Jayhawks are in

Kansas University (10-14 in the Big 12 Conference) officially clinched a berth in next week’s Big 12 tournament over the weekend.

When Sunday’s game between Texas A&M and Kansas State was declared a 1-1 tie after the rains came, it guaranteed that neither Texas A&M (6-17) nor K-State (5-17) could catch KU in the standings.

The top eight teams advance to the Big 12 tournament, which starts May 24 in Oklahoma City. The conference has just 10 participating schools – Iowa State and Colorado do not field teams.

KU likely will be seeded sixth, seventh or eighth.

New format

This year’s format for the Big 12 tournament will change significantly.

In the past, it was a double-elimination tournament. Now, there will be two four-team pools, guaranteeing each team will play at least three games in four days. The teams with the best record in their respective pools will play each other for the Big 12 tournament title on May 28.

“I actually like it a lot,” Kansas coach Ritch Price said. “The best thing it does is allow a team to stay in their normal routine.”

A two-team tie will be broken by head-to-head results. A three-team tie will be broken by which team has the highest seed, to give regular-season results some validity.

Seeds 1, 4, 5 and 8 will play in one pool, while 2, 3, 6 and 7 will make up the other.