KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big 12 Eats offers food selections for every school in the conference at the Big 12 Tournament. The wide variety of options gives fans plenty of choices to choose from during both five-day events.

With all that in mind, some schools’ themed foods hit the ball out of the park, while others fall flat. It was my goal to find the best food from the Big 12 Eats menu.

For the first part of our three-part series, I ranked the bottom five foods I tried.

15. Mountaineer Pepperoni Roll: 2.5/10

This was by far the most disappointing meal. Similar to how West Virginia ended the Big 12 season, on paper, it seems like the pieces would go well together, but the execution just was not there.

The pepperoni has nice flavors to it, as it is savory with a slight kick, and the bread has a crunch and airiness that accents it well. The issue with the roll comes down to dryness.

There does not seem to be much cheese, and if there is sauce on it, it is barely noticeable. Biting into the roll gives a similar feeling to eating saltine crackers on a hot day. It could have been great, I mean pepperoni and cheese is a great combo, but it failed to meet the low expectations I had going in. 

For those reasons, I had to give the Mountaineer Pepperoni Roll last place in my rankings of the Big 12 Eats.

14. Oklahoma Onion Burger: 3.5/10

The trend for the bottom foods from Big 12 Eats is the dryness factor. With the burger not being anything special, as it is just stadium food, the Oklahoma Onion Burger does not do anything to counteract that.

The fried onion strings on top do not add much flavor and dry the burger out more. A true Oklahoma Onion Burger has a thin paddy with the onions grilled underneath. Although I see what they were going for, this version did not do it justice.

Luckily, the burger is served with barbeque sauce and ranch dressing on the side, which is much-needed, but relying on getting sauces does not up the rating in my eyes. When it comes down to it, there are much better options in the Big 12 Eats lineup, and I would not get the Oklahoma Onion Burger again.

13. Tech’s Masked Rider Burger: 4.5/10

The ingredients of the Masked Rider Burger make it look better than it is. The barbeque sauce drizzled over a cheddar cheeseburger topped with jalapeños and onion rings are all good in theory.

However, the burger falls into the same issue that the other burger and hotdogs have. It is just a stadium burger, nothing more. The barbeque sauce takes away from the dryness of the burger, and the jalapeños add some much-needed heat.

Despite that, the onion rings do not add much and the burger fails to wow on every level. It is not necessarily bad, which is why it comes in close to average, but it is also not great.

12. Cincinnati Chili Cheese Dog: 5/10

This is about as average as it gets. Similar to the brisket sliders, there really is nothing too special about the chili cheese dog.

It is a classic stadium hot dog with what tastes like canned chili, a sprinkle of unmelted cheddar cheese and diced onions. It comes in at the lowest price point of all the Big 12 Eats, at $15, but that does not make up for the small size of the dog.

When it comes down to it, if you love chili cheese dogs, you will probably be disappointed by the Cincinnati Chili Cheese Dog. If you are indifferent, this will fill your cravings just fine.

11. Baylor Brisket Sliders: 5.5/10

Coming in at the top of the bottom are the Baylor Brisket Sliders. You get three sliders with barbeque brisket inside topped with coleslaw. If you are a fan of classic barbeque and coleslaw, this is the dish for you.

There is not anything special about the brisket sliders, which is why it picks up the 5.5 rating. It is average in every sense. The brisket does have good flavor to it, but the barbeque sauce does not take away from the dryness of the brisket. The coleslaw adds a nice crunch and flavor-enhancing quality, but at the end of the day, it is not enough to make it worth the high price point.