Conference play in the Big 12 finally begins tomorrow, and despite the fact that there seem to be only three clear-cut contenders, this season promises to be an exciting one as new teams will likely emerge in the middle of the pack and a handful of sensational freshmen will get a chance to shine.

Everybody runs their conference previews this time of year, and LRT is no exception. While we won’t get into a detailed player breakdown — those are saved for the actual game previews when the Horns face each team — this brief look at the league should give fans an idea of what’s to come.

Without any further blustering, here’s a rundown of the league, in our predicted order of finish:

1) Kansas Jayhawks – This is by far the deepest team in the league, and is without a doubt on the short list of national title contenders this year. When Texas played the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse for the regular-season finale last March, the usual Senior Night ceremonies seemed to be missing. But the sickening fact of the matter is that the Jayhawks return every single piece of their Elite Eight team, including Brandon Rush who was ohsoclose to going pro. The only question now is how many wins KU can rack up on their way to a 51st conference championship.

2) Texas Longhorns – If you’re reading this, you’re likely already a Longhorn fan and know all about this club. But just in case you don’t, I can sum it up in two words — balanced attack. All five of the Texas starters average double-digits in scoring, including freshman Gary Johnson, who was just cleared to play last week and will beef up an inside game that badly needed his presence. While Texas might run into problems against bigger, more physical teams in league play, defenses will still have their hands full trying to decide which threat to focus their attention on.

3) Texas A&M Aggies – If you thought lock-down defense was going to leave College Station with Billy Gillispie, you would be sorely mistaken. The Aggies boast the sixth-most effective defense in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy, and their inside-out attack is a pick-your-poision conundrum for opposing coaches. Inside, freshman big man DeAndre Jordan is an incredible threat, although the best defense so far seems to be simply fouling him — Jordan is an atrocious 33.9% from the line this year.

4) Oklahoma Sooners – Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like this team was headed for a tailspin after a perplexing home loss to Stephen F. Austin. But OU has since put together impressive wins over Arkansas and West Virginia (on the road) that has the Sooners hitting their stride at exactly the right time. Not to be outdone by Turgeon or Martin, Capel has his own excellent freshman in Blake Griffin, the Oklahoma City kid who is leading the Sooners in scoring this year.

5) Kansas State Wildcats – This slot could easily have gone to the team just below the Wildcats in our rankings, but K-State has the luxury of playing bottom-feeding Iowa State and Colorado twice each this season. While KSU is struggling to get an offense going with stars Michael Beasley and Bill “Towel Pisser” Walker, there is enough talent on this team to make some noise in the Big 12 if they can ever figure it out. And with mafia enforcer Frank Martin as coach, the Wildcats should get their fair share of calls from refs who don’t want to swim with the fishes.

6) Baylor Bears – The Bears challenging for an NCAA bid? It could be true, and quite frankly their fans deserve it. Just years after the Dave Bliss/Carlton Dotson disaster and the NCAA’s interesting sanctions, Scott Drew has finally gotten his great talent to jell. The Bears were seconds away from knocking off Washington State, currently the fourth-ranked team in the country, and had Arkansas on the ropes before making some stupid decisions to waste possessions late in the game. If Baylor can learn how to finish games, the Bears can be the surprise team of the year.

7) Nebraska Cornhuskers – Doc Sadler’s Nebraska team is leading the league in interior defense, and they already have a pair of quality wins over Arizona State and Oregon. They’re hoping to grab a few more upsets in the Big 12 and somehow sneak on to the bubble, but I feel a mid-conference finish is a bit more likely. Aleks Maric is still the big man on campus, running the show down low for an up-and-coming team in the northern half of the conference.

8) Missouri Tigers – Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year DeMarre Caroll is already making an impact after transferring from Vandy, while guards Stefhon Hannah and Keon Lawrence anchor a quick backcourt. Mike Anderson’s squad still plays exciting basketball, but they are still too sloppy to completely pull off his style of play. Give Mizzou another season or two and they will be fighting for a first-round bye in the conference tournament.

9) Texas Tech Red Raiders – This is the most bi-polar of the conference teams this year, one which has losses to Sam Houston State and Centenary, but also a win over Gonzaga and a great showing against Stanford. Just having Bob Knight on the bench means that this projection is likely too low for the Red Raiders, but until they show any semblance of consistency, it’s tough to have faith that this team can survive without last year’s leading scorer, Jarrius Jackson.

10) Iowa State Cyclones – Greg McDermott is in his second year on the Ames campus, but it’s still too early to expect results. He’s taking the Gillispie approach in building the ‘Clones confidence against an easier non-conference slate, but the seven wins against teams with RPIs of 200+ isn’t going to help too much against the likes of Kansas, Texas, or A&M. Jiri Hubalek is still fun to watch, but he won’t be playing in any postseason tournaments to finish off his senior year.

11) Oklahoma State Cowboys – For the same reason that K-State earned the nod over Baylor, Oklahoma State slides below the Cyclones. OSU is a better ballclub — although inept coaching certainly nullifies that advantage — but a murderous schedule with a pair of games against Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, and even Baylor means that the Pokes are going to be slogging their way to the finish line. You feel bad for the talent amassed on this roster, but Baby Sutton is in way over his head.

12) Colorado Buffaloes – There’s rebuilding, and then there’s complete demolition followed by a new structure. The latter is what new coach Jeff Bzdelik needs to do with a Colorado program that has not seemed dedicated to winning in many years. He’s definitely got talent on the team in Richard Roby and Austin product Xavier Silas, but any success to be had in Boulder is still a few years off.