Big 12 claims supremacy in hoops ‘not debatable’

• Myron Medcalf, ESPN Staff WriterOct 23, 2024, 06:57 PM ET

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  • Covers college basketball
  • Signed up with ESPN.com in 2011
  • Graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato

KANSAS CITY, Mo.– Last week, the SEC and its coaches proclaimed its guys’s basketball item transcended to the rest around the nation. And with nine SEC teams in the Associated Press preseason Top 25 poll, they have a case.The Big 12

‘s leadership, however, is not convinced.During their guys’s

basketball media day Wednesday, the Big 12’s top coaches declared the conference the indisputable king of college basketball.

“Every league is really tough, particularly when you get into league play and the stakes are greater and the awareness of each other is different,” Cincinnati head coach Wes Miller said. “Every league is actually tough. I believe when people, like myself, stand here and say we have the very best league, it’s not a slight towards anyone else’s league or disrespect. It’s a fact. I don’t believe it’s an opinion. Simply take a look at the numbers. Seriously, look at the numbers.”

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The conference lost Texas and Oklahoma, but added Arizona and 3 others a year after inviting Houston, BYU, UCF and Cincinnati. The No. 10 Wildcats and No. 4 Cougars are amongst five Huge 12 groups in the leading 10 of the AP survey, together with No. 1 Kansas, No. 5 Iowa State and No. 8 Baylor.Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang, who led his group to the Elite 8 in his first season in Manhattan 2 years earlier, said the gap in between the Big 12 and the rest of the country is large.

“It’s not close,” Tang said. “It’s not arguable. I think individuals can discuss what they wish to. However the outcomes show it. There have actually been 3 schools in the last 4 years to win a national championship and two of them are from the Huge 12. It has the very best players, best coaches, best environments and kids want to belong of that.”

Based upon KenPom’s rankings, the Huge 12 has 13 teams that ended up last season in the top 75 throughout the 2023-24 season. The Huge 12 has actually likewise completed first in KenPom’s conference rankings for three successive years and nine of the past 11 seasons.With a 20-game schedule and a more robust field, Jayhawks coach Expense Self stated this would be the most difficult league he had actually ever dealt with.”A lot of leagues are leading heavy, however they’re likewise bottom heavy, “Self said.” This league has no bottom. No matter where you go, winning on the road or not winning on the road will not be considered an upset in coaches ‘minds.”Two of the past four national champions have actually originated from the Big 12– Baylor in 2021, Kansas in 2022– but Houston coach Kelvin Sampson stated he’s not concentrated on the league’s slate, because he declines to look too far ahead.”If you do not believe little things will eliminate you, get secured in a camping tent with

a mosquito and you consider the damage that thing can do to you,”Sampson said.”The Big 12 is an elephant. Ain’t absolutely nothing you can do about those things now. What I focus on is I focus on training my team. I would have a difficult time most likely writing down all 16 [Big 12] groups. Everybody understands it’s a difficult league, but that’s not jaw-dropping. “The Big 12 will need to justify the preseason buzz once the NCAA tournament shows up. The gauntlet within the league, nevertheless, could harm good teams that have a hard time in what is perhaps the most competitive conference, Self said.”I think there is going to be the look of off days much more often for teams

in our league that aren’t truly off days,”Self stated.”You just got beat. “