BYU Basketball is in the Middle of a Logjam in the Big 12 Standings

On Saturday afternoon, BYU pulled off a critical win on the road against West Virginia. With the win, BYU improved to 4-4 in conference play. We're nearing the midway point of the Big 12 basketball season and every Big 12 team has at least three losses in conference play. BYU is right in the middle of a logjam in the Big 12 standings.

Kansas and Houston stand atop the Big 12 standings with a 6-3 record in conference play. Both teams, however, have losing records on the road. Kansas has had the benefit of playing five home games already. The Jayhawks are just 1-3 on the road in conference play.

The next batch of teams, including Baylor, Iowa State, and Texas Tech, are 5-3 in conference play and 0.5 games outside of first place. 

Then there's TCU and BYU who are 5-4 and 4-4, respectively. After those two, there's a huge group of 4-5 teams that includes Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Texas, Kansas State, and UCF.

On one hand, BYU is just a few games away from having a chance to be a top four seed in the conference tournament. That's significant - the top four seeds in the Big 12 tournament will have to double byes to the quarterfinals. On the other hand, BYU is a few games away from going into the tournament near the bottom of the conference standings.

From here on out, every game matters. BYU must capitalize on the lighter schedule it has over the next few weeks. After what will be a tough test at no. 23 Oklahoma, BYU hosts two games against Kansas State and UCF. Then the Cougars travel to take on Oklahoma State who is dead last in the conference standings. A 3-1 record in those four games would position BYU nicely for both the conference tournament and NCAA tournament.