Our favorites, sleepers, and dark horses in the 2021 Big 12 men’s basketball tournament

The Big 12 Tournament is set to get started on Wednesday, March 10 from the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri. The conference has seven teams that will definitely be in the NCAA Tournament with none on the bubble, so this is mostly a battle for better seeding on Selection Sunday unless one of the bottom teams make a surprising run.

We’ll be taking a look at some of the best teams in each conference, and providing picks and predictions for each conference tournament. Plenty of favorites will win, but we’ve got some sleepers to consider that might be able to pull off a big upset on the way to the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s the bracket for the Big 12 Conference Tournament with TV listings, dates and times.

Favorite: Baylor Bears

Baylor (21-1, 13-1 Big 12) might be the best team in all of college basketball, and the Bears are the betting favorite to win the Big 12 Tournament on DraftKings Sportsbook with -134 odds. Baylor’s lone loss came on February 27th in a 71-58 road loss to the Kansas Jayhawks but won each of their last three games of the regular season. The Bears rank No. 2 in KenPom and third in adjusted offensive efficiency. Their leading scorer is junior guard Jared Butler, who averages 17.1 points per game with a conference-leading 2.1 steals.

Sleeper: West Virginia Mountaineers

West Virginia (18-8, 11-6 Big 12) will enter as the No. 4 seed in the tournament and is tied for the third best odds to win the Big 12 at +700. The Mountaineers played Baylor to a 94-89 overtime loss in what was a fantastic game last week, so they can hang with the best teams in the country. West Virginia ranks No. 25 in KenPom and 11th in adjusted offensive efficiency. Miles McBride leads the team in points (15.3), assists (4.7) and steals (1.8). Forward Derek Culver is averaging 14.8 points with a team-high 9.8 rebounds per game.

Dark Horse: Oklahoma State Cowboys

Oklahoma State (18-7, 11-7 Big 12) is the fifth seed in the Big 12 and has the fifth best odds at +800 to win the conference. One area that’s crucial for for postseason success is record away from home, and the Cowboys are 8-4 on the road this season. Check the injury reports throughout the week as Oklahoma State could be without their freshman star Cade Cunningham with an ankle injury. He averages 19.7 points per game, which leads the Big 12, and he could be the top pick in the NBA Draft. In addition, junior guard Isaac Likekele could be out with a hand injury.

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