KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Big 12 Basketball Championship Tournaments tip off in Kansas City this week. Fans in attendance will likely see two of the best NCAA basketball mascots in the country, according to a new survey.
An online gambling company called Time2Play surveyed nearly 1,500 NCAA basketball fans. Analysts asked the fans to rank 70 mascots. Each one represents teams that have made the most appearances in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Those who responded voted Oregon’s Duck the best mascot in the NCAA. They also said it was the mascot they’d most likely invite to a child’s birthday party.
From the Big 12, Hook ‘Em, the mascot for the University of Texas, made the best-of list at No. 5. Big Jay from the University of Kansas rounded out the top 10.
Then things seems to take a dark turn for the Big 12 conference.
Fans ranked Oklahoma State’s Pistol Pete and K-State’s Willie Wildcat as two of the worst mascots in the NCAA. They also determined Pistol Pete was a mascot they didn’t want to run into in a dark alley.
Time2Play said 57% of the respondents were male and 43% identified as female. The average age was 38.
Indiana, Nevada-Las Vegas, Illinois, and Michigan were not included in the survey, according to Time2Play. While the universities do rank in the top 70 schools for tournament appearances, the schools don’t have official mascots, the company said.
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