Verdict is in: Big 12 divisions equal

The Big 12 basketball conference schedule is complete, and the verdict is in. The North and South tied. Each division was 18-18 against the other.

The North received three of the four byes — Kansas, Missouri and Kansas State – but also had two of the three worst teams in the league, Colorado and Iowa State.

After several years of South Division dominance, years in which KU jockeyed with Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, even Texas A&M and Texas Tech to a certain extent, Missouri finally started carrying its weight. K-State, too — for my money, the coaching job of Frank Martin was every bit as impressive as that of Bill Self, or Jeff Capel, or Mike Anderson. I mean, you lose two NBA draft picks from a program that hadn’t done much in a decade before Michael Beasley and Bill Walker showed up, and still the Wildcats get the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament.

Anyway, the North Division this season is a little better than the South — at the top. But the North also is weaker at the bottom.

Colorado seems a hopeless case in basketball. But Iowa State should be better than 10th. The Cyclones have been surpassed by Kansas State, which is a bad sign for Iowa State.

The South has its own problems. Baylor was a preseason top-25 pick. Instead, the Bears finished 5-11 in the league and in ninth place.