Danny Spewak is a Big 12 Microsite writer and will provide wall-to-wall coverage of the Big 12 Tournament from the Sprint Center in Kansas City this weekend. He filed this piece after Kansas’ 83-66 victory over Texas A&M. You can follow him on Twitter @dspewak.

The two teams selected in the pre-season to win the Big 12 met in the league tournament on Thursday afternoon.

In a quarterfinal.

That’s all you need to know about this disastrous season for ninth-seeded Texas A&M, which survived a first-round game against Oklahoma but fell to regular-season champion Kansas 83-66 on Thursday. “I mean, being here for three years, [I’ve] never lost this many games. It’s hard on everybody. Just hate losing,” junior Khris Middleton said. Five months ago, the Aggies (14-18) appeared to have it all: a first-year coach with a successful track record at a powerhouse mid-major, a budding star in Middleton and an experienced roster to surround him. Billy Kennedy‘s team would surely carry over the defensive principles instilled by Mark Turgeon, and Middleton, Dash Harris and David Loubeau formed a solid core of upperclassmen.

Khris Middleton Is Already Looking to His Senior Season After Thursday's Loss.

But this is a cruel game. And life is cruel in general. First, Kennedy learned of a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis in the fall, which kept him away from the team during critical practice time leading up to the beginning of the season. That left him helpless to establish himself as a new head coach in this program. As Kennedy began to regain his energy and return to his old self, however, the injury bug hit his team in a major way. Middleton missed several weeks during non-conference play after knee surgery and then missed a stretch of time during Big 12 play. The team lost its point guard, Harris, for most of February, and it lost Kourtney Roberson in late December. Backup point guard Jamal Brach transferred, too. By now, you’re starting to get the point, and you can probably guess what happened.

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Texas A&M 62, Oklahoma 53

It didn’t matter how many shots they had missed during the first 36 minutes of the game. At least Texas A&M‘s three leaders remembered how to make jumpers when it counted most. Three-pointers by Dash Harris and Khris Middleton, sandwiched between a mid-range jumper by David Loubeau, spurred a late 8-2 run to seize a 62-53 victory over Oklahoma in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. Defensively, the Aggies held Oklahoma scoreless from the 2:52 mark until Cameron Clark‘s layup with 50 seconds remaining. That effort on the defensive end, according to coach Billy Kennedy, sealed the game.  “Our guys really bought into our defensive game plan of limiting the post,” Kennedy said. “And we made big shots when we needed to.”

Texas A&M used a late run to defeat Oklahoma in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament.

How the Aggies Won: By dominating the boards, they made up for a poor offensive showing by earning second-chance points. In addition to the 13 offensive rebounds, the Aggies also knocked down their free throws (15-17) and locked down the Sooners on the other end of the floor. They did not play particularly well, and they did benefit from the fact that ever Oklahoma player not named Romero Osby and Sam Grooms was a non-factor offensively. Grooms said his team’s offensive mistakes led to the Aggies’ decisive second-half run. “When you give Big 12 teams the opportunity to go the other way and make plays, they’re going to do it,” Grooms said.

What’s Next: Texas A&M now advances to face Kansas in the quarterfinals. In Lawrence, Kennedy’s team fought the Jayhawks for the majority of the game, even without an injured Harris. In Kansas City, though, it’s hard to expect a repeat performance. The Aggies will need Harris, Loubeau, and Middleton to play well for an extended period of time, not just the final four minutes of the game. In the other locker room, a subdued Sooners’ squad must now move on to next season after the loss of three seniors. “The guys returning have to crank it up for sure,” coach Lon Kruger said. “We’ve got to learn how to compete a lot harder.”

For the seventh straight week, Kentucky heads the Top 25. The Wildcats breezed through the SEC portion of their schedule and are en route to the #1 overall seed heading into the NCAA Tournament. Florida and Baylor are two teams that continue to slide as their defense — or lack thereof — has been exposed. The Quick ‘n Dirty after the jump…

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1. The big news yesterday was in fact no news, but instead the upcoming piece by George Dohrmann on UCLA in this week’s Sports Illustrated. While most of the attention on the piece has been centered on reports of drug use at the school, which has been met by yawns by the non-media, but there are also supposedly reports of “abuse” that could paint a very bad picture of beleaguered coach Ben Howland. While Howland has what could be a phenomenal incoming class coming in, it will be interesting to see how bad this story makes Howland and the school look and if it brings more negative stories to the surface. [Ed. Note: The post is now available on SI’s iPad app and the Zip file for the article can be downloaded and viewed without an iPad or an SI subscription. Thanks to Jeff Eisenberg for pointing this out.]
2. In a bad relationship that one side wants to get out of? In many cases it will cost you some money to do so and for Texas A&M and Missouri that will be the case as the two schools will pay the Big 12 $12.4 million each to leave the conference and join the SEC in July. Fortunately, this settlement appears to have been much less contentious than for the Big East. While we have not found any articles explaining it, we would love to hear the rationale for the different departure fees especially for the two schools that left the Big 12 after last season.
3. ESPN GameDay will be at the Duke–North Carolina game, but one media “outlet” will not be there as Grantland, the pet project of Bill Simmons, was denied a media credential. Normally, this would not be a major issue as many non-mainstream media outlets get denied, but Simmons, who has over 1.6 million Twitter followers, tweeted out his displeasure with Duke and essentially declared a Twitter war with them, which will probably last until the next Blake Griffin dunk.
4. We still are not sure exactly what impermissible travel benefits the family of Reggie Johnson took that led to his suspension over the weekend, but the Miami center was reinstated yesterday. Johnson, who claimed to have no knowledge of these benefits, was only held out one game (a huge win over FSU) and will be allowed to return with the understanding that he will repay the value of the benefits to a charity. Johnson’s return gives the Hurricanes their best big man back in time for the North Carolina State game, but more importantly should serve as a significant booster for their NCAA Tournament chances.
5. Can rushing the court cost a team the game? Apparently it can as it cost Delaware State when their fans prematurely rushed the court and the team was charged with a technical foul for a delay of game giving Morgan State two free throws which they made to win by one point. We have not seen video of this, but as the article points out the officials may have erred here based on the NCAA’s rulebook and precedent from earlier this season where officials during the Creighton-Long Beach State situation handled a similar situation completely differently and in our opinion in a much better manner.

1. As if life weren’t complicated enough in Columbia with this weekend’s loss to rival Kansas, Missouri learned this week they will now need to hear about another NCAA probe involving head coach Frank Haith‘s days at Miami. This time, the NCAA has ruled Hurricanes’ center Reggie Johnson ineligible because his family received improper travel benefits from a member of Haith’s coaching staff. The incident is unrelated to the Nevin Shapiro accusations that surfaced last summer, so it’s another problem to keep an eye on for Haith. He said he will cooperate with the investigation.
2. Once again, Kansas is your Big 12 champion. The Jayhawks wrapped up the regular season league title with a win Monday night over Oklahoma State, a victory not nearly as enthralling as Saturday’s comeback in Lawrence. Still, as Bill Self has done over and over again, his team took care of business and did not let the critics get into its head this winter. Way back in the fall, even Self said he had concerns about this year’s team. He wasn’t alone. But this is Kansas. This program wins Big 12 titles, and this year was no different.
3. Senior Night is always special and important, especially when a player like Keiton Page is involved. Page, such an important piece to Oklahoma State for four years running, finished with 29 points in his final game at Gallagher-Iba in the loss to Kansas. Criticize him all you want — and there’s certainly parts of his game deserving of such criticism — but this guy never quits. He’s a senior in every sense of the word.
4. Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy channeled his inner-Pat Knight by ripping his team and questioning their scholarship money, all in response to a loss this weekend to Oklahoma State. Much like Knight famously criticized his seniors at Lamar last week, Kennedy said his Aggies “were cheating on the job.” The loss dropped A&M to 4-12 in Big 12 play, a fairly amazing statistic considering yours truly predicted it to win the Big 12 in the preseason. Whoops.
5. Baylor had no trouble with Texas Tech last night in Waco, rolling to a 77-48 victory. The Senior Day win was important for this graduating class, which has won the most games in school history. Made up of Quincy Acy, Fred Ellis, and Anthony Jones, the senior class has won 95 games since arriving on campus and is likely to crack 100 before they’re finished as Bears.

Steve Fetch is the RTC correspondent for the Big 12. You can also find his musings online at Rock Chalk Talk or on Twitter @fetch9.

The Week That Was

• Game Of The Year: Kansas was 16:42 away from being swept by Missouri and perhaps letting the Big 12 title slip away. Perhaps recognizing the importance of the last meeting as conference foes, Kansas overcame a 19-point deficit, took the game to overtime, and behind 28 points and 12 rebounds from Thomas Robinson, as well as 24 points and five assists from Tyshawn Taylor, the Jayhawks clinched no worse than a share of their eighth straight Big 12 title and perhaps have the inside track on a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
• Wildcats Looking Strong: Kansas State notched a huge win on the road at Missouri last Monday, and coupled with its victory over Baylor on Saturday, it was the first time Frank Martin’s team had beaten top ten teams back-to-back on the road. The Wildcats lost to Iowa State on Saturday, but the wins over Baylor and Missouri perhaps locked them into an NCAA Tournament berth.
• A Coaches’ League: Frank Haith and Bill Self have gotten a lot of ink for national coach of the year, but the Big 12 Coach of the Year might be Fred Hoiberg. The Mayor has taken Iowa State from the conference basement to a probable NCAA tournament berth, as the Cyclones currently sit in a tie for third in the league. Royce White and Chris Allen have been great as transfers, but it’s Hoiberg who gave them the second chance and has gotten everyone to buy in. Impressive stuff up in Ames.

All Eyes Were On Allen Fieldhouse Saturday, And The Jayhawks And Tigers Delivered A Game For The Ages. (David Eulitt/The Kansas City Star)

Power Rankings

1. Kansas (24-5, 14-2): The final regular season of the Border War was one of the best ever and with the win Kansas clinched a share of its eighth straight Big 12 title. A win in either of its last two games – at Oklahoma State or at home against Texas – can clinch it outright, continuing perhaps the most underrated streak in sports.
2. Missouri (25-4, 12-4): In the span of a week, Missouri went from Big 12 favorites to having next to no shot at even winning a share of the Big 12 title. After being ahead by ten points or more for much of the second half, Missouri fans are no doubt questioning Frank Haith’s decision to stall on offense for much of the half (a strategy I tentatively agree with, by the way) as well as the final possession when Missouri did not even get a shot off. They didn’t have a timeout so Haith could not draw up a play, but not having a better option built into the offense there was a bad move. Read the rest of this entry »

1. First, some housekeeping news: apparently, the Big 12 will introduce some sort of brand-new promotional campaign at the Big 12 Tournament in two weeks, though the details are vague right now. That will be a little awkward for Missouri and Texas A&M as the two schools bolting for the SEC will probably have to watch highlights of TCU and West Virginia on the jumobtron. Interestingly, the league spent $1 million on an old campaign before the two schools decided to leave, but the Big 12 had to abandon that for obvious reasons.
2. And you thought the last Border War game was important. On Saturday, the rematch between Kansas and Missouri will be legendary, with both schools fighting for the Big 12 title with a week and a half remaining in the season. Until the Jayhawks cave, it will also be the last Border War game in the near future. But you knew that already. Here’s an early look at the match-up from Yahoo! Sports.
3. Like the Missouri/Kansas series, it appears Iowa State will no longer face home-and-home series with Drake and Northern Iowa from the Missouri Valley. But this case is a little different– there’s talk that Iowa State, Iowa, Drake, and Northern Iowa will actually create their own non-conference tournament to determine the state of Iowa’s best basketball team. Think it’s going to be a landslide for the Big 12 and Big Ten schools? Think again. Drake and Northern Iowa both beat Iowa State this season; Iowa even lost to the Panthers by 20 points.
4. Staying in the Missouri Valley, here’s an interesting debate: could Wichita State beat Kansas? There’s no point arguing back and forth on the matter, because the only way we can settle this is if the two teams meet in the NCAA Tournament, as the article alludes to. Still, it’s fun to think about. Thomas Robinson would obviously be the best player on the floor, but the Shockers are deeper than the Jayhawks and match-up athletically with any team in the nation in terms of size and strength. We know one thing. It would be a heck of a ballgame, and it’s a shame the two schools down the road from each other don’t play in the non-conference.
5. In sadder news, we’ve got new information from the November plane crash involving Oklahoma State personnel. The Associated Press reports the autopsy did not confirm any medical problems with the 82-year-old pilot who manned the plane during the crash. According to The Oklahoman, Oklahoma State is also now preparing to take another look at the school’s traveling procedures in light of the tragedy.

After more than two months of wars and 15 games in the books, the Big 12 Tournament scenarios are looking a little clearer. Either Kansas or Missouri will win the conference and earn the top seed. Texas Tech will finish last. And Texas will probably find a way to lose another close game to ruin its RPI. With three games to play, here’s a look at the best-case and worst-case scenarios for each Big 12 team in the final week and a half of regular season play:

1. Kansas (13-2)

• Schedule: vs. MU, at OSU, vs. Texas
• Highest possible seed: 1 
• Lowest possible seed: 2
• Bottom line: Beat Missouri on Saturday. That’s it. With a victory, the Jayhawks would wrap up another Big 12 title barring a collapse in the final week of the season.

Round Two in Lawrence Could Result in a Big 12 Title For KU (AP/L.G. Patterson)

2. Missouri (12-3)

• Schedule: at KU, vs. ISU, at TTU
• Highest possible seed: 1
• Lowest possible seed: 3
• Bottom line: Win out. Do that and the Tigers at least have a share of the title in their last season in the conference.

3. Baylor (10-5)

• Schedule: vs. OU, vs. TTU, at ISU
• Highest possible seed: 2
• Lowest possible seed: 5
• Bottom line: The Bears cannot earn that elusive two-seed unless they A) win out and B) Missouri loses out. That’s not going to happen, so Scott Drew’s team will likely either play a six-seed on Thursday night or occupy one of the #4 vs. #5 slots on Thursday afternoon.

Zach Hayes is an editor, contributor and bracketologist for Rush the Court.

Crystal balls are in full supply every November. We pour through every known statistic to find that overlooked All-American candidate. We criticize the coaches for their preseason picks and condemn the AP poll for overrating Duke. National player of the year rankings are compiled and there’s an inevitable temptation to put some serious coin on that perfect Final Four sleeper at 25/1. It all seems so easy.

Of course, there’s a reason why we don’t all own private islands in the Caribbean. Some of our predictions compare to Nostradamus’ best work while others blow up in our faces. You can’t win them all. For every successful prediction, there’s one you’d like to forget. Here’s a brief rundown of what many considered conventional wisdom before the season and whether those statements turned fall under the category of hits or misses:

Zeller has been spectacular as a freshman

HIT: Cody Zeller is Indiana’s program-changer

The expectations heaped on the broad shoulders of the youngest Zeller were enough to overwhelm even the most talented freshman. His much-publicized pledge was immediately viewed as Tom Crean’s major recruiting breakthrough and a significant step toward Indiana reclaiming old glory. Zeller has exceeded even the most optimistic projections, leading Indiana to two marquee wins over Kentucky and Ohio State and a yearlong spot in the national rankings. The Washington, Ind., native is averaging 15.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and hitting 64 percent of his shots while providing Crean a post presence to counterbalance Indiana’s outside shooters. Zeller’s instant impact has Indiana one year ahead of schedule in their treacherous post-Kelvin Sampson rebuild and, with a star-studded class entering Bloomington for 2012-13, even more national acclaim is in store should Zeller return for a sophomore season.

MISS: Xavier is a final four sleeper

Immediately after Tu Holloway opted for a final year at Xavier over the NBA Draft, the Musketeers were labeled a top-25 shoe-in and popular Final Four pick. After all, Chris Mack’s first two seasons as head coach produced an extraordinary 29-3 conference record and most key contributors were returning for a program that has experienced their fair share of March success in recent years. The story of Xavier’s season hasn’t exactly stayed on course. The Musketeers are 9-9 since that ugly brawl with Cincinnati, Holloway apparently doesn’t enjoy basketball anymore, suspensions and inconsistency have plagued Frease and the once-popular Musketeers may be NIT-bound following their loss Tuesday at UMass.

HIT: Tom Izzo has a team more to his liking

After discarding malcontents from a roster that slipped from number two in the nation to 19-15 overall last season, many prognosticators examined Sparty’s new-look roster and jumped back on the bandwagon. That faith has been rewarded in spades. Draymond Green is a Cleaves-type leader and a surefire All-American. Equally coachable and talented underclassmen Keith Appling and Brendan Dawson are stars in the making. Derrick Nix is finally in shape and Adreian Payne outplayed Jared Sullinger during the team’s statement win over Ohio State. Izzo’s squad is clearly embracing his philosophy of rugged defense, well-executed set plays and an unwavering effort on the boards, ranking second in the nation in defensive efficiency and third in rebound margin. This is a confident team climbing the polls and zeroing in on a Big Ten title and number one seed.

MISS: Andre Drummond is the missing piece to another Connecticut Final Four run

I was covering a high school football game in late August when Andre Drummond stunned the college hoops world and shunned another year of prep school to walk on with the defending national champs. I’ll never forget re-doing my preseason top five on the spot: North Carolina, Kentucky, Connecticut, Ohio State and Syracuse in order. Despite the departure of Kemba Walker, lottery picks Drummond and Jeremy Lamb paired with emerging talents Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier appeared sufficient enough to warrant a spot in the top five. What we neglected to remember was that Drummond was a raw, unseasoned, 18-year old center with no low post moves. It was a considerable step up to the Big East after simply overwhelming all opposition at the high school level. His lackluster 9.9 points per game, 32 percent free throw shooting and on-court chemistry issues with Oriakhi can attest to that. Drummond is still a future lottery pick and defensive menace, but his arrival hasn’t vaulted Connecticut to nearly the heights anticipated on that late summer day he opted to join the Huskies.

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Evan Jacoby is a regular contributor for RTC. You can find him @evanjacoby on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

There are a lot of good teams in action on Wednesday, but most of them are strong favorites in their games. The two best matchups of the night are taking place in the Big East and Big Ten.

Here’s the breakdown and what else to watch for:

West Virginia at #17 Notre Dame – 7:00 PM ET on ESPN2 (****)

Mike Brey's Team Has Won Eight in a Row and Looks Really Strong (AP Photo/J. Raymond)

• It seems like every game that West Virginia plays is a toss-up, and this one is no different. The Mountaineers have lost five of their last seven but are coming off a big win at Pittsburgh where they were slight underdogs. They are once again slight underdogs in South Bend to take on the red-hot Fighting Irish. WVU usually plays strong perimeter defense, which will force the Irish guards into running more difficult offense, but will the Mountaineers’ own guards provide enough scoring punch? Truck Bryant has been a good secondary scorer at 16.6 PPG in Big East play, but no other guard averages more than eight points per night. They need someone else to step up to complement Bryant and Kevin Jones. Jones remains a stud this season and you can all but lock up 20 points and 10 rebounds from him. The Mountaineers will try to out-tough the Irish by controlling the boards with their 54.1% rebounding percentage in Big East games, tops in the conference.
• Notre Dame hasn’t lost in over a month, winning eight straight games and all in impressive fashion. They didn’t look great in their Saturday night game at Villanova, but the Irish still came back from a 20-point deficit and closed out a road game in overtime. Five different Notre Dame players have led the team in scoring during its winning streak, and the offense has been tremendously well-rounded. They can pound the ball inside to Jack Cooley (12.2 PPG, 9.3 RPG), find surging Pat Connaughton from the outside (12.6 PPG in his last five games), or use strong guard duo Eric Atkins (13.0 PPG) and Jerian Grant (12.9 PPG) to make plays. The question will be whether Mike Brey‘s team can execute against WVU’s tough defense or grab any offensive boards against the strong defensive rebounding team.
• West Virginia is the best rebounding team in the Big East while Notre Dame’s 49.4% rebound percentage is just 13^th in the conference. The Mountaineers could control this game if they dominate the boards, but otherwise the Irish should find a much easier time scoring with their diverse offensive sets. Notre Dame is just a three-point favorite in what is expected to be a tight matchup.

#5 Michigan State at Minnesota – 8:30 PM ET on Big Ten Network (***)

• Michigan State has won five straight, seven of its last eight, and looks like a strong candidate for an NCAA #1 seed. Draymond Green is fully healthy and continues to state his case for Big Ten Player of the Year, but it’s the secondary players that have come along. Freshman Branden Dawson continues to improve and has massive upside as a swing forward, while bigs Adreian Payne and Derrick Nix continue to play better and better as the season progresses. The Spartans remain one of the strongest defensive teams in the country and seem incredibly difficult to score on during stretches. There’s no reason to expect anything different against a struggling Golden Gophers offense. Tom Izzo‘s team is peaking yet again in the late stage of the season.