Big 12: Who's in and who's out

Kansas held serve at home on Monday in a win against Texas A&M and Missouri had to watch Oklahoma State's fans storm the court last night in a loss in Stillwater. Let's take a look at the latest developments in the Big 12 league race and how that impacts which teams, from the conference, make the NCAA Tournament.

In:

- Kansas is a lock. The Jayhawks are 17-3 and 7-0 in the league and have quality wins against Ohio State, Baylor and Kansas State, plus a runner-up trophy in the EA Sports tournament in Hawaii. KU will extend its nation's best streak of NCAA tournament appearances at 23.

- Missouri is a lock. The Tigers are still in contention for a league crown and a likely one seed to the Big 12 winner. Their two losses have been on the road and, looking ahead, the Tigers get the Saturday-Monday schedule turn--at home against Texas Tech and then on the road at Texas. MU faces league-leading KU at home on Saturday, February 4.

- Baylor is a lock. The Bears lost two straight but rebounded on Tuesday night with a 12 point road win over Oklahoma. BU faces Texas at home on Saturday but then has two tough road games--at Texas A&M and at Oklahoma State.

- Kansas State is a lock. The word "lock" may be a bit aggressive but the 'Cats are 15-4/4-3 and own victories over Missouri and Oklahoma State. A key upcoming game is at Iowa State on Tuesday, January 31.

- Iowa State is in. ISU's Royce White is featured in an ESPN.com story today and he has led the Cyclones to a 14-6 record and a tie with Kansas State at 4-3 in the league. Let's ink, not pencil, Iowa State as "in" the tournament.

Does the league only get five teams in? After these five, the possibilities get pretty murky. Oklahoma State is very tough at home--just ask Missouri--but only has a 10-10 record at this point in the season. Texas is 13-7/3-4 but it's hard to see the Longhorns finishing above .500 in the league. Texas A&M, playing without Khris Middleton, looked good against Kansas in Lawrence yet stands at 11-8 and only 2-5 in the league.

I could see A&M getting hot and making a run but, for now, I'm only comfortable with calling five teams as representatives for the Big 12 in the Big Dance.