Even with hours of practice and preparation, there's still one thing a team can never control: the competition.
When looking at Big 12 Conference basketball, the depth of competition on both the men's and women's side is perhaps the best it's ever been.
On the women's side, NU coach Connie Yori put it bluntly.
"Our conference is the best conference in the country, that's a fact." Yori said. "When you look at the RPI, there really is no comparison."
You may be asking how can something like that be a fact. Well, looking at the numbers – including the ratings percentage index – you would be crazy to say there is any other conference like the women's Big 12 this year.
Currently, there are six teams in the top 25. And 10 of the 12 schools are in the RPI top 65.
Factor in the fact that eight Big 12 teams are in the top 25 of the strength of schedule rankings – with Nebraska being ranked 16th – and that means that on paper, the conference is unlike any other in the country.
In fact, the strength of schedule for the Huskers this year is the toughest in their history. They've played ten games against teams ranked in the top 25 this season, including a game against Ohio State, which won both the regular season and tournament titles in the Big Ten Conference this season.
With such a tough conference and schedule, Yori believes sometimes people can underestimate just how talented teams are. Even with a 15-14 squad, she feels her team is good enough this year to be a 20-win team, but playing in the Big 12 certainly makes that much more difficult.
"All you can do is go out there and do the best you can each day," Yori said. "Getting a win in the Big 12 is a very tough thing to do."
The in-conference competition is not just evident in the women's game, either. On the men's side, the conference features the defending national champions, the favorite for the national player of the year and a plethora of teams that have found their way in and out of the national rankings all year.
Even struggling Baylor was ranked in the Associated Press top 25 for a good part of this season.
True, some conferences in the men's game are far more difficult than the Big 12. But the scary thing is that just about any team from top to bottom can win on any night.
So what does this mean? What do numbers and stats actually account for?
It means that the teams in this conference care about having strong programs. It means they don't take the non-conference games off and fill their schedule with nobodies.
It means that every game could be the difference between you or your opponent making the tournament.
But most importantly, it means that every game at both the men's and women's conference tournaments this week will be 40 minutes of hard-fought basketball.
As a sports fan, I couldn't be more excited.
Pat Radigan is a sophomore news-editorial major. reach him at patradigan@dailynebraskan.com
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!