Columbia, Mo. ? Missouri’s best record in the tenure of Quin Snyder got the Tigers their worst seed in the NCAA Tournament in his three years as coach.

That might not be such a bad thing. Missouri  one of six Big 12 teams that earned NCAA bids Sunday  was given the No. 12 seed in the West Region and will play fifth-seed Miami (24-7) on Thursday in Albuquerque, N.M. If they win, they would face either fourth-seed Ohio State (23-7) or 13th-seed Davidson (21-9) on Saturday.

That scenario could be friendlier to the Tigers than in recent years when they’ve been the eighth or ninth seed, setting them up for a likely game against a No. 1 seed after a win. Such was the case last season, when Missouri beat Georgia 70-68, then lost to Duke 94-81 in the second round.

Talking to reporters after the brackets were announced, Snyder and his players sounded confident that they could be dangerous as a lower seed.

“We’re the 12 seed,” Snyder said. “We’re not supposed to be beating anybody.”

Another reporter suggested seeds that low were reserved for teams disliked by the selection committee.

“If they don’t like us and they put us in the tournament, I’m OK with that,” Snyder said.

Cincinnati (30-3) was picked as the No. 1 seed of the West Region.

The Tigers’ fate was left in question after their 89-85 loss to Texas in the second round of the Big 12 Tournament on Friday. Their 21-11 record was offset by a 9-7 conference mark and the disappointment of going from the No. 2 ranking in December to not getting a vote in either poll by the end of the season.

Missouri’s big wins this season came against then-No. 22 Alabama and then-No. 8 Iowa in November in the Guardian’s Classic; then-No. 5 Virginia in Columbia on Feb. 3; and No. 12 Oklahoma State on Feb. 25. But disappointing losses came against DePaul (9-19) on Dec. 29, Iowa State (12-19) on Jan. 9 and Baylor (14-16) on Feb. 9.

While MU was happy with its seed, Oklahoma was not.

Sooner fans who stayed in Kemper Arena after fourth-ranked OU beat No. 1 Kansas 64-55 for their second straight Big 12 tournament title booed when the Jayhawks were seeded No. 1 in the Midwest Regional. OU, meanwhile, had to settle for the No. 2 seed in the West.

Kansas (29-3) will meet 16th-seeded Holy Cross (18-14) on Thursday in St. Louis. The Sooners (27-4) open against 15th-seeded Illinois-Chicago (20-13) on Friday in Dallas.

The Big 12 tournament’s semifinal losers wound up with No. 6 seeds, matching them against No. 11 seeds in the first round.

Texas (20-11) will also play Friday in Dallas  but against Boston College (20-11) in the Midwest Regional.

Texas Tech, which has made a turnaround from 9-19 a year ago to 23-8 in its first season under Bob Knight, will play Southern Illinois (26-7) Friday in the East Regional at Chicago.

“I don’t think it ever gets old, playing in the NCAA tournament or making a birdie or hitting a home run or whatever,” said Knight, who will be coaching in his 25th NCAA tournament in 36 years. “We were able to do what I thought we might be able to do, and here we are.”

The teams that lost to Texas and Texas Tech in the Big 12 quarterfinals also earned bids.

Oklahoma State, beaten by Texas Tech’s Red Raiders, is the No. 7 seed in the South Regional. The Cowboys (23-8) open against 10th-seeded Kent State (27-5) on Thursday in Greenville, S.C.

“I think we were probably a little higher than that going into the Big 12 tournament,” coach Eddie Sutton said. “But when you look at the field, beyond the first four seeds, I think from 5 all the way up to 12 there isn’t much difference.”