PAGE 2B MONDAY. MARCH 10, 2014 QUOTE OF THE DAY THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN "I don't want to disappoint you, but I'm not." —Rick Barnes in November on whether he was worried about his job security. Sportingnews FACT OF THE DAY Kansas has entered the Big 12 tournament as the No. 1 seed 10 out of 18 years. TRIVIA OF THE DAY CBSsports Q. How many times have both the No. 1 and No. 2 seed made the championship game? A: Seven CBSsports THE MORNING BREW Big 12 teams will excite fans in the tournament While Selection Sunday is less than a week away, starting Wednesday in Lon Kruger, whose Oklahoma squad was picked to finish fifth in the conference after losing its top three scorers last season, has done much better than anticipated. The Sooners finished second in the conference with an identical overall record to Kansas with a seemingly depleted roster. Kansas City, Mo., there's something that takes larger precedent for now The Big 12 Conference has arguably contained the most depth this season. Joe Lunardi of ESPN currently has eight Big 12 teams making the NCAA Tournament. That's 80 percent of the league, which would be higher than the Big East when they had 11 out of 16 teams in 2011. This year the National Coach of the Year has been a heated discussion with a plethora of names up for consideration, but two in the Big 12 have done as remarkable a job as anyone with their rosters. Kruger recognized the strength of the Big 12 and said that it's unparalleled in comparison to the other The Big 12 Tournament begins at the Sprint Center this week with many crazy stories and coaches who know how to handle them. leagues. "Kansas has separated themselves a little bit, but two through eight [seeds] there's not any difference," Kruger said. "I don't know any other conference that can say where two through eight there's no difference." More importantly, Rick Barnes who was picked to finish second-to-last place in the Big 12 has worked wonders with even less talent this year. Barnes, who was seen as a coach on the hot seat by many, has propelled himself into the National Coach of the Year discussion with ease. Texas is the No. 3 seed in the Big 12 Championship and has been a steady competitor all year in the Big 12. Some teams will get an added chance to prove their resiliency after some hefty losing streaks that could have derailed their season. Baylor is the No. 7 seed after starting the conference season 2-8. which left many thinking it was out of the equation. Oklahoma State is the No. 8 seed after plummeting down the standings with Marcus Smart. If OSU can beat Texas Tech on Wednesday, it will have the chance to play Kansas in the semifinals to decide the season series. If any team can match talent with the No.1 seed Kansas, it's OSU, which handled Kansas in Stillwater, Okla., just a week ago. The range of teams that can compete in this tournament is unmatched from other tournaments in recent memory. It features first-round matchups that may as well be semifinals,including the Kansas State versus Iowa State game. while the value of conference tournaments is obviously diminished from the regular season, the tournaments still provide a chance for more excitement, which fans are always up for. On one side of the bracket this year is Oklahoma, Kansas, Kansas State and Iowa State, which would be good enough for a whole conference, but from there the drop-off doesn't wane much. Fair or not, for now the NCAA tournament rewards teams that are able to bolster their resume through winning their conference tourney. It creates or teams trying to While there was a little drama in trying to thwart Kansas from winning its 10th straight title, that excitement dwindled off in the end when Oklahoma and Texas weren't able to topple the perennial power in the last few games as Kansas held on to the title. The table is now reset. So is the drama incentive for teams trying to find the right matchup in the NCAA tournament. Kansas City will garner attention from the entire college basketball world. It's known as one of the biggest hubs in college basketball TV ratings and this weekend will be no different. This week in athletics Edited by Chelsea Mies Monday Men's Golf Louisiana Classics All day Lafayette, La. Tuesday Softball South Dakota State (DH) 1 p.m. Men's Golf Louisiana Classics All Day Lafayette, La. Softball South Dakota State (DH) 3 p.m. Baseball Oral Roberts University 3 p.m. Lawrence Men's Basketball TBD Kansas City, Mo. Wednesday Friday Softball Northern Illinois 3:30 p.m. Lawrence men's Basketball TBD Kansas City, Mo. Track NCAA Indoor Championships All day Albuquerque, N.M. Thursday Men's Basketball TBD Kansas City, Mo. Women's Golf Innsity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate All day Augusta, Ga. Women's Tennis Iowa State 3 p.m. Ames, Iowa Baseball Texas 6 p.m. Austin, Texas Saturday Men's Basketball TBD Kansas City, Mo. Women's Golf Inspirity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate All Day Augusta, Ga. Softball Jackson State 10:30 a.m. Lawrence Women's Rowing Louisville Invite Day one Oak Ridge, Tenn Track NCAA Indoor Championships All day Albuquerque, N.M. Baseball Texas 1 p.m. Austin, Texas Women's Golf Inspirity Lady Jaguar Intercollegiate All day Augusta, Ga. Sunday Women's Tennis West Virginia 11 a.m. Morgantown, W. Va. Softball Nebraska 1 p.m. Lawrence Women's Rowing Louisville Invite Final results Oak Ridge, Tenn. Baseball Texas I.p.m. Austin, Texas Full/Part time workers needed for vegetable farm. 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