Big 12 Tournament preview: Can Oklahoma win it all?

The Big 12 is a deep and competitive conference, making upsets certain to happen in the conference tourney.

The 2024 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament tips off on Thursday, Mar. 7 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO. The championship game will be played on Tuesday, Mar. 12. Who will be the two teams in that matchup?

The Big 12 has four teams ranked in the AP Top 25 and plenty of dangerous teams outside the Top 25, like the Iowa State Cyclones and the West Virginia Mountaineers. The No. 1-seed Oklahoma Sooners consistently have been at the top of the Big 12, with No. 2-seed Texas right there as well. No. 3-seed Kansas State and No. 4-seed Iowa State have also had good seasons, and all four teams have earned byes and automatically qualify for the quarterfinals.

Here’s a preview of the top teams’ chances of winning in Kansas City.

Sooner supremacy

They were the early surprise of the conference, but everyone sees them coming now. The Oklahoma Sooners have two All-Big 12 first-team members, Skylar Vann and Payton Verhulst, and two honorable mentions in Sahara Williams and Nevaeh Tot.

They’ve been the team to beat, narrowly edging out the Longhorns, and will be favored until someone pulls off the upset. Last season, Oklahoma made it to the semifinals before losing to the eventual tournament champion Iowa State. We’ll see if they can finish the job this year and claim the clean sweep by winning the regular season and tournament titles.

Texas is still at the top

The Sooners may be the team to beat in the Big 12, but Texas has the national recognition the Sooners yearn for. Ranked No. 6 in the country, no team in the conference has a higher ranking, and Texas has earned it with big-time wins versus Baylor, West Virginia, and UConn.

Rori Harmon’s injury could’ve destroyed this team’s season, but they rallied, with Madison Booker leading the charge by averaging 16.5 points per game. If Texas does reach the final, they’ll be hoping Oklahoma doesn’t, as they’ve lost both matchups against the Sooners.

Ayoka Lee can win it all

I can’t describe how horrifying playing Ayoka Lee must be. She’s a force of nature like a hurricane—you can’t do anything to stop it. You just prepare and hope the damage isn’t beyond repair. Lee is averaging 19.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, leading the Wildcats in both statistical categories. With a quarterfinals berth locked in, K-State is primed for success in this tournament, and I don’t envy any team that must try to eliminate them.

Best of the rest

The top is scary, but there are a number teams that can win this tourney. No. 4-seed Iowa State has quality wins in and out of the conference and No. 5-seed Baylor is dangerous, as is No. 6-seed West Virginia and No. 7-seed Kansas. Don’t be surprised if one of these teams knocks out a top seed in the quarterfinals and goes on a deep run. In fact, I expect at least one of them to do just that.

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Big 12 Tournament schedule

All games will be played at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO.

First round — Thursday, Mar. 7

Game 1: No. 13 Houston vs. No. 12 Texas Tech, 6:30 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Game 2: No. 14 University of Central Florida vs. No. 11 Cincinnati, 9 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Second round — Friday, Mar. 8

Game 3: No. 5 Baylor vs. Winner of Game 1, 12 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Game 4: No. 8 Oklahoma State University vs. No. 9 TCU, 2:30 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Game 5: No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Yale, 6:30 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Game 6: No. 6 West Virginia vs. Winner of Game 2, 9 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Quarterfinals — Saturday, Mar. 9

Game 7: No. 4 Iowa State vs. Winner of Game 3, 12 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Game 8: No. 8 Oklahoma vs. Winner of Game 4, 2:30 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Game 9: No. 2 Texas vs. Winner of Game 5, 6:30 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Game 10: No. 3 Kansas State vs. Winner of Game 6, 9 p.m. ET (Big 12 Now, ESPN+)

Semifinals — Mondayday, Mar. 11

Game 11: Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8, 2:30 p.m. ET (ESPN 2)

Game 12: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN 2)

Championship — Tuesday, Mar. 12

Game 11: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN 2)