March 3, 2007

COLUMBIA, Mo. - It was a hectic day surrounding Big 12 Basketball on Saturday as seedings for next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship (March 8-11) in Oklahoma City, Okla., finally began to take shape.

Entering Saturday's full slate of competition, the Tigers had the potential to finish anywhere between the No. 5 - No. 10 seeds at the Big 12 Tourney, depending on the results of Saturday's games and the ensuing tie-breakers. Following Texas Tech's 63-61 win at Iowa State on Saturday night, the Tigers locked up the No. 6 seed and earned their first upper-division Big 12 Conference finish since the 2003-04 campaign.

While one regular-season Big 12 contest remains (Oklahoma State at Nebraska on Monday), the Big 12 bracket has been finalized, and the No. 6-seeded Tigers will face No. 11 Baylor on Thursday (March 8) at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Ron Franklin and Fran Fraschilla will call the action from Oklahoma City's Ford Center.

The winner of the No. 6 Mizzou - No. 11 Baylor affair will face No. 3 Texas at 8:20 p.m. on Friday (March 9) on ESPN-Plus.

The opening-round contest will mark the second meeting of the season for Missouri and Baylor. The Tigers earned a 78-71 win over the Bears on Feb. 14, 2007, in Columbia.

On another interesting note, Mizzou has actually appeared in the No. 6 - No. 11 contest seven times in the 11-year history of the Phillips Big 12 Championships. Mizzou is 5-1 all-time in that contest and a perfect 5-0 as the No. 6 seed.

Here are the finalized seedings for the 2007 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City:

1. Kansas (14-2 Big 12)
2. Texas A&M (13-3 Big 12)
3. Texas (12-4 Big 12)
4. Kansas State (10-6 Big 12)
5. Texas Tech (9-7 Big 12)
6. Missouri (7-9 Big 12)
7. Oklahoma State (6-9 Big 12)
8. Iowa State (6-10 Big 12)
9. Oklahoma (6-10 Big 12)
10. Nebraska (5-10 Big 12)
11. Baylor (4-12 Big 12)
12. Colorado (3-13 Big 12)

Opening Round Contests:

Thursday (March 8)

No. 8 Iowa State vs. No. 9 Oklahoma, 11:30 a.m. (ESPNU / ESPN+)
No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 12 Colorado, 2 p.m. (ESPNU / ESPN+)
No. 7 Oklahoma State vs. No. 10 Nebraska (ESPNU / ESPN+)
No. 6 Missouri vs. No. 11 Baylor (ESPN2)

Quoting the Tigers:

Marshall Brown, Junior Forward:

On Earning the No. 6 Seed: "It's going to be a great game. They are coming off a great win against Oklahoma State and having played us well here, they are going to have some confidence. Having got the win, though, we are going to have some confidence too. One thing about the Big 12 Tournament, the records go out the window and you just play basketball. That's what makes this so a fun event."

Jason Horton, Junior Guard

On Facing Baylor For The Second Time This Season: "This is a very good Baylor team we will be facing again. They have just as much talent as any team in this league. They have a group of talented guards and their big men are real good, very physical underneath. This is going to be a challenge, but then again, every game is a challenge when you get into the Big 12 Tournament."