There’s only four games left for each team in the conference race — five for the Cowpokes and Cornhuskers, who were iced out back in January — which means that the final picture is slowly coming into focus. Thanks to losses this weekend by both Oklahoma schools, the Longhorns are now three games ahead of the fifth place teams.

Here, for your convenience, are the teams that still matter to the “bye race.”

If you want to think of it in another way, the “magic number” for a Texas first-round bye is only two. Any combination of wins by the Longhorns or losses by the fifth-place team will seal a bye. So if the Horns win both games this week, they’ll be guaranteed an extra day of rest in Oklahoma City for the tournament. And if they happen to split this week’s schedule, they’ll be ohsoclose to locking up that bye.

Here’s a look at the week ahead for the other six teams…

Kansas – at Kansas State (Monday), vs. Iowa State (Saturday)
The Jayhawks face a small challenge against an up-and-coming Wildcat team in their house. If they can get through tonight with a win, they should be sitting pretty at 12-2 heading into the final week.

Texas A&M – at Oklahoma State (Wednesday), vs. Baylor (Saturday)
Like Kansas, A&M is opening the week with a solid road test. The Cowboys have been reeling lately, although their incredibly loud arena really gets hopping for the big games. Texas A&M should also be 12-2 next Monday if they take care of their road game.

Kansas State – vs. Kansas (Monday), at Colorado (Saturday)
K-State could be on the verge of a huge week for their team, or simply a ho-hum split. Either scenario helps immensely in their quest for a first-round bye, but a win over Kansas would have to make them feel safer on Selection Sunday.

Texas Tech – at Texas (Tuesday), vs. Oklahoma State (Saturday)
Tech needs to keep winning to prevent their NCAA hopes from withering away. A tough road win in Austin could not only help them in the Big 12 race, but also pad their upset-filled resumé. The Cowpokes are horrible on the road, so Tech should be 8-6 or 7-7 at the end of the week.

Oklahoma – at Missouri (Tuesday), vs. Texas (Saturday)
Mizzou is a middle-of-the-pack club that can hurt a team when they are hitting on all cylinders. The Saturday contest with Texas is sure to be a hate-filled one in front of the rabid, toothless fans of Lloyd-Noble. This is a make-or-break week for the Sooners, as they could easily win each game, but just as easily fall flat on their faces.

Oklahoma State – vs. Texas A&M (Wednesday), at Texas Tech (Saturday)
Judgement day is fast approaching for OSU, a team once considered a lock for the NCAA tournament. They are absolutely abysmal on the road, so it’s a safe assumption to chalk up a loss in Lubbock on Saturday. That means defending the home court against the Aggies is key.

While this post is appearing on the website at 10 A.M., I’m actually at work pulling the five-to-noon shift before heading up to Waco. Isn’t technology great?

In case you missed it, my Baylor re-preview went up yesterday afternoon, followed by a long-overdue recap of the Phoenix trip.

The Horns take the hardwood tonight at 7 PM Central, but in the meantime, there’s tons of college hoops around the country. In the Big 12, Texas A&M travels to Norman to take on the Sooners at 2:30, while Oklahoma State tries to right the ship at home against Mizzou at 12:30. The Kansas Jayhawks will be waiting for the Aggies to falter again, as they chalk up another pancake win at home against Nebraska at 3 P.M. PhogBlog has your preview of the blowout.

The big game of the day is coming, predictably, in primetime. North Carolina heads to Boston College (8 PM Central, ESPN) in a game that is absolutely huge in the crazy ACC. The Golden Eagles are atop the league, with a half-game edge over the visiting Tar Heels. Winner takes first place, although both VaTech and the Hoos of UVA are tied with North Carolina coming into Saturday.

In an oddly-timed out-of-conference matchup, Memphis heads west to play a reeling Gonzaga team. You know, the one that embarrassed Texas on national TV just two months ago. Unfortunately, the Horns don’t get another shot at them this late in the season, because it looks like anybody has a chance against the Zags as of late. Their seemingly infinite home-win streak was snapped at 50 on Monday night by Santa Clara, and Loyola-Marymount even knocked off the Bulldogs only a week earlier. Memphis looks like the heavy favorite in this one, even on the road. But if Gonzaga can defend their home court, it will help the Texas RPI and SOS, if only ever-so-slightly.

Baylor post-game and maybe a Houston trip wrap-up will be coming your way on Sunday afternoon. In the meantime, enjoy all the hoops and the laugher up in Waco.

Last night, Kansas easily handled Colorado at the Coors Event Center, the only arena in the Big 12 I’ve been to that completely lacks a home court advantage. Hell, for Texas it even skewed neutral if not in favor of the Horns. I would not be surprised to hear that there was more blue and red in the stands last night as the Jayhawks steamrolled the Buffs by 29. It keeps KU right in the hunt for the conference title, as they await a stumble from Texas A&M.

There’s not a whole lot going on in the world of basketball today, besides some games out west in the Pac 10. USC heads to Arizona at 9:30 PM (Central) in a game that is absolutely huge for the up-and-down Wildcats. After losing five of six, including that embarrassment at home to UNC, Arizona has won their last three. They are tied for fifth in the stacked Pac 10, but a visit from UCLA is just two days away. A win tonight is necessary to stop another momentum-killing losing streak.

In Austin, we don’t get this game, but instead UCLA at Arizona State followed by Oregon State at Stanford. Good choice on that one, FSN. Perhaps Austin viewers will find the A-10 clash between UMass and Fordham (8 PM, ESPN2) a bit more thrilling. If not, there’s always the 2004 Powerade Jam Fest at 10 on the Duece. I might just have to clear my calendar for this lineup.

At 6 PM (Central), there’s a generally useless game back east, as St. Francis takes on St. Francis. The two schools — one located in Loretto, PA, and the other in Brooklyn — are in the midst of abysmal seasons. The loser gets the glory of having a 21-loss season, while they both will still be slumming it in the bottom of the Northeastern Conference. If I haven’t sold you on watching this painful display of mediocrity, I’m just not sure what else I can do.

I’ve been toying around with the GoogleMaps API to create a clickable map of the places I’ve visited that will hopefully organize things a little nicer and spruce the place up. Tomorrow I’m dedicating the entire afternoon to the site, so look for some new content and a Baylor re-preview.

Apologies to anybody who tried to watch the news piece last night. John Hygh from Fox 7 called me while I was on my way to work and let me know that a story on DeLoss Dodds’ induction into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame was going to air last night instead. Unfortunately, I don’t have internet access at my work and the post was just left sitting there announcing something that wasn’t going to happen.

Instead, my story will air next Tuesday, which is a tough break considering we’ll be playing Texas Tech at the Drum right about then. It will also air the next day during their morning show, so it sounds like there will be four times in the span of about 13 hours that it will be on. I think my own mother will be tired of my face at that point.

Last night was absolutely crazy in the Big 12, as A&M went down to Tech (again), K-State lost to Nebraska, and OU lost to Iowa State. That puts the Horns in sole possession of 3rd place, only one game back of the leading Aggies. And now Kansas has a pretty good shot at the title, needing only to run the table and have A&M falter in one of their remaining five.

Tuesday was also good for Texas’ RPI, without the team even taking the court. Tennessee knocked off Kentucky and Michigan State beat Michigan, pushing the Horns to 49th in Ken Pomeroy’s RPI approximations. The Tech win also stopped their wicked slide down the charts, keeping them at 34th. Texas has three wins against the top 50, with Oklahoma State (25th) and Arkansas (39th) providing the other two.

The biggest thing about the Tech victory is that it keeps them in the NCAA tournament talk. They now have two wins over A&M, a win over Kansas, and a win over Arkansas to put on the resumé. And with home games left against Colorado and Baylor, Bobby Knight’s squad should have 18 wins easily. Their other three games are at Texas, home against Oklahoma State, and a road finish in Ames, Iowa against the Cyclones. If they hold serve at home and steal a road game, we’re looking at a 20-win team heading into a conference tournament where they could likely pick up at least one more.

Tonight’s Big 12 game has the Kansas Jayhawks traveling to Colorado for what should be the first of four consecutive easy wins. Elsewhere, the Greg Oden Show airs on ESPN as Ohio State goes to Happy Valley to take on Penn State (6 PM), while the Texas RPI will fluctuate a little based on the results of Cincinnati-Villanova (8 PM).

With only 28 days to Selection Sunday, teams across the nation are jostling for position not only in their conference races, but also around the proverbial bubble. In the latest projections from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the Big 12 conference is sitting pretty with six bids in the field of sixty-five. As we head into the final three weeks of conference play, here is a look at what’s to come.

Over at PhogBlog, they have the “REAL Standings,” one of my favorite features in the college basketball blogosphere. The idea behind the REAL standings is to group the league into “Contenders,” “Pretenders,” and “Have-Nots.” The beauty of the REAL standings is the fact that it takes into account the difficulty of winning on the road and is always accounting for the games left on the slate.

Each Contender is given a win for all home games on its schedule and any road games against the Have-Nots. Then they are given “half-wins” for each of their road games against the Pretenders. What results is a look at how the league should finish if everyone wins the games they are supposed to. It’s a really brilliant idea and something I advise all Big 12 hoops fans to check out when it’s updated twice each week.

The REAL standings have Texas finishing fourth in the conference with an 11-5 mark. As Contenders, they are expected to beat the Aggies at home, and win one of the two road games against Pretenders OU and Baylor. Oklahoma State is nearly two games back, checking in at a projected 9.5-6.5 — their odd number of road games against Pretenders results in a half-win total.

That would seem to indicate that the Horns have a first-round bye all but locked up. But as Longhorn fans know, however, this team rarely makes the “easy” wins easy.

The next four games for the Longhorns are absolutely critical. Tomorrow night’s matchup with Oklahoma State is not only huge because it is important to defend home court, but also because it provides one of the few chances left to secure a quality win. In addition, the Cowboys are only 1.5 games back of Texas coming into the contest and enjoy a significantly easier finish to the season.

This weekend’s game against Baylor offers a great chance for Texas to take one of the road wins that are so critical in conference play. The Horns are only 5-6 in road/neutral games, and 4-4 when that is limited to true road contests. If Texas wants to have any margin for error as they come down the stretch, a win over the Bears is a must.

I’d prefer not to sound like Chicken Little calling a third consecutive game a must-win, but next Tuesday’s tilt with Texas Tech does fall squarely into that category. Texas has the potential to lose their final three games of the regular season, so winning these next three would give them the mystical 20-win mark and a 10th win in conference play.

Then the biggest challenges face the Longhorns, as they close out the year with games at Oklahoma, against A&M in Austin, and against the Jayhawks on their senior day in Lawrence. Winning any of these games would be a great boost, although I don’t personally hold out much hope at all for the KU tangle and also don’t feel a win over the Aggies in the future. That leaves the Longhorns with a reasonable shot at a 21-9 record, although finishing at 19-11 is just as possible.

As for the rest of the conference, I’m limiting my synopsis to only those five other teams that I feel have a feasible chance to seal a first-round bye for the conference tournament.

Texas A&M holds their destiny in their own hands the rest of the way, as they enjoy a one-game cushion over the Jayhawks and also hold the tiebreaker courtesy of their upset victory last Saturday. Their remaining road games are against the other big names in the B12 South, as they face OU (2/17), OSU (2/21), and the Horns (2/28) on the road before all is said and done. They would have to drop at least two of their remaining games to lose the conference title.
Conference W-L of remaining opponents: 26-32

Kansas sits in second place with a supremely talented squad and an extremely favorable sked. They could face challenges on the road in Manhattan and Norman when they take on Kansas State (2/19) and Oklahoma (2/26), but three games against B12 North bottom-feeders certainly help. If Kansas drops a game, they can likely kiss a conference title goodbye.
Conference W-L of remaining opponents: 27-31

Kansas State is currently in third place thanks to a road win over the Longhorns and a soft “North” schedule. Their finishing slate looks a bit rocky, however, and could put the Wildcats anywhere from 2nd to 5th in the final standings. A home win over Kansas (2/19) would certainly shake things up, but a finish at OSU (2/27) and home against the Sooners (3/3) looms large. This team is without a doubt the biggest wildcard in the standings down the stretch. They can show up and play with anybody in the league, or they can curl up and get skull-kicked by 27 against Kansas, as they did last week.
Conference W-L of remaining opponents: 27-30

One game behind the Wildcats and Longhorns are the Sooners. This team could finish strong by upsetting some of the big opponents left on their schedule, or they could absolutely tank and fall to the 6th/7th-place range when all is said and done. Oklahoma still must play A&M (2/17), Texas (2/24), and Kansas (2/26), but they get all three at home. The roadies at Mizzou (2/20) and K-State (3/3) will also definitely be a challenge.
Conference W-L of remaining opponents: 37-23

Checking in a half-game behind their cross-state rivals are the OSU Cowboys. The Cowboys have a chance to pick up a huge road win tomorrow night against the Horns, and still get Mizzou (2/17), Texas A&M (2/21), and K-State (2/27) at home. Although the Cowboys have yet to notch a conference road win, finishing at Baylor (3/3) and Nebraska (3/5) all but ensures that stat won’t last.
Conference W-L of remaining opponents: 35-34

Using my non-existant paranormal skills, here is how I see it shaking out:
1. Texas A&M (14-2)
2. Kansas (14-2)
3. Kansas State (11-5)
4. Texas (10-6)
5. Oklahoma State (10-6)
6. Oklahoma (8-8)

I’ll update this feature again next Sunday, when the picture surrounding those first-round byes may be slightly clearer. Oklahoma State preview coming at you by 10 A.M.