WACO, Texas — Being a basketball coach in the Big 12 must be stressful.

“There’s no other league in America that has as good as coaches, as good as players, as good of programs,” Iowa State Head Coach T. J. Otzelberger said. 

He isn’t lying. The Big 12 is stacked this season. 

“Analytically, go to the numbers because facts don’t lie,” Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew said. “Dick Vitale said it’s the toughest conferences he’s seen in 20 years, I think Kenpom analytics backs up all that stuff.”

Okay Scott Drew, let’s dive in. 

According to Kenpom, seven of the 10 Big 12 teams are rated inside the Top 25. The Southeastern Conference has five teams and the Big East has four.

Of Kenpom’s eight toughest schedules in the country, seven are owned by Big 12 teams.

“We’ve been on the court with the nine other teams and we know that they can be on their best night, and that’s a team that can win not only a game but two games,” Otzelberger said.

ESPN projects that seven schools will be get NCAA tournament bids. Before these teams can even think about that, the focus is dialed in on the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. 

“You look at it and you can see a 1 by a name, a 10 by a name, us coaches understand there’s that big of a margin,” Drew said. “I think the players understand in the Big 12 because they’ve seen it first and up close how good everybody is and how competitive and physical and tough it is.”

Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech could steal bids by winning the tournament outright in Kansas City. 

Play begins on Wednesday when Tech and West Virginia faceoff.