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KANSAS CITY, Mo. [url=http://www.dortmundfcstore.com/authentic-park-joo-ho-borussia-dortmund-jersey/]Park Joo-ho Jersey[/url] . -- Kansas coach Bill Self was chatting this week with someone who brought up the possibility that some unfortunate team with a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament might have to play its second game against Oklahoma State, which was once considered a Final Four contender. "I said, Just think if that happens in your conference tournament," Self responded. After winning their 10th straight regular-season title, the Jayhawks earned the top seed when the Big 12 tournament begins Wednesday night at the Sprint Center. But the reward is a first-round bye and a potential matchup with the eighth-seeded Cowboys in Thursdays quarterfinals; the two teams split their two meetings this year. Oklahoma State plays No. 9 seed Texas Tech in the first game Wednesday night. Seventh-seeded Baylor takes on No. 10 seed TCU in the nightcap of a double-header. "I think weve always had very competitive Big 12 tournaments," Self said, "but I dont know if I can ever remember where if theres a final between whatever seeds there are, it would be absolutely not a major surprise to anybody. Its going to be a pretty special weekend." The Big 12 has been the runaway leader in conference RPI all season, and some believe that it could land seven or eight teams in the NCAA tournament on Selection Sunday. Just consider the games that will be played Thursday: Along with Kansas getting Oklahoma State or Texas Tech, second-seeded Oklahoma will play the Baylor-TCU winner, No. 3 seed Texas will play No. 6 seed West Virginia, and No. 4 seed Iowa State will play No. 5 seed Kansas State. "This league," Texas Tech coach Tubby Smith said, "is by far the toughest in the country." Thats why the Jayhawks still believe they can earn a No. 1 seed to the NCAA tournament, despite their 23-8 record. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State (20-11) is teetering around the bubble, and a win over Texas Tech might be enough to push the Cowboys firmly into the dance. Knocking off the Jayhawks would certainly do the trick. "Were just trying to worry about the next game," Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford said, "and worrying about all that other stuff doesnt really do you any good." In that case, here are five things that fans SHOULD worry about: BUBBLE WATCH: Oklahoma State isnt the only team on the NCAA tournament bubble. Baylor (21-10) would feel much better with a win or two, while West Virginia (17-14) hopes the momentum it picked up by knocking off Kansas last weekend will propel it to enough wins in Kansas City to make a case on Selection Sunday. "I think if we won two wed be in great shape," said Mountaineers coach Bob Huggins, "but I think if we can win that first one that we would be pretty good." CHAMPIONSHIP CHALLENGE: Kansas is the only current member to have won the Big 12 tournament since 2005 -- twice since then, Missouri won the title. In fact, Oklahoma and Iowa Stare are the only current schools besides the Jayhawks and Cowboys to have won. "No matter what people say, no matter what other teams do," Oklahoma States Marcus Smart said, "it goes through Kansas." STAR WATCH: There will be stars-a-plenty at the Big 12 tournament. Andrew Wiggins of Kansas is a potential No. 1 draft pick, Iowa States Melvin Ejim is the Big 12 player of the year and Smart is also a potential lottery pick. But one player who wont be on the floor is Jayhawks centre Joel Embiid, whos been ruled out for the Big 12 tournament and unlikely for the first week of the NCAA tournament because of a stress fracture in his back. HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE: Local schools Kansas and Kansas State always pack the Sprint Center, but Iowa State also tends to draw well -- its campus is a reasonable drive from Kansas City. That means itll be tough to secure a ticket to Thursdays first session, when the Cyclones play the Wildcats and Kansas is also in action in a tantalizing double-header. LONGSHOTS: Even longshots have coaches concerned this year. Texas Tech is the No. 9 seed but has wins over Oklahoma State, Baylor and Texas on its resume. And nobody thought TCU would go winless in the league, so the No. 10 seed Horned Frogs could be primed for a first-round upset of the Bears. "Were going to do our best to keep within striking distance, like we have all year long, and give ourselves a chance down the stretch," TCU coach Trent Johnson said. [url=http://www.dortmundfcstore.com/authentic-erik-durm-borussia-dortmund-jersey/]Erik Durm Jersey[/url] .C. -- With a chance to start over and maybe drive in any series he wanted, Juan Pablo Montoya thought long and hard about what mattered most at this stage of his career. [url=http://www.dortmundfcstore.com/authentic-marc-bartra-borussia-dortmund-jersey/]Marc Bartra Jersey[/url] . Leave it to Matt Niskanen, the newly proclaimed Eddie Haskell of the Washington Capitals. [url=http://www.dortmundfcstore.com/authentic-christian-pulisic-borussia-dortmund-jersey/]http://www.dortmundfcstore.com/authentic-christian-pulisic-borussia-dortmund-jersey/[/url] .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown.ST. LOUIS -- St. Louis goalie Jaroslav Halak is healthy once again. The Phoenix Coyotes found that out the hard way Tuesday night. Halak made 20 saves and T.J. Oshie scored twice as the Blues rode their hot goalie to a 2-1 win. The Blues have won eight of nine and improved to 7-1-1 against the Coyotes since the start of the 2011-2012 season. Phoenix lost its season-high fourth consecutive game. Halak improved to 19-6-3 with his second successive win since missing five games due to an illness. The mysterious ailment, diagnosed as a severe flu, sapped his strength and forced him to the sidelines from Dec. 29 to Jan. 7. "I had a fever that wouldnt go away and I kept getting tired real fast," Halak said. "Now that the virus is gone, Im feeling pretty good." Halak made several impressive stops in the third period to protect a 2-1 lead. He robbed David Moss from close range with a stick save two minutes into the period. He also thwarted Antoine Vermette and Tim Kennedy down the stretch. "This is a game where the goalie saved us," St. Louis coach Ken Hitchcock said. "He was terrific from start to finish." Phoenix outshot St. Louis 8-2 in the third period and dominated play. "I thought we pushed hard," Phoenix coach Dave Tippett said. "We gave ourselves a chance to get some points." But Halak would not budge. "Youve got to give them credit, they came out really hard in the third," Halak said. "Im glad we got the two points, but we all know we can play better." Halak made 33 saves in a 5-0 shutout in Calgary on Thursday. He says he was not 100 per cent in that game, but believes he is very close to returning to top form. He felt Tuesdays performance was one of his best this season. His teammates agreed. "He made some huge saves," Oshie said. "This game could have gone the other way, a 5-2 victory (for Phoenix). He came up big and. thats what we expect from him every night." "Hes a huge reason we won," captain David Backes added. [url=http://www.dortmundfcstore.com/]Dortmund Jersey[/url]. "He got us the two points. We need to play better in front of him. Hopefully, the other 19 of us learned a lesson." Oshie recorded his second two-goal game in the last six contests since he was named to the U.S. Olympic team. Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored for Phoenix, which has been outscored 16-6 during the four-game skid. Oshie, who has 10 goals, ripped a shot behind Mike Smith midway through the first period off a back pass from Alex Pietrangelo. Oshie scored on the power play in the second period. Jaden Schwartz provided a screen on Oshies shot from just inside the blue line. Ekman-Larsson scored a power play goal on a high wrist shot with 48 seconds left in the second period. The Blues had killed their previous 21 penalties. Phoenix RW Radim Vrbata hit the crossbar with 4:16 remaining the game. The Coyotes fell to 3-8-4 in their last 15 games. Ekman-Larsson said his team should be able to gain some momentum from a strong third-period effort that simply fell short against a hot goalie. "I think this is a step in the right direction," he said. "This was our best period in a long time." Smith fell to 15-13-8. He has not won since Dec. 21 covering nine appearances. St. Louis, which has won its last five home games, has a plus-61 goal differential, the best in the NHL. Notes: St. Louis D Roman Polak returned after missing 10 games with a fractured ankle. ... Phoenix C Mike Ribeiro left Mondays contest against Winnipeg with a lower body injury but returned on Tuesday. ...The Coyotes remain the only team in the NHL without a short-handed goal this season. ... St. Louis public address announcer Tom Calhoun worked his 1,200 consecutive home game. ... Blues LW Vladimir Sobotka, who has seven goals and 24 points, missed the game with a fever. ...St. Louis C Patrik Berglund played in his 400th NHL game. ....Phoenix RW Shane Doan is two assists shy of 500. 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