, 'That's what everybody thinks. Iowa State buys all of the tickets and they take all of the rooms.'
"It's great for those people that can drive, and it makes for a great atmosphere," he added.
Extensive video coverage of the entire Championship can be found at Big12Sports.com and on the conference's social media platforms on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Video available will include postgame interviews, behind-the-scenes access, features, and highlights from every contest.
Exclusive live coverage of postgame press conferences will be aired on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Additionally, Big 12 correspondents Morgan Uber and Aaron Pryor will host a Big 12 Championship preview show each day of the men's and women's championships beginning at 9 a.m. CT from Wednesday, March 11 through Sunday, March 15.
Top-ranked Kansas (28-3, 17-1) is the tournament's No. 1 seed and on Thursday afternoon will face the winner of Wednesday night's game featuring ninth-seeded Iowa State and No. 8 Oklahoma State.
Second-seeded Baylor (26-4, 15-3) will open the second quarterfinal-round session on Thursday when it faces the winner of Wednesday night's second game pitting seventh-seeded TCU (16-15, 7-11) against 10th-seeded Kansas State (10-21, 3-15).
No. 3-seeded Oklahoma (19-12, 9-9) will meet sixth-seeded West Virginia (21-10, 9-9) in Thursday's final quarterfinal game, while No. 4-seeded Texas (19-12, 9-9) and No. 5 Texas Tech (18-13, 9-9) will open quarterfinal-round play on Thursday afternoon.
The Friday night semifinal session will begin at 7 p.m. ET with game two following immediately afterward.
Saturday's championship game will tip off at 6 p.m. ET and will be televised nationally on ESPN.
Of the four teams tied for third with 9-9 records, Oklahoma won round robin play among the four with a 4-2 record against the other three (1-1 vs. Texas, 1-1 vs. Texas Tech, 2-0 vs. West Virginia).
Texas and Texas Tech were both 3-3 in the round robin of tied teams.
UT received the fourth seed and was ranked ahead of fifth seed TTU due to its 3-1 record against OSU and TCU.
WVU is the sixth seed due to its 2-4 record against the tied teams.
In the tie for the seventh seed, TCU is ranked ahead of Oklahoma State because of its 1-1 record against Baylor.
Veteran West Virginia coach Bob Huggins admitted last Friday that he has become a big fan of the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.
"It took a while because it's hard to get New York out of your system and it's hard to get Madison Square Garden out of your system, but I like it," he said. "When I was at K-State (in 2007) we had the tournament in Oklahoma City and that was a disaster. Nobody went.
"Everybody says what an advantage it gives Kansas, well, it also gives Iowa State an advantage because their people travel," Huggins said. "They buy tickets. I can remember the first time we went out there and I met with the lady at the Marriott and I was like, 'Well, I guess Kansas has bought all of the tickets' and she started laughing and said, 'That's what everybody thinks. Iowa State buys all of the tickets and they take all of the rooms.'
"It's great for those people that can drive, and it makes for a great atmosphere," he added.
Extensive video coverage of the entire Championship can be found at Big12Sports.com and on the conference's social media platforms on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Video available will include postgame interviews, behind-the-scenes access, features, and highlights from every contest.
Exclusive live coverage of postgame press conferences will be aired on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Additionally, Big 12 correspondents Morgan Uber and Aaron Pryor will host a Big 12 Championship preview show each day of the men's and women's championships beginning at 9 a.m. CT from Wednesday, March 11 through Sunday, March 15.
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