Big 12 basketball notebook: 7 of Big Eight's original members make the NCAA Tournament

On Monday, the coaches of the tournament-bound teams talked in the final Big 12 coaches' teleconference of the season.

A lot of the talk centered on the coaches' respective matchups, their stand-out players and their excitement about the postseason.

SEVEN GREATS OF THE BIG EIGHT

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger knows a thing or two about the Big Eight conference. Sometimes, he still slips up, he said and refers to the Big 12 conference as the Big Eight, the conference he played in as a young hoops star.

“My players remind me of that frequently. ‘Coach, it's the Big 12,'” Kruger said.

Although Kruger hadn't thought of it, it was brought to his attention that seven of the eight Big Eight schools are in the NCAA Tournament. Nebraska is the only team who didn't make the tournament.

“It's not a surprise when you think about the depth of the league,” Kruger said.

Kansas coach Bill Self talked about the Big Eight's dominance, too.

“They've always said there's strength in numbers,” Self said. “It's always been an unbelievable basketball area and league and, of course, it's good to see that tradition continuing.”

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