Our men's basketball team is currently tied for third place in the Big 12, with a 5-3 conference record that matches that of Kansas State. We are halfway through our conference schedule, with eight games remaining, four at home, and four on the road. We have four home games against Baylor, Kansas, texas, and Oklahoma State, and travel to play Texas Tech, Baylor, Iowa State, and Oklahoma. In order to ensure an NCAA Tournament bid, we need to go at least 9-7 in conference, which means we need four more wins. I don't think we'll get into the Dance with an 8-8 conference record, unless we go far in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. If we can continue to defend home court, and win all four home games, we're definitely in. Wins against ranked teams in Baylor, Kansas, and texas would give us three quality wins, and punch our Dance ticket.

Reality is that beating Kansas, even at Reed Arena, will be a very tough task, so we need to win at least one game on the road. Right now, Texas Tech and Iowa State look like the two road games we have the best chance of winning. Add those two wins to two home wins, and we have our requisite nine wins in conference, and will finish with a 20-10 record at worst. We do have a good record playing against texas at home over the last few years, so we have a good shot of winning against them, and we played solidly but faded at the end against Oklahoma State. If we take down texas and Oklahoma State, and add those to wins against Tech and ISU on the road, we have our four wins and 9-7 record.

After the Missouri game, though, I think we know that anything is possible with this team, and winning games on the road is never easy, so teams traveling to Reed Arena will be in for a fight. I just hope our students continue to step up and work to make Reed a tough venue to play in.