FAYETTEVILLE -- The numbers are piling up in the Big 12's favor.
In three years of the Big 12/SEC Challenge, the Big 12 has won 20 of 30 games heading into Saturday's fourth installment of the series.
The SEC understands it has some catching up to do.
"Step one ... we had chances to win games in the nonleague and we didn't," said Tennessee Coach Rick Barnes, whose Volunteers host Kansas State at 1 p.m. on Saturday. "That's important early. You need to come into conference with more than three teams ranked in the top 25. ... This league, this year I think is better than it was a year ago."
Both conferences have three teams in both The Associated Press and USA Today Coaches' polls. The Big 12 has eight teams in Ken Pomeroy's top 40 power ratings: No. 3 West Virginia, No. 7 Baylor, No. 9 Kansas, No. 24 Iowa State, No. 26 Kansas State, No. 27 Oklahoma State, No. 35 TCU and No. 40 Texas Tech. The SEC has three teams in those ratings: No. 2 Kentucky, No. 13 Florida and No. 28 South Carolina. Tennessee and Arkansas are just outside Pomeroy's top 40 at Nos. 42 and 44, respectively.
In the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index rankings, the Big 12 has seven teams in the top 50, led by No. 1 Baylor and No. 7 Kansas. The SEC has five teams in the RPI top 50, with No. 6 Kentucky, No. 11 Florida, No. 17 South Carolina and No. 30 Arkansas all in the top 30.
"It's a big deal, just like the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, but I think every coach in our league or their league would tell you the games aren't as important as the league games," said Kansas Coach Bill Self, whose Jayhawks face Kentucky at Rupp Arena at 5:15 p.m. with ESPN's GameDay in attendance. "But it certainly gives your league a chance to be showcased and talked about."
South Carolina Coach Frank Martin, who joins Barnes and Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson as current SEC coaches who also have been head coaches in the Big 12, thinks there's a misconception about the strength of the SEC.
"Everybody says that our league is a one-team league, Kentucky, because they're so dominant, and no one ever poses a threat to them, and who is the next team in our conference," Martin said. "Last time I checked, Kentucky is not the team that's won their conference 13 consecutive years. Kansas is. And I don't know why the Big 12 is viewed as being such a strong top-to-bottom conference."
Martin's Gamecocks are 1-0 in the series, having beaten Oklahoma State 75-49 in the first year of the challenge, but they're one of four SEC teams sitting out this season.
Anderson, whose Razorbacks are 1-1 in the series, pointed to Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina and Mississippi State as SEC teams doing good work behind front-runner Kentucky.
"When I look at the Big 12 and the SEC, I think it's just perception," he said. "I was in that league and obviously there are some great teams.
"I was listening to Rick's talk earlier, and he talked about the things that have got to take place. They've got teams that are in the polls. As you get teams in the polls, the perception is you've got a great league. But I like where our league is, and I think it's trending up even more so."
Kentucky Coach John Calipari's team has perhaps the toughest draw among SEC teams against No. 2 Kansas, which is coming off an 85-69 loss at No. 18 West Virginia. Calipari, in an attempt to illustrate the depth in the SEC, touted the improvements Tennessee has made, culminating with the Vols' 82-80 victory over Kentucky on Tuesday.
"They're a middle of the road team for [the SEC] and they beat us," Calipari said. "Literally from bell to bell, they beat us.
"You know South Carolina and Florida and Arkansas -- the issue becomes, you take a loss in this league and they act like it's the end of the world. Whereas another team will take a loss in their league and it's 'Ah, it's just a road game, a tough game,' and that's what we're trying to overcome.
"Now, the numbers for our teams, a bunch of them in the top 50 [RPI]. I think the numbers are better than they've ever been, in the time that I've been here anyway, top to bottom."
The Big 12 won the first and third installments of the challenge by 7-3 margins, and it took the 2014-15 season by a 6-4 mark.
"I think it's important that we do well ... but I'm not sure it means as much to the coaches as what it may mean to the people that are watching," Self said. "But when you get Kentucky and Kansas together, it'll obviously take center stage and mean a lot to the players."
Texas A&M, which has won two games in a row since falling 62-60 at home to Arkansas, has the difficult assignment of taking on West Virginia on the road.
"Playing West Virginia is not fun for anybody, especially in Morgantown," Aggies Coach Billy Kennedy said.
Sports on 01/27/2017