The Big 12 is a mess.

There is no other way to say it. I have no idea where this basketball season is headed. I sat down this week and attempted to break down the possible results for the remaining conference season. I wasn’t very successful.

By the end of this two-hour practice of ineptitude, I came to the conclusion that every game not involving Texas or Baylor is a coin flip. Trying to pick the games is like trying to decide between watching “Celebrity Fit Club” and “NEXT.” (You know the show on MTV, in which one 18-year-old has to choose between five other equally entertaining 18-year-olds. One contestant on Wednesday said one of his best qualities was his “ability to club.” Crazy enough, he wasn’t chosen because the young female “wasn’t feeling his karma.” Your guess is as good as mine.) Anyway, both of these shows, like the Big 12 teams, have their moments, but leave you completely confused.

Just take a look at the standings. Previous to Wednesday’s games, 10 teams were within one game of each other. That is just unheard of.

For those of you who are more visual, the conference standings are shaped like that guy we all know who looks like he is in great shape, but has a gigantic beer belly. He’s the same guy who says he’s going to work out, but somehow always ends up at Taco John’s. Although some may be attracted to this look, you would much rather have a body-builder shaped conference with a powerful top, lean middle and crap where it belongs – at the bottom of the standings.

So, if you’re keeping score at home, Iowa State is one game from being in second place and one game from being in 11th place. Although you may think it is a good thing that Iowa State is still a real contender to finish second, the lack of any really powerful teams besides Texas could devastate Iowa State’s chances to get into the NCAA tournament. The Big 12, as it stands currently, may only get three teams in the tournament, because of its lack of strength in the Ratings Percentage Index (basketball’s version of the BCS).

In most RPI rankings, the Big 12 is the ninth-strongest conference in the country, behind the likes of the Missouri Valley and Mountain West. The Big 12 is just a smidgen ahead of the Atlantic 10 conference, which has 14 teams.

This creates a large problem for Iowa State’s dancing chances. If they don’t get to 10 conference wins in a supposed “weak” conference, how can the committee justify an at-large bid to a team that has lost four games at home and doesn’t have a marquee win all year? They won’t. So the Cyclones need to, at the very least, win out at home and nab two more road conference wins, plus a win in the Big 12 tournament. Easy enough, right?

Oh and although it may seem sacrilegious, the more successful Iowa and Northern Iowa are, the better the Cyclones RPI will look, and thus their chances to participate in the madness.

So go buy your Greg Brunner jersey and can of Rogaine and cheer for the Hawks. On second thought, don’t do that; there are some barriers that can never be crossed no matter what the circumstances are.

– Brent Blum is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Urbandale.