NCAA Bids May Be Hard To Find In Big 12

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Just two weeks ago, the Big 12 Conference seemed assured of at least five invitations when NCAA tournament pairings are announced on March 11th. <br/><br/>Many coaches were bravely

Monday, February 19th 2007, 8:53 am

By: News On 6

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Just two weeks ago, the Big 12 Conference seemed assured of at least five invitations when NCAA tournament pairings are announced on March 11th.

Many coaches were bravely hoping even for six.

But now with two regular-season weeks and the conference tournament to go, a more accurate prediction might be four.

Co-leaders Kansas and Texas A&M are assured of not only bids, but good seeds as well. Texas is probably a cinch to nab its ninth straight bid.

After that, things start to get interesting.

Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Missouri and Oklahoma all still harbor hopes of receiving a NCAA tournament bid.

Eighteenth-ranked OSU was considered a lock when it was 15-and-1 but has fallen to 19-and-7 and could get locked out.

OU is 15-and-10 lost its second in a row Saturday, a 56-to-49 setback to Texas A&M. But before that, the Sooners had won four straight, and they head into an important game tomorrow at Missouri within hailing distance of the upper division.