April 1, 2003

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Second Time, Second Straight Year

Kansas and Texas become the third and fourth teams to advance to the Final Four as members of the Big 12 Conference which began in 1996-97. Last year the Jayhawks and Oklahoma became the first two Big 12 schools to advance to the Final Four in Atlanta. Overall Kansas is making its 12th Final Four appearance and Texas its third and first since it was an eight-team field in 1947. This will be the Big 12's 33rd overall appearance as eight of the league's schools have advanced to this level. This also marks fifth straight and 16th overall time that two teams from the same conference has advanced to the Final Four.

Two Teams from one Conference in the Same Final Four
1976 - Michigan, Indiana (Big Ten)
1980 - Iowa, Purdue (Big Ten)
1981 - North Carolina, Virginia (ACC)
1985 - St. John's, Villanova, Georgetown (Big East)
1987 - Providence, Syracuse (Big East)
1988 - KANSAS, OKLAHOMA (Big Eight)
1989 - Michigan, Illinois (Big Ten)
1991 - Duke, North Carolina (ACC)
1992 - Michigan, Indiana (Big Ten)
1994 - Arkansas, Florida (SEC)
1996 - Mississippi State, Kentucky (SEC)
1999 - Michigan State, Ohio State (Big Ten)
2000 - Wisconsin, Michigan State (Big Ten)
2001 - Maryland, Duke (ACC)
2002 - KANSAS, OKLAHOMA (Big 12)
2003 - KANSAS, TEXAS (Big 12)


If They Meet in the Championship

Should TEXAS defeat Syracuse and KANSAS defeat Marquette, this would only the fourth time in NCAA Tournament history that two teams from the same conference would play in the championship game. In 1976 Indiana defeated Michigan for the title; in 1985 Villanova defeated Georgetown; and in 1988 Kansas defeated Oklahoma.


Texas Tech Advances to Madison Square Garden in Owens Corning NIT

Texas Tech has reached the semifinals of the Owens NIT and will play St. John's at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. The Red Raiders are participating in only their third NIT and first since the 1995 season. Texas Tech is 3-2 in the postseason NIT with all three victories this year. Tech had bowed out of the NIT in each of its first rounds in 1979 and 1995. Additionally, Iowa State also won its first game in the postseason NIT with its 76-65 win against Wichita State March 19. The Cyclones then lost a 54-53 contest to Iowa to end their season. Texas Tech is vying to become the fourth Big 12 school to win the postseason NIT and first since Nebraska won the 1996 title. Colorado was the 1940 NIT champ and Texas was the 1978 titlist.


Big 12 Since 2000

In the 2000 NCAA Tournament the Big 12 sent two teams - Iowa State and Oklahoma State to the quarterfinals. Over the last three NCAA tourneys Big 12 teams have combined for a 38-22 record. Here is where the league matches up since the 2000 NCAA Tournament.


CONFERENCE RECORDS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT SINCE 2000

(Ranked by Wins)

Conference: Total Appearances/Record/ 2002 & 2003 Tourneys
Big Ten: 22/41-21/10 appearances - 16-9
^BIG 12: 24/38-22/12 appearances - 26-10
ACC: 17/32-15/8 appearances - 14-7
Pac-10: 19/32-19/10 appearances - 16-10
^Big East: 21/29-19/11 appearances - 16-10
SEC: 23/27-23/11 appearances - 11-11
^Conference USA: 12/10-11/6 appearances - 6-5

^Teams Remaining


Four Big 12 Teams Advance to NCAA Sweet 16

Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas each advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the second straight year. It was KU's third straight trip to the Sweet 16. KU and OU each advanced to the Final Four last year which was the first in the six-year history of the Big 12. This marks the second straight year the Big 12 has at least three teams in the Sweet 16. Last year the aforementioned and Missouri advanced with MU losing to OU in the regional final in San Jose.


Kansas City Here We Come

This marks the third straight year the Big 12 has hosted the first/second rounds of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball championship. This is also the third straight year a team from those first/second rounds sites has advanced to the Final Four. In 2001 Arizona advanced from the Kansas City region at Kemper Arena. Last year Oklahoma reached the Final Four after starting in the Dallas pod at the American Airlines Center (AAC). This year Kansas started at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City and will make the trip to New Orleans. Next year the Big 12 plays host again in Kansas City to the first/second rounds. In 2005 the league will host in Oklahoma City and in 2006 it will also run the event at the AAC in Dallas.


Big 12 Sends Eight Into Postseason Tourneys

For the second time in the seven year history of the Big 12, the conference had eight teams advance to postseason play. 2003 Big 12 champion Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas are repeat NCAA tourney participants from last year. Kansas is making its 14th consecutive appearance with Oklahoma State its sixth straight. Oklahoma and Texas will be playing in their fifth straight NCAA tourney. Colorado is appearing in the event for the first time since the 1997 NCAA Tournament. Iowa State and Texas Tech round out the eight Big 12 teams in advancing with both in the 2003 NIT. This is Iowa State's second overall appearance in the event with the other in 1984. Tech has played in two NITs - in 1979 and 1995.


High Seeds in the NCAA Tournament

At 4.3, this year marks the best seed average for the six Big 12 teams in the NCAA Tournament in the seven year history of the league. The 2003 six team average surpasses the 5.0 set in 2000. That year Oklahoma State and Iowa State each advanced to the quarterfinals of the tourney.


Big 12 Sends 15 of 24 Teams to Postseason Basketball Tournaments

The Big 12 Conference is represented by 15 of its 24 men's and women's basketball teams in postseason tournaments. Six men's teams and five women's teams compete in the NCAA Tournaments while two each men's and women's teams play in the NIT and WNIT.

NCAA Men's Teams: Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas
NCAA Women's Teams: Colorado, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech
NIT Teams: Iowa State, Texas Tech
WNIT Teams: Baylor, Missouri


11 Different Big 12 Teams in Postseason Play

In seven seasons of men's basketball, there have been 11 different Big 12 teams advancing to postseason play. The conference has averaged 5.3 teams in the NCAA Tournament and 1.3 in the NIT. Last year Kansas and Oklahoma became the first Big 12 teams to reach the NCAA Tournament Final Four in the six-year history of the conference. The Jayhawks and Sooners are also the only two of the league's teams to have participated in all six NCAA tourneys during the league's tenure. Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma State have participated in both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. Texas has been in six of seven NCAA tourneys and Iowa State in three since 1997. Baylor became the 10th league school by advancing to the NIT in 2001 and Texas Tech the 11th in the NCAA Tournament last year. The six Big 12 teams in the 2003 NCAA Tournament carry the highest seed average (4.3) in the seven year history of the conference. It surpasses the 2000 NCAA Tournament which carried a seed average 5.0. The 2002 advancing NCAA teams rank next with a combined at 5.7 seed average.

Big 12 Yearly Postseason Breakdown

(Since the 1996-97 season)

1996-97
NCAA - Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas
NIT - Nebraska, Oklahoma State

1997-98
NCAA - Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State
NIT - Kansas State, Missouri

1998-99
NCAA - Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas
NIT - Colorado, Kansas State, Nebraska

1999-2000
NCAA -- Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas
NIT -- Colorado

2000-01
NCAA - Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas
NIT - Baylor

2001-02
NCAA - Kansas^, Missouri, Oklahoma^, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas Tech

2002-03
NCAA - Colorado, Kansas^, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas^

NIT - Iowa State, Texas Tech

^Final Four participant


Kansas Wins Second Straight and Fourth Overall Big 12 Title

Kansas claimed its second straight Big 12 men's basketball regular season title with a 14-2 record. Texas finished runner-up at 13-3 in what was a hotly contested race. The Big 12 title was Kansas' 47th in school history and its fourth in Big 12 history. KU won the first two Big 12 titles in 1997 and 1998 with 15-1 records and was the first school to go undefeated in conference play at 16-0 in 2002. This season went down to the final two games with KU, UT, and Oklahoma each in the hunt with two games remaining. The Jayhawks landed two first-team All-Big 12 performers in Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich. Collison was the coaches' choice for Big 12 Player of the Year. The Associated Press Big 12 Player of the Year went to Oklahoma's Hollis Price, also a first-team selection. Texas' T.J. Ford and Texas Tech's Andre Emmett rounded out the first-team All-Big 12 squad.


Oklahoma Wins Third Straight Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Title

Behind senior Hollis Price, Oklahoma won its third straight Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament with a three game sweep of Colorado, Texas Tech, and Missouri. The venue for the 2003 tourney changed from Kemper Arena in Kansas City to the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Kemper had hosted the first six Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournaments. Price earned most outstanding player of the tournament honors for the second straight year. He joins former Kansas standout Paul Pierce who was named MOP in the 1997 and 1998 events. Like 2001, OU won the event as a No. 3 seed. The title was Oklahoma's seventh overall and third as members of the Big 12. After breezing past Colorado 74-59, Texas Tech took Oklahoma to overtime before losing 67-60 in the semifinals. In the title game OU saw a commanding lead dwindle as the Sooners held on to a 49-47 win. OU's last field goal in the game came at 15:05 to play. Joining Price on the all-tournament team was senior teammate Quannas White, Missouri juniors Arthur Johnson and Rickey Paulding, and Texas Tech junior Andre Emmett. The event was the fifth sell out in the seven year history of the league.


Big 12 Men's Basketball Headlines in 2002-03

--Four Big 12 Players Named Preseason All-America by Playboy
--Big 12 Starts 2002-03 with Three Teams in the Top 5 Nationally, Four Teams Ranked Total
--Colorado's David Harrison turns Big 12's Fifth Triple Double
--Coaching Milestones Being Surpassed by Big 12 Mentors
--Texas Head Coach Rick Barnes Wins his 300th Career Game
--Big 12 Has Five Teams Ranked Nationally (Dec. 30)
--Big 12 Wins 100-plus Non-League Games for Fourth Straight Season
--Big 12's Non-League Winning Percentage its Highest in Seven Year History of the League
--Big 12 is the Only Conference with Every School Above .500 after Non-League Play (Jan. 5)
--Big 12 Has Six Teams Ranked in Jan. 13 & 20 Coaches' Poll, the Most of Any Conference
--Kansas Head Coach Roy Williams Wins 400th Career Game
--Kansas' Conference Record Winning Streak Ends at 23 Games
--Oklahoma has Nation's Longest Home Court Winning Streak and Sets Big 12 Home Court Winning Streak at 36 Games
--Oklahoma State has Nation's Longest Winning Streak at 15 Games (Jan. 29)
--Kansas Senior Nick Collison Breaks Big 12 Single Game Rebound Record with 23 vs. Texas
--Texas A&M's Bernard King Becomes Big 12's All-Time Leading Scorer in All Games and Conference Games

--Big 12 has Three Teams in AP Top 6 - Texas (3), Oklahoma (5), Kansas (6) on Feb. 17
--Big 12 Lands Eight on NABC All-District Teams
--Collison, Ford, Hinrich, and Price Named Naismith Player of the Year Finalists
--Williams, Barnes, Sampson, and Sutton Named Naismith Coach of the Year Finalists
--Oklahoma's Hollis Price Breaks Big 12 Consecutive Free Throw Record at 36
--Oklahoma and Texas Claim No. 1 Rating in RPI During the 2002-03 Season
--Kansas Claims at Least a Share of Big 12 Title, Its 47th Overall and Fourth Big 12 Championship
--Big 12 Has Four 20-Win Teams for the Sixth Time in Seven Year History
--Big 12 Mourns Loss of Pete Taylor, Voice of the Iowa State Cyclones
--Texas Sophomore T.J. Ford Named Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated
--KU's Collison, Texas' Ford, and OU's Price Named First Team All-America by USBWA
--OSU's Eddie Sutton and Former Missouri Coach Norm Stewart Nominated for Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
--Oklahoma Wins Third Straight Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament
--Big 12 Ties the 1999 Season with Eight Teams in Postseason Tournaments
--Big 12 Lands Two No. 1 Seeds in NCAA Tournament - Texas and Oklahoma
--Big 12 Sets Lowest Seed Average for NCAA Tournament in Seven Year History of the Conference
--Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas Advance to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the Second Straight Year
--Texas Guard T.J. Ford Named Naismith Male Player of the Year and TSN Player of the Year
--Kansas and Texas Become Third & Fourth Big 12 Teams to Advance to the Final Four


Big 12 Men's Basketball Notables

--Including 2003 Big 12 teams have made 33 Final Four appearances, with 14 of those advancing to the national championship game. There have been four NCAA champions (Kansas in 1988, 1952; Oklahoma State in 1946, 1945). In the past 15 years there have been eight Final Four appearances, which include the 1988 tourney when Kansas defeated Oklahoma in the championship game. Prior to 2002, the last Big 12 team in the Final Four was Oklahoma State in 1995. Eight of the league's schools have reached the Final Four - Baylor (2), Colorado (2), Iowa State (1), Kansas (12), Kansas State (4), Oklahoma (4), Oklahoma State (5), Texas (3).
--Since 1992 Big 12 schools have averaged nearly eight teams advancing to postseason play. Twice during that span -- 1992, 1995 -- nine Big 12 schools were in postseason play. The league has had at least seven advance in eight of the last 10 years.
--In 1996, Nebraska became the third Big 12 team to win the postseason National Invitation Tournament and the first since Texas won the 1978 event. Colorado won the 1940 NIT. In all, the Big 12 Conference has made seven appearances in the NIT championship game.
--The Big 12 has had nine different schools represented (Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech) in the last eight season-ending Associated Press polls.
--Kansas has appeared in the final Top 10 Associated Press rankings 10 of the last 13 years, including No. 1 in the 1997 final AP poll. The Jayhawks were No. 2 in the final AP poll of 1998 (March 10), No. 2 in 2002 (March 11), and No. 6 in 2003 (March 17).
--Oklahoma, Iowa State, Missouri, Texas, and Texas Tech join Kansas in having appeared in the final top 10 polls to give the Big 12 at least one Top 10 team in 12 of the last 13 final Associated Press Polls (since the 1990-91 season). Oklahoma was No. 3 in the final AP poll with Texas No. 5 and Kansas No. 6. Iowa State was No. 10 following the 2000-01 season and No. 6 in the final AP poll of 1999-00. Missouri ended No. 5 following the 1993-94 season and Texas Tech was No. 8 in 1995-96. Kansas was No. 2 in 1991-92, No. 9 in 1992-93, No. 5 in 1994-95, No. 4 in 1995-96, No. 1 in 1996-97, No. 2 in 1997-98, and No. 2 in 2001-02.
--Student-athletes from Big 12 institutions have been named first-team All-America 168 times. Kansas' Drew Gooden was a consensus All-America in 2001-02. Iowa State's Jamaal Tinsley was named in 2000-01. Texas' Chris Mihm and Iowa State's Marcus Fizer were both named consensus All-Americans following the 1999-00 season. In the four-year history of the league a Big 12 player has been named consensus All-America six times. The league has twice had two consensus first-team All-America players on the same team -- 2000 (Mihm and Fizer) and 1998 (Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce of Kansas).
--Since 1992 there have been four coaches from Big 12 institutions who have been named national Associated Press Coach of the Year. Iowa State's Larry Eustachy was the 2000 AP Coach of the Year while joining Roy Williams of Kansas (1992), Norm Stewart of Missouri (1994) and Kelvin Sampson of Oklahoma (1995). Note: Texas Tech's Bob Knight was the AP Coach of the Year three times while at Indiana (1975, 1976, 1989), and Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton won the honor while at Arkansas in 1978 and at Kentucky in 1986. The AP Coach of the Year began following the 1966-67 season.