The Big 12 is arguably the most competitive conference in college basketball.
Will that trend continue in 2016-17?
Check out our breakdown below as we examine five offseason storylines in the Big 12.
1. Kansas is a heavy favorite to win its 13th straight Big 12 regular season title
The Jayhawks are like Tom Hanks in Cast Away - they're on an island by themselves.
After being pushed a year ago by both Oklahoma and West Virginia during the regular season, Kansas still wound up winning the conference title by two games.
Expect more of the same to continue next season.
The Jayhawks are clearly the best team in the Big 12 on paper and it doesn't appear to be close.
Bill Self returns three starters in Frank Mason, Devonte Graham and Landen Lucas along with two guys who were capable reserves last season in Svi Mykhailiuk and Carlton Bragg.
Add five-star freshman wing Josh Jackson -- a potential top-three pick in the 2017 NBA Draft -- and Kansas again has all the requisites to dominate this conference.
Self has currently won 82.1 percent of his league games since becoming the head coach of the Jayhawks in 2003.
2. The Big 12 is as close as its ever been 2-10
Kansas may be the clear favorite in this league, but after that anything could happen.
The Big 12's double round-robin format has made this conference arguably the most competitive league in college basketball over the past few years and that trend should continue again during the upcoming season.
West Virginia looks like the second best team on paper, but the Mountaineers suffered a major loss when big man Devin Williams attempted to play professionally despite not being selected in June's NBA Draft.
Oklahoma, Iowa State, Texas and Baylor all lost significant pieces from last year's team while Texas Tech and Kansas State both return strong cores from a year ago.
Oklahoma State and TCU added Brad Underwood and Jamie Dixon respectively as their coaches, but it remains to be seen how those two guys -- who have each had incredible success at their previous stops -- adjust to the Big 12.
There's a plethora of different ways this league could go after Kansas at the top.
3. Texas Tech could challenge for a spot in the league's top tier
Tubby Smith did yeoman's work with the Red Raiders last season before he left for the head coaching vacancy at Memphis, leading Texas Tech to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2007.
Smith is gone, but former Little Rock coach Chris Beard inherits a group that boasts size, experience and depth.
The Red Raiders return seven players -- Aaron Ross, Zach Smith, Keenan Evans, Justin Gray, Devon Thomas, Matthew Temple, and Norense Odiase -- from last year's team that reached the field of 68 and lost to Butler while adding a pair of graduate transfers in Anthony Livingston (Arkansas State) and Gio Mclean (Quinnipiac).
The 6-foot-8 Livingston averaged 15.5 points and 9.4 rebounds last season while Mclean is an experienced guard that can run a team.
Add JUCO import Niem Stevenson, a 6-5 guard who averaged 24.7 points last season at Seward Community College and Beard has a real chance to make a major impact during his first season as a Big 12 coach.
Texas Tech isn't a sexy pick to do damage in this conference, but this program has the personnel and coaching in place to be just as good as anybody not named Kansas.
4. West Virginia needs a breakout season from Elijah Macon
The Mountaineers have a Hall-of-Fame coach in Bob Huggins, a proven system, and one of the best fan bases in college basketball.
But they don't have a proven producer returning up front.
West Virginia lost both Devin Williams and Jonathan Holton from last year's team that earned a three-seed in the NCAA Tournament before being upset by Stephen F. Austin in the Round of 64 and those players combined last season to average 22.2 points and 17.1 rebounds.
Who fills the void that both Williams and Holton left behind?
It has to be Elijah Macon.
The 6-9, 240-pound big man has yet to live up to the billing he received out of high school, but now has a prime opportunity to emerge as the Mountaineers' primary interior focal point.
It remains to be seen how Macon will handle more responsibility on a regular basis, but this much is for certain: no other player in the Big 12 is set up as well as he is to have a breakout season.
Macon averaged 4.5 points and 3.0 rebounds last year in 13.2 minutes.
5. Oklahoma State looks like a sleeper
Guards win in college basketball and that's good news for Cowboys' fans.
Oklahoma State quietly has one of the best the best backcourts in the Big 12 with Jawun Evans and Phil Forte -- two guys who only combined to play 25 games last season due to injury.
With Forte and Evans in tow, first-year head coach Brad Underwood has a real chance to hit the ground running during his inaugural season in Stillwater.
Leyton Hammonds also returns as a double-figure scorer while Tavarius Shine, Jeffery Carroll and Mitchell Solomon are all capable players who averaged more than 18.0 minutes last season.
Underwood is also expecting a major contribution from 6-7 freshman Cameron McGriff, a four-star prospect.
Different coaches leave mid-major jobs for different reasons, but few were as meticulous with their decision as Underwood.
After compiling an 89-14 overall record with three NCAA Tournament appearances over the last three years at Stephen F. Austin, the 52-year old head coach opted to head to Stillwater and there's a good chance he'll make his presence felt sooner rather than later.
Evans is the best NBA prospect in the Big 12 other than Josh Jackson and many people forget that Forte will be remembered as a cult hero at Oklahoma State once his college career is complete.
Add a solid supporting cast and a coach that's won two NCAA Tournament games in the last three years and you've got a solid recipe for success.
This and That
- The best Big 12 newcomer that nobody's talking about entering next season is Baylor's Manu Lecomte. A transfer from Miami, the 5-11 point guard is expected to the Bears' starting point guard for the next two seasons. Lecomte averaged 7.9 points and shot 45.6 percent from 3-point range for the Hurricanes during the 2014-15 season.
- Texas coach Shaka Smart told CBS Sports that he's planning to use Jarrett Allen and Shaquille Cleare together up front next season. The 6-11 Allen was a McDonald's All-American and was the centerpiece of the Longhorns' recruiting class.
- Iowa State's Deonte Burton is in position to have a breakout season. The 6-4 forward averaged 9.7 points and 3.9 rebounds last year, but only played 18.8 minutes because he was coming off the bench behind both Georges Niang and Jameel McKay. Expect Burton's numbers to spike in 2016-17.
- Jamie Dixon's adds several key pieces in his first season at TCU: freshman point guard Jaylen Fisher (highest rated recruit in school history) and veteran big man Kenrich Williams. The versatile Fisher was originally committed to UNLV, but opted to play for the Horned Frogs while Williams missed last season due to injury. A 6-7 forward, Williams averaged 8.6 points and 6.7 rebounds two years ago for TCU under Trent Johnson. Dixon will also add Texas A&M transfer Alex Robinson in December.
- One important thing to remember about Oklahoma: the Sooners return six of their top 10 scorers from last year's team that won 29 games and reached the Final Four. Another important thing to remember? Lon Kruger is still the head coach.
