BLOG: Evaluating what's left of the Big 12 Conference race; Kansas faces the easier schedule of the top 3 contenders

Tale of the Tait

Kansas bench gives a celebratory slap to Kansas guard Bobby Pettiford Jr. (0) after Pettiford’s three from the corner against Baylor during the second half on Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023, at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo by Nick Krug

It’s still not just a two-team race for the Big 12 regular season title.

After all, the way this season has unfolded, excluding someone with four games left to play seems a little premature.

But there’s little question that Kansas and Texas are in the driver’s seat following UT’s overtime win over Oklahoma and KU’s comeback win over Baylor on Saturday.

The Jayhawks and Longhorns now top the Big 12 at 10-4 in conference play with two weeks to go. Baylor sits one game back at 9-5 and Kansas State and Iowa State are two games behind KU and Texas with four to play.

It’s not impossible for the Wildcats or Cyclones to get a share of the title. But the odds of them doing so appear to be diminishing.

Baylor needs a little help but still has time and a meeting with Texas.

Kansas head coach Bill Self said the Jayhawks, as a team, have never talked about the championship game and what it will take to win it. That, he said, may change a bit now that there are only four games to play and the Jayhawks are firmly in the hunt.

With that in mind, here’s how things look, schedule-wise, for the three teams with the best chance of winning the Big 12 title as of today.

The four teams remaining on KU’s schedule have a 25-31 conference record. The four teams still scheduled in Texas have a conference record of 34-22. And the four teams left on Baylor’s schedule have a 33-23 record.

KANSAS (10-4)

February 20 at TCU

Feb. 25 vs. West Virginia

Feb. 28 vs. Texas Tech

March 4th in Texas

TEXAS (10-4)

Feb. 21 vs. Iowa State

February 25 in Baylor

March 1 at TCU

March 4 vs. Kansas

BAYLOR (9-5)

February 21 at Kansas State

Feb. 25 vs. Texas

February 27 at the state of Oklahoma

March 4 vs. Iowa State

BLOG: Gracious in loss, Baylor coach Scott Drew makes key point after 87-71 loss at Kansas: Both teams can win it all

Written by Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas with a degree in journalism in 2000. After covering KU sports for University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined World Company (and later Ogden Publications ) in 2001 and has held various positions with the newspaper and KUsports.com over the past 20 years. He became Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won numerous local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he’s not playing KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music, and traveling the world with friends and family.

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Regan February 19, 2023Last Updated: February 19, 2023

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