Despite Oklahoma‘s Final Four run last season, the Big 12 continues to fight a public relations battle for reasons both earned and not when it comes to NCAA Tournament success. Kansas State‘s win over Wake Forest in Tuesday’s First Four started things off on a positive note, but the league still has plenty of work ahead. Here are the keys to each of the conference’s six games taking place over the next couple of days.

Frank Mason looks to end his career with a national title (Getty).

• #1 Kansas – Show up. The Jayhawks have had plenty of rest over the last couple of weeks, so Friday’s game is about shaking off the rust. A handful of #15 and #16 seeds over the last decade have hung with Kansas for 20 or so minutes, but UC Davis wasn’t competitive in its only game against a Power 5 school this season — an 86-61 loss to California in November. Additionally, the Aggies have only won their last three games by a combined nine points, so they’ve beaten long odds to even get to this point. There’s no need to overthink this.

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While the Big 12 figures to take a step back from 2016 in terms of NCAA Tournament participation, the league has once again enjoyed a stellar season. You could certainly look at Kansas winning the regular season championship by four games and conclude that it wasn’t all that great, but a look under the hood reveals a different stance. Of the 90 league games that were played this season, 43 were decided by five points or fewer (or in overtime) and just two were decided by 20 points or more. Although the majority of the league’s NCAA Tournament fates are already sealed, we should be in for more several more exciting finishes over the next four days. Here are the four biggest storylines worth following this week in Kansas City.

Frank Mason takes his POY campaign to Kansas City for the Big 12 Tournament (Reed Hoffmann/Getty Images)

1. Kansas State has everything to play for. After losing eight of 10 games, the Wildcats rejoined the bubble conversation by closing its regular season with victories in must-win games against TCU and Texas Tech. Bruce Weber also appears to have received a temporary reprieve from the hot seat with athletic director John Currie stepping down, so things are trending in the right direction in Manhattan. A win over Baylor in Thursday’s quarterfinals should remove any lingering doubts over an NCAA Tournament bid, and senior D.J. Johnson is the most important piece of that puzzle. The injury-prone big man was healthy and, more importantly, productive in the team’s regular season finale, scoring 19 points on an efficient 8-of-11 shooting against the Red Raiders. He also helped contain standout Bears forward Johnathan Motley to 6-of-17 shooting in the Wildcats’ win over Baylor in early February.
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Burning Question: Does Bruce Weber have enough pieces to survive another year in Manhattan?

When Bruce Weber took the Kansas State job in 2012, it was one that came stocked with quality talent in the cupboard. Rodney McGruder, Will Spradling, Shane Southwell and Angel Rodriguez may not have been as good as the core Steve Prohm is inheriting this year at Iowa State, but as a first-year head coach at a new program, Weber arrived in Manhattan with a team built to win immediately. And win Kansas State did, sharing the 2013 Big 12 regular season crown with Kansas and going to a school record fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament the following year. As nice as that was for the program, the question with Weber has never been about what he could do with a previous coach’s players. His critics, rather, have focused on the lack of development exhibited by the players he brings to campus. By that measure, Weber hasn’t been any better in Manhattan than he was at Illinois. In fact, he may have even taken a step back, and the fallout of a disastrous 2015 could be too much for him to overcome this time around.

Few things went Bruce Weber’s way in 2014-15. With another long year in the forecast, how patient will Kansas State’s administration be? (Photo: cjonline.com)

Last season was the first time Weber’s Kansas State roster was largely composed of players he had recruited and the early returns couldn’t have been more discouraging. As if a 15-17 record — the team’s worst since 2003 — wasn’t bad enough, a rash of off-court issues led to six dismissals and transfers. While it’s admirable that Weber places such a high value on team chemistry among his players, it’s now tough to picture him having enough talent on hand to produce the kind of year that would lead athletic director John Currie to offer him another season. Read the rest of this entry »