NCAA Tournament Sweet 16: Which Big 12 Conference teams remain in the March Madness bracket?

The Kansas basketball team did not last long in the NCAA Tournament this year. For the fourth time in the past five times in the Big Dance, the Jayhawks were eliminated in the Round of 32. Mark Few and Gonzaga overpowered a shorthanded KU team that stood no chance without Kevin McCullar.

KU suffered the worst conference record (10-8) it has ever finished with under head coach Bill Self, but part of that was because of how strong some of the other teams were. The Big 12 added four schools to the league, and two of them made the tourney in their first year.

In addition to the Jayhawks' early exit, Baylor and Texas lost in the Round of 32, while TCU, Texas Tech, and BYU all fell in the first round. However, there are still a couple of teams representing the conference in the Sweet 16, which begins today. Here they are:

Houston Cougars

Houston, in its first year in the Big 12, secured a No. 1 seed in the South region and went into the tournament as one of the top picks to win it all. They cruised by No. 16 seed Longwood in the Round of 64 but nearly choked away a large lead to No. 9 seed Texas A&M on Sunday. Thankfully, they were able to pull away in overtime and come out victorious.

The Cougars' title hopes are still alive heading into tomorrow's Sweet 16 tilt against No. 4 seed Duke. The winner of that game will play the winner of NC State vs. Marquette.

Iowa State Cyclones

Iowa State had a fantastic season under TJ Otzelberger, nearly receiving its first No. 1 seed in program history. However, they were given the first No. 2 seed in the East region. The Cyclones took care of the business in the first two rounds, taking down No. 15 seed South Dakota State and No. 7 Washington State.

They have a tough test on their hands against No. 3 seed Illinois tonight, a team that is red hot right now.