Let's get some help from the KMAN Staff and make a collection of predictions for this week's Big 12 Championship in Kansas City.

1. Dean Wade will not play.

Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. Wade, officially listed as 'questionable' in a release from K-State, almost certainly won't be a part of this tournament. It's too bad, as Wade had to miss last year's Big 12 tourney, as well, but it's hard to argue for or find any scenario where the Wildcats rush the two-time All-Big 12 selection to the floor in Kansas City.

2. Cartier Diarra will play - well.

He's not Dean Wade, but Diarra was making a huge difference right before his injury. He had double-digit second half points against both Kansas and Baylor in back-to-back wins before missing the remainder of the regular season with an injury to his shooting hand. Diarra will return to action in Kansas City, and his fresh legs will cancel out any rust issues he'll also face to allow him to contribute in KC.

3. K-State will win the Big 12 Championship.

Am I crazy? With no Dean Wade? Maybe, but it's what I see. K-State should be able to handle either TCU or Oklahoma State (as the much more well rested team) on Thursday. Baylor or ISU would both provide challenges in the quarterfinals, but the Wildcats have been consistently better than both and seem to have a sincere edge coming into this tournament. As for the title game, who knows who will be there? At that point I simply wouldn't be picking against a K-State team who would have won five straight 'must-win' games in an attempt to earn both Big 12 crowns.

1. Kansas doesn't make the final.

I know the easy narrative is that they will be fired up about the streak ending, but I don't think this Kansas team has much of a killer instinct in that way. Their best player isn't a great leader, isn't a fiery guy at all and is kind of soft. To me, Texas Tech is the clear favorite.

2. Mak will go off - as per usual - in Sprint Center.

He's averaging 20 points per game in his career in that building. That includes the 29-point performance against Kansas when K-State was without Barry Brown and Dean Wade last year. I won't say it will be a near 30 point game like that, but he will have a 15-20 point game. The conditions are ripe for it again with K-State needed some more scoring without Wade.

3. The 9 and the 10 seeds will both win.

I love the way Oklahoma State is playing right now, and TCU is so up and down you can easily see them being uninspired to play this game. Plus, West Virginia really seems to have found something with this new look team after guys left the team. I think OSU and WVU are much tougher teams than TCU and OU, and I see them grinding out wins on Wednesday.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Natalee struggled with the "three predictions" instruction.

1. Matt casually suggests eating pizza at least once a day.

2. Matt and Natalee Google Search “Overnight Babysitters in KC Area: Safe” at least one night.

3. Redd runs into several members of the KSMBB team and calls all of them the wrong names, except Cartier Diarra.

4. All of the guys say they are going to “Go Out” one night and are home early because they didn’t want to be “too hungover” or “spend a bunch of money.”

5. Nats will contemplate leaving early 500 times because she misses her dog too much.

1. Oklahoma State: Get hot, stay hot! Lindy Waters or Thomas Dziagwa makes the all tourney team after playing only two games.

2. Bill Self has to be treated for burns at halftime of a game because that seat is hot...

3. The winner of Baylor/Iowa State goes all Jake Taylor in Major League and, “Win(s) the whole (edited) thing.”

1. Cartier Diarra gets starter minutes right away.

I know some probably would assume that he gets eased back into the picture slowly. I don't think they can afford that. They need him to be right, especially if Dean Wade isn't available. He has to impact the game and supply a number of good minutes night in and night out in order for a deep run. He has to play a lot in Kansas City so he can knock off as much rust as possible.

2. Oklahoma makes the semifinal.

Aside from the beatdown in Manhattan, they've hit a bit of a stride. Defeating the worst team in the league isn't too much to ask. An upset over Texas Tech should prove to be difficult, but doable. The Red Raiders have won nine Big 12 games in a row. They're due for a loss.

3. Sunflower Showdown rematch in the Big 12 Tourney Final.

I think Kansas State will defeat Oklahoma State 0 no matter what should - they be the first opponent. If it's TCU, I think Barry Brown wills the Wildcats to a win in their tournament opener. I think coaching matters more in short turnarounds and give the Bruce Weber the nod over Steve Prohm (Iowa State beats Baylor). On the other side, this will be the most motivated Kansas has been for a Big 12 Tournament in quite a while. If I'm right, they'll also get to dodge Texas Tech.

EDITOR'S NOTE: If you ask Mitch Fortner to give you three predictions, that's exactly what he does. This man is an efficient machine.

1. Kam makes all tournament team.

2. Tech wins the tourney.

3. Texas makes there semifinals

1. Xavier Sneed will be K-State's best player during the tournament.

With him being forced to play a lot of minutes at the four with Dean Wade's injury, Sneed will get plenty of opportunities to do damage through pick and pops. His improved ability to put the ball on the floor will be vital to K-State finding success on the offensive end.

2. I'm going to really go out on a limb with this one and predict Texas Tech to win the tournament.

Not only have they won nine games in a row, but have done so by an average score of 80-61. If they shoot it as well as they have recently, this is a Final Four caliber team.

3. While watching Iowa State and Texas play on Thursday, I will get way more irritated than I should over two teams I have no allegiance to.

Both teams have the ability to play with just about anyone in the country, but have stretches of games that make me want to scream.

1. Iowa State fans will pack Sprint Center again.

Last year, being in last place, the Cyclone nation didn’t come out the way they have in the past. I expect with how Iowa State has been competitive this season, the fans come in droves. And this year's team could have the right pieces to make another special run in this conference tournament.

2. Kam Stokes will continue his great senior night on and be the best player for the Cats in KC.

To me, even through migraines, Stokes has played great. Seems like the one-hundred percent confident Kam that this world had yet to see. I can see him getting major buckets and dropping dirty dimes in every game this week. He will make everyone wonder why he wasn’t more than honorable mention, if he hasn’t done that already.

3. If K-State makes it to the championship game, either one - or both Dean Wade and Cartier Diarra - will make an appearance and help topple the opponent.

They could win it without them, but having them back will give assurance that the Wildcats can’t be beaten.