The best teams in the history of the Big 12 Conference
The 20th Big 12 Tournament begins Wednesday at the Sprint Center. We look back at the event’s two decades in a language familiar in basketball: Teams of honor.
These are the best teams in the history of the conference:
2008 Kansas (37-3)
The Big 12’s lone national champion survived the only Final Four with all No. 1 seeds, and provided a snapshot moment in the title game vs. Memphis on Mario Chalmers’ three-pointer to force overtime.
2012 Kansas (32-7)
The team of Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor was stopped short of a national title by Kentucky’s Anthony Davis.
2004 Oklahoma State (31-4)
The best of Eddie Sutton’s Big 12 teams beat top-seeded St. Joseph’s on John Lucas Jr.’s shot to reach Final Four. Tony Allen was the leading scorer and Big 12 player of the year.
2002 Kansas (33-4)
Perhaps Roy Williams’ best team, which included three who remain in the NBA: Nick Collison, Kirk Hinrich and Drew Gooden.
2003 Texas (26-7)
Rick Barnes’ best team, led by national player of the year T.J. Ford, powered to the Final Four.
Blair Kerkhoff: 816-234-4730, @BlairKerkhoff
Also in the Final Four
2002 Oklahoma (31-5)
2003 Kansas (30-8)
Best teams that didn’t reach Final Four
1997 Kansas (34-2)
Top-ranked all season, but injuries slowed the team with four NBA first-round draft selections in the Sweet 16 loss to Arizona.
2000 Iowa State (32-5)
The Marcus Fizer-led Cyclones were the nation’s second-best team behind Michigan State. A selection committee mistake put them in the same region.
2010 Kansas (33-3)
Of all the early NCAA Tournament exits by talented KU teams, this one to Northern Iowa may have stung the most. The Jayhawks entered the NCAA Tournament as the favorite.
2006 Texas (30-7)
The team of LaMarcus Aldridge, Daniel Gibson and P.J. Tucker lost the regional final in overtime to LSU.
2009 Oklahoma (30-6)
Blake Griffin couldn’t get the Sooners past eventual national champion North Carolina in the regional final.
This story was originally published March 8, 2016 at 1:02 PM with the headline "The best teams in the history of the Big 12 Conference."