How does KU basketball win Big 12 championship? A closer look at conference standings

With only three games left in the regular season, the Kansas men’s basketball team can’t rest on its laurels.

After Texas’ 72-54 win over Iowa State on Tuesday, No. 3 KU (23-5, 11-4 Big 12) is tied with the No. 8 Longhorns (22-6, 11-4 Big 12) for first in the conference.

Last week it appeared to be a three-team race, but Baylor lost to K-State on Monday. The Bears are now 9-6 in the Big 12 and tied for third with the Wildcats — both two games back of the Jayhawks and Longhorns.

KU and Texas have three games left in the season, including a matchup in Austin against each other for the season finale.

What’s the path to winning the Big 12?

• If both teams go 2-0, the season finale will decide the outright winner of the conference.
• If either team goes 1-1, they’re guaranteed at least a share if they win the finale. The other team will be playing to either win outright (with a win) or get a share (with a loss), provided they went 2-0 before.
• If either team goes 0-2, they’d need the other team to lose at least once for the last game to be meaningful.
• If both teams go 0-2 before the finale, the season-finale winner would be guaranteed a share — and either Baylor or K-State could share the title if they go 3-0 down the stretch.

Here’s a look at the remaining schedules the rest of the way. The Longhorns have a harder schedule leading up to the finale.

• KU’s schedule: West Virginia (home), Texas Tech (home) and at Texas

• UT’s schedule: at Baylor, at TCU, Kansas (home)

And then the teams trailing:

• K-State’s schedule: at Oklahoma State, Oklahoma (home), at West Virginia
• Baylor: Texas (home), at Oklahoma State, Iowa State (home)

If the Jayhawks don’t lose the rest of the way, they will win the Big 12 title outright.

Still, here’s a look at a couple of scenarios where Kansas wins the title without being perfect.

Big 12 championship scenarios

Last week, Kansas coach Bill Self said he believed a 13-5 conference record would win the Big 12 title outright.

KenPom projects KU to win its first two games and lose to Texas, leading to a 13-5 record.

KenPom also projects Texas to go 1-2 in its last three games, with losses to Baylor and TCU and a win against Kansas.

If Kenpom is correct, KU, which would be 13-5, would win the Big 12 title even with the loss to UT, which would be 12-6.

Kansas has an easier schedule than Texas the rest of the way, with two games at home before playing the Longhorns on the road.

In comparison, Texas plays BU and TCU on the road before its showdown with KU in Austin.

KU has gone 38-0 in its final two home games of each season under Kansas coach Bill Self.

If Kansas handles WVU and Texas Tech at Allen Fieldhouse and Texas loses to either Baylor or TCU, the Jayhawks will have clinched a share of the Big 12 title heading into Austin.

So naturally, if KU wins in Austin, it will be the sole winner of the conference; otherwise, both teams will share the title.

This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 11:09 AM with the headline "How does KU basketball win Big 12 championship? A closer look at conference standings."

Shreyas Laddha

The Kansas City Star

Shreyas Laddha covers KU hoops and football for The Star. He’s a Georgia native and graduated from the University of Georgia.