Kansas won at least a share of the Big 12 Conference 15 times under Bill Self from 2004-2019, including a stretch in which it secured 14-straight regular-season championships during a dominant run unparalleled in the modern era of men’s college basketball. Since then, it has alternated between finishing multiple games off the pace of first place and winning the league by multiple games. Our staff thinks that trend could hold steady in the 2021-22 college basketball season after finishing second in the league a year ago to Baylor by three games in the regular season.
In a 3-2 margin, our team voted Kansas as the top team in our Big 12 preseason poll, narrowly edging out Texas and first-year coach Chris Beard as he takes over after a successful stint at Texas Tech. Both teams were voted either first or second-place by our panel. Meanwhile, reigning Big 12 and national champion Baylor is a unanimous preseason No. 3 with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech rounding out the top half of our consensus ballot.
Kansas has the goods, too, because it is also represented by our preseason pick for the league’s player of the year. Arizona State transfer Remy Martin is our panel’s pick to take the award left behind by former Oklahoma State star Cade Cunningham. Martin is coming off a junior season at ASU in which he averaged 19.1 points and 3.7 assists, and he steps into a starting role on a loaded roster that returns four starters.
Below is the rest of how our team voted.
CBS Sports Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year
Remy Martin, Kansas
A year ago at this time, Martin was considered the frontrunner to win Pac-12 Player of the Year. Now, he’s the early favorite to win Big 12 Player of the Year. The super-senior averaged 19.1 points and 3.7 assists per game for the Sun Devils last season, and steps into a starring role in Lawrence, Kansas, with an already-established roster around him. With four returning starters by his…
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