Big 12 Tournament: Beware of Los Lobos
For the past few weeks, we’ve assumed Kansas and Kansas State will be headed to the Ford Center for first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games.
That remains a safe assumption — pretty much.
The team to keep an eye on is New Mexico, which is bidding to become a No. 3 or No. 2 seed.
The top-ranked Jayhawks presumably are headed to Oklahoma City as a No. 1 seed, no matter what happens at the Big 12 Tournament, which begins Wednesday at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Mo.
If KSU wins the Big 12 Tournament and Duke falters early in the Atlantic Coast Tournament, the Wildcats could rise to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
If that’s the case, KU and KSU no doubt would head for the Ford Center. But what if KSU and New Mexico are the same seeds, or UNM is a No. 2 and KSU is a No. 3? Would the Lobos then get the nod over KSU for the Ford Center? Possibly.
The NCAA selection committee does what it can to keep high-seeded teams as close to home as possible. UNM is not close to any first-round site, really. It’s 543 miles from Oklahoma City; 1,092 miles from Sacramento; and 1,170 miles to New Orleans.
What the selection committee could do is ship the Lobos to Sacramento, then make it up to them by sending UNM to the West Regional at Salt Lake City, which is 621 miles away.
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