It’s Baylor, not Kansas, as No. 1 pick of Big 12 basketball coaches in preseason poll
For the first time in 10 years, Kansas’ men’s basketball team is not the pick of Big 12 coaches to win the conference title.
Baylor, instead, placed first in the 2020-21 preseason poll, which was announced Thursday. KU, which received three first-place votes and 73 points to Baylor’s seven firsts and 79 points, placed second in the poll, followed by West Virginia (61), Texas (58), Texas Tech (53), Oklahoma (39), Oklahoma State (35), Iowa State (19), TCU (16) and Kansas State (15).
KU has been picked to win the league title the past nine years and 19 times in the 25-year history of the league. Coaches in the poll could not vote for their own teams.
Kansas, which won the title a year ago, has won 19 outright or shared Big 12 regular-season championships in the previous 24 years since the inception of the league in 1996-97. Included was an NCAA-record 14 straight regular-season league crowns from 2005-18. KU’s 62 overall conference titles is an NCAA record.
Baylor has been picked to win the league for the first time. The Bears were picked second in the preseason poll in 2012-13, and 2019-20. Baylor’s second-place finish in 2019-20 was its highest in program history.
Big 12 preseason men’s basketball poll
1. Baylor (7) 79 points
2. Kansas (3) 73
3. West Virginia (61)
4. Texas (58)
5. Texas Tech (53)
6. Oklahoma (39)
7. Oklahoma State (35)
8. Iowa State (19)
9. TCU (18)
10. Kansas State (15)
This story was originally published October 29, 2020 at 1:32 PM with the headline "It’s Baylor, not Kansas, as No. 1 pick of Big 12 basketball coaches in preseason poll."
