TEAM W L FINAL FOUR GAMES Texas 11 1 vs. ISU (2/22), at CU (2/26), vs. KSU (2/28), at BU (3/5) Kansas 10 2 vs. OSU (2/21), at OU (2/26), vs. A&M (3/2), at Mizzou (3/5) Texas A&M 8 4 vs. OU (2/23), at BU (2/26), at KU (3/2), vs. TTU (3/5) Missouri 7 5 vs. BU (2/23), at KSU (2/26), at Neb (3/1), vs. KU (3/5) Baylor 6 6 at Mizzou (2/23), vs. A&M (2/26), at OSU (3/1), vs. UT (3/5) Kansas State 6 6 at Neb (2/23), vs. Mizzou (2/26), at UT (2/28), vs. ISU (3/5) Nebraska 6 6 vs. KSU (2/23), at ISU (2/26), vs. Mizzou (3/1), at CU (3/5) Colorado 5 7 at TTU (2/23), vs. UT (2/26), at ISU (3/2), vs. Neb (3/5) Oklahoma 4 8 at A&M (2/23), vs. KU (2/26), at TTU (3/2), vs. OSU (3/5) Oklahoma State 4 8 at KU (2/21), vs. TTU (2/26), vs. BU (3/1), at OU (3/5) Texas Tech 4 8 vs. CU (2/23), at OSU (2/26), vs. OU (3/2), at A&M (3/5) Iowa State 1 11 at UT (2/22), vs. Neb (2/26), vs. CU (3/2), at KSU (3/5)

The big picture

While the top two teams in the Big 12 stumbled last week, a quartet of other schools continued their winning ways to charge into consideration for the league’s final two tournament byes. Texas A&M knocked off Iowa State and Oklahoma State to keep their hold on third place, while Missouri handled Tech at home and followed it up by picking up their first conference road win of the year in Ames. Baylor’s inexplicable loss to Texas Tech allowed surging Nebraska and Kansas State to force a three-way tie for fifth, just one game out of the coveted top four.

With only four games left in the regular season, there’s still a lot to be sorted out. Kansas and Texas are still battling it out for the league crown, while the muddled bunch of Mizzou, Baylor, Nebraska, and K-State will start to sort things out with head-to-head games on Wednesday.

Of course, the most important thing to play for is a spot in the NCAA tournament. In today’s Bracketology, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has the Big 12 with 5 bids. Baylor has just missed the cut as one of the “Last Four Out,” while Nebraska is not far behind as one of the “Next Four Out.” Both teams have a few chances to pick up statement wins coming down the stretch. If not, the league many once believed to be incredibly deep may turn out to be nothing more than a little wheat and a whole lot of chaff.

Mid-week games

Oklahoma State at Kansas; Monday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPN)
Oklahoma State comes into this one with little left to play for. A foul in the backcourt gave Texas A&M the winning free throw attempts in the waning seconds on Saturday night in Stillwater, tagging the Cowboys with their third straight conference loss. All three losses have come following the suspension of Darrell Williams, who had posted an 18-point, 12-rebound game in his last outing before rape allegations were levied against him.

Kansas has its own suspension to deal with in this one, but the much deeper Jayhawk squad should be just fine. Guard Tyshawn Taylor has been suspended indefinitely by Coach Bill Self, for undisclosed reasons. Taylor has been the subject of off-the-court issues since arriving in Lawrence, whether it be his fight with football players or his Facebook status expressing a desire to transfer. The timing of this latest incident couldn’t be worse for the junior, who was averaging four assists and more than 11 points in his last four games.

Kansas suffered its only conference loss last season against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, but things should be very different tonight. Vegas has pegged the Jayhawks as 18 point favorites.

Iowa State at Texas; Tuesday, 7:00 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
A full preview of the Iowa State/Texas game will be available on Tuesday.

Oklahoma at Texas A&M; Wednesday, 6:30 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
Oklahoma has seriously outperformed expectations this season, and has been very close to winning even more than the four conference games they have claimed so far. On Wednesday, Cade Davis missed tying the game by mere inches, as he stepped on the three-point line while knocking down a last-second basket. The blunder allowed Nebraska to escape with a one-point road victory. On Saturday, the Sooners were within five of K-State before an ill-timed technical foul by Carl Blair allowed the Wildcats to go on a 14-0 run and ice the game.

Meanwhile, Texas A&M has simply been winning the games it is supposed to win. During their four-game winning streak, the Aggies have defeated Colorado, Texas Tech, Iowa State, and Oklahoma State by a combined total of just 12 points. While none of the wins are headline-grabbers, they have allowed A&M to maintain a firm hold on third place in the conference. With this game and another home date versus Tech still on the schedule, things are setting up nicely for the Aggies to claim a bye in the Big 12 tournament.

Colorado at Texas Tech; Wednesday, 6:30 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
Colorado missed a big chance to keep itself in the NCAA hunt when they were embarrassed on Saturday in Lawrence. At this point, even an upset of Texas on Saturday likely won’t save the post-season hopes of the Buffaloes, but they certainly will be out of the picture if they drop Wednesday night’s contest with Tech. SI’s Andy Glockner still has the Buffs alive in his latest Bubble Watch, but he believes that only a perfect 4-0 mark down the stretch will do the trick.

Baylor at Missouri; Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPN2)
One of the two intriguing match-ups on Wednesday night is between the Bears and Tigers, although Baylor certainly took some of the shine off this game by losing at home to Tech on Saturday. The Tigers are 16-0 at Mizzou Arena so far this season, where the hometown crowd makes Mike Anderson’s pressure defense even more intimidating. Baylor desperately needs to stop the bleeding to keep their NCAA hopes alive, but stealing a road win in Columbia will be a tough order.

Kansas State at Nebraska; Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPNU)
Two weeks ago, this game seemed all but meaningless. But after the Wildcats and Huskers knocked off Kansas and Texas last week, both teams are in the mix for a conference tournament bye and even an NCAA bid. K-State handled Nebraska easily in Manhattan at the beginning of the month, logging a 69-53 win.

Lincoln is a tough place to win, though, as the Longhorns discovered on Saturday. The Huskers are 16-1 at the Devaney Center this season, with the only loss coming to KU in a game where the Jayhawks sank 13 three-pointers. The Red Zone will be fired up and looking for revenge on Wednesday night.