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College Basketball
Big XII Tournament Preview
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March 11 - 14, 2004
Dallas, Texas
American Airlines Center
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Tournament Bracket
Updated with Results
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The Cowboys come in as the Big 12 regular season champions, finishing a full 2 games ahead of second place Texas and having won 15 of their last 16 games.
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The Jayhawks have struggled to find chemistry for the most part of the year but seem to have hit their stride as of late. They have won 5 of their last 6, including wins against Oklahoma and Nebraska at home, and a win at Missouri, something Oklahoma State failed to do.
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The Tigers had such high hopes for this season, but with a recent loss to Kansas, it appears that they will have to run the table in the Big 12 tourney to make the Dance. Winning 4 games in 4 days isn't impossible, but they will probably have to beat Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma State, the league's top 3 teams, to do it.
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The Big 12 Tournament champion, whoever it may be, will certainly increase their seeding project by probably 1 or 2 seeds. Oklahoma State will look to benefit the most as they can possibly snag a No. 1 seed if they win out. Oklahoma State, Texas, and Kansas are all certainly in the Dance, but teams like Colorado, Texas Tech, and Oklahoma need to win at least one Big 12 Tournament game to be on the safe side.
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As one of the better shots to win this year's event, the Texas Longhorns should have a friendly following in this year's Tourney since it is being held in Dallas' American Airlines Center, about three hours from the UT campus. With as many as six teams being on the bubble (according to some projections), there is more than enough to be played for in 2004. Oklahoma has played in the championship game five of the last six years, winning the most recent three times and each as a seed other than one. Another OU victory would be shocking.
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The safe pick is the Cowboys. They have been the best Big 12 team all season long and look primed to make a deep tournament run. History suggests that the regular season champs won't win the conference tournament, but we think that the Cowboys might buck that trend this year.
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