Who are the teams to beat down the stretch and in the tourney?

Look at the standings, CP. That's always a good indicator...

well no sh*t... was trying to get some discussion going

Kansas is always a good bet. Baylor is 1-3 in their last 4 games, with their latest loss coming at the hands of Kansas State...

I think Missouri is the biggest threat in the NCAA tournament. Baylor hasn't been playing very well, Perry Jones only seems to play with hustle about 1 out of 4 games.

Iowa State is the surprise of the league this year IMO. They have a talented roster with a lot of major transfers, but I think there was a question of how well they would play together. Hoiberg is the right coach for Iowa State and it is nice to see them poised to make the NCAAs for the first time since 2005 after being a fairly regular participant from the late 80s to the early 2000s.

Missouri is absolutely the surprise of the season so far. They had a lot of talent returning, but nothing in Frank Haith's record suggested that they'd be as consistent as they have been. They don't have a lot of size, but they have athleticism and shooting ability. They can beat almost anyone on a given night, and also have the potential to shoot themselves out of a game. That hasn't happened much so far, though, and they're in 1st place as of now.

ISU is also a surprise. They still aren't the most talented team, but they're playing well together. On the opposite side, Baylor has a lot of talent, but as has happened in recent years, they're not playing consistently. You can't count them out of the conference tournament or NCAA tournament, but being 3 games back of the co-leaders this late, they're almost completely out of contention for the regular season crown.

In the middle of the pack are Kansas State and Texas. KSU plays hard but doesn't have a lot of talent, and UT hasn't found a way to mesh this season.

It's admittedly a homer perspective, but until someone beats Bill Self to end his streak of conference titles, I like KU's chances. It'll be a tough game, but we still have Missouri at home, where they're usually (but certainly not always) less formidable than they are at home. Consistency of results has been a hallmark of the Self years in the regular season. For both the rest of the regular season and the tournament, we have some strong starting talent, but lack depth, and sometime struggle on the offensive end of the court. It's a cliche, but this is definitely a team that can beat anyone on a given night, and lose to anyone on a given night.

Kansas will have some more competition next season. WVU should be even better next year. The freshmen will all have a year's experience. The big Turk, Deniz Kilicli will be back for another season. F Kevin Noreen and C Pat Forsythe will be back from injuries...

Kevin Jones will be replaced by 6'10" LaSalle transfer C Aaric Murry. Truck's place will be taken by Dayton transfer Juwan Staten. And WVU has 3 more freshmen coming in, including 4 star PF Elijah Macon...

I'm looking forward to WVU's first season in the Big XII...

Iowa State wins again with a road win @ Kansas State. They have to be a tournament lock at this point.

Hoiberg is doing a heck of a job in Ames. ISU fans love their hoops so Hilton Coliseum is always a tough place to play, but picking up road wins like that one is huge.

Yeah I lived in Ames during the last two years of the Wayne Morgan era. Right before they really dropped off in hoops, I remember going to some games at Hilton that were absolutely rocking. Curtis Stinson and Will Blalock were a fun back court duo to watch.

BTY Phog nice win over Mizzou yesterday. That was a heck of a game to watch on TV. I have to make it to the Phog at some point for a game.

I hope you can make it to a game in Allen Fieldhouse. It's really a fantastic atmosphere in which to watch a game. There's a great mix of fan passion, retro atmosphere and setting, as well as modern touches like a videoboard thrown in without detracting from the essence of the "old barn". There's also an interesting museum built onto the front with lots of interesting old memorabilia from past coaches and players.