Big 12 Report: Forecasting some conference awards

Big 12 basketball teams have one more game to play before the end of the regular season, which means it’s almost time to hand out some awards.

A look at how Big 12 honors might be distributed:

Player of the Year: Frank Mason. The Kansas guard is the obvious choice. He’s the Big 12’s leading scorer (20.3 points), a quality distributor (4.9 assists) and the best player on the conference’s best team. His leadership and clutch baskets lifted the Jayhawks to their 13th consecutive conference championship. In most years, Baylor’s Johnathan Motley would warrant serious consideration, but not against Mason.

Coach of the Year: This one could go several different ways. There’s a good chance the coaches and media disagree. Bill Self is the choice for those that believe the coach that wins the league also deserves to win the award. Though KU has advantages other teams don’t, such as playing nine conference games at Allen Fieldhouse, Self had to do some crafty coaching to win with a thin roster.

Iowa State’s Steve Prohm could boost his candidacy if the Cyclones finish all alone in second. Few saw that coming. Then there’s Brad Underwood, who guided Oklahoma State to 20 wins after an 0-6 start in league play. Scott Drew could also earn some votes, but his chances were damaged by losses to K-State and Texas Tech.

Newcomer of the Year: Josh Jackson has been named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week seven times this season. He’s a lock.

Most Improved Player: Jeffrey Carroll. Many had written off the Travis Ford recruit, but the junior wing thrived under a new coach and averaged 17 points this season.

Best name: Vladimir Brodziansky. He could be really good for TCU as a senior, too.

First team: The obvious choices are Mason, Motley and Jackson. After that, you could see any combination of players. Candidates include three scorers from Iowa State (Monte Morris, Naz Long, Deonte Burton) and two from Oklahoma State (Jawun Evans, Jeffrey Carroll).

Second team: Expect West Virginia junior Jevon Carter, Kansas junior Devonte Graham, Texas freshman Jarrett Allen and Texas Tech junior Keenan Evans and K-State senior Wesley Iwundu to contend for spots along with those snubbed for first team.

Win and you’re in?

K-State coach Bruce Weber doesn’t care what any of the NCAA Tournament projections say. He thinks the Wildcats are a lock for the bracket if they beat Texas Tech in the regular-season finale on Saturday.

“If we don’t get in, somebody better check on the publicity for our league,” Weber said Wednesday following a 75-74 victory at TCU. “With our RPI (59), we won at Colorado State on the road by 20 points, we beat Saint Louis on the road, we played Maryland down to the wire.

“But my case doesn’t mean anything until we go win Saturday. It doesn’t mean a thing. I think the kids understand that.”

Another victory would improve K-State to 19-12 overall and 8-10 in the Big 12. That would give it a compelling argument for an at-large berth. The Big 12 has sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament in three consecutive seasons, so finishing sixth in the league standings would give the Wildcats reason to hope, as would quality victories over Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State, even with a sub-.500 conference record. Three Big 12 teams have reached the bracket at 8-10 during that same span.

Many bracket projections list K-State as one of the first few teams out of the tournament, but a victory could change that. Add on another win at the Big 12 Tournament and the Wildcats could further strengthen their chances.

A loss would leave them in the same shape as TCU and Texas Tech, with serious work to do in Kansas City.

Still, Weber thinks the strength of the Big 12, the nation’s top RPI conference, has his team within one win of the postseason.

“It’s a good league,” Weber said. “I hope we do a good job telling people nation wide, because it is such a good league. I was talking to Tom Izzo (the other day) and I told him, ‘Tom, you play the ninth-place team in our league and it is a fight. That’s not the case (in the Big Ten). Matt Painter is my guy and (Purdue) is going to win the Big Ten, but he played the top three teams once. I would love to play West Virginia, Kansas and Baylor once. You know it’s a grind-out fight.”

Seeding scramble

You will have to wait until late Saturday night to fill out a Big 12 Tournament bracket. Only two seeds are currently locked in — No. 1 Kansas and No. 5 Oklahoma State.

Baylor, Iowa State and West Virginia are all still fighting for the No. 2 seed. K-State and Texas Tech are still pushing for the No. 6 seed and a coveted bye. Oklahoma and Texas are looking to secure the No. 9 seed.

Power rankings

1. Kansas (27-3, 15-2 Big 12): Great regular season, but NCAA Tournament will determine this team’s legacy.

2. Iowa State (20-9, 12-5): Cyclones can take second place with a win at West Virginia.

3. Baylor (24-6, 11-6): Bears hoping for a No. 2 seed on Selection Sunday.

4. Oklahoma State (20-10, 9-8): Cowboys are a lock to make the NCAA Tournament.

5. West Virginia (23-7, 11-6): Could be the No. 2, 3 or 4 seed in Kansas City.

6. Kansas State (18-12, 7-10): Wildcats could be Dayton bound with a win over Texas Tech.

7. Texas Tech (18-12, 6-11): Can claim the No. 6 seed in Kansas City by beating K-State.

8. TCU (17-13, 6-11): Frogs can stop dreaming of anything more than the NIT.

9. Oklahoma (10-19, 4-13): Sooners could be spoilers at the Big 12 Tournament.

10. Texas (10-20, 4-13): Who would have thought Shaka Smart would lose 20 games at Texas?

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Big 12 Report: Forecasting some conference awards."