Back in October, Big 12 coaches made Kansas the odds-on favorite to take the conference title. It was the only one of their 10 team projections that proved accurate.
In other words, the Jayhawks are every bit as strong as expected—regular-season champs for a record-setting 14th consecutive season—but the rest of the field is far less predictable. Second-place Texas Tech, for instance, was initially pegged to finish seventh.
There's little reason to think the surprises will stop once the conference takes over Kansas City's Sprint Center for this week's tournament.
Maybe (rock) chalk will prevail, but the lower seeds won't go down without a fight.