Constant Collision Course : Big Eight: Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma have crashed into each other all season and may again this weekend.

Do Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas--schools in the same conference--have the three best college basketball teams in the country? Could be. That’s what makes the Big Eight’s postseason tournament, which begins today in Kemper Arena, the place to be for anybody attempting to get a clue as to who might be the next national champion.

The No. 1 team in the national rankings, Oklahoma, is seeded No. 2 in its own conference tournament. That’s how tough the Big Eight is.

The Eight isn’t just three deep, either.

“Top to bottom, it’s going to be tough,” Oklahoma Coach Billy Tubbs said. “Usually, like last year, you can say, ‘Well, here’s a couple teams we can beat up.’ But who do you say that about this year?”

Every team in the conference has won at least 10 games. Still, depending on motivation, top-seeded Missouri (26-4) figures to beat up Colorado (10-17), and Oklahoma (23-4) probably will do the same to Nebraska (10-17). The other first-round games pit third-seeded Kansas (28-3) against Iowa State (10-17) and fourth-seeded Kansas State (17-13) against Oklahoma State (15-12).

Two years ago, Kansas and Oklahoma met for the NCAA championship. Kansas won, 83-79, then promptly lost Coach Larry Brown to the NBA and lost favor with the NCAA, being put on a one-year probation that banned it from bidding for successive championships.

Something similar could happen to Missouri, which is awaiting word from the NCAA over alleged recruiting violations.

Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma have taken turns as the No. 1 team in this season’s national rankings. Oklahoma recently unseated both Missouri and Kansas from the No. 1 ranking in the same week, both games being played at Norman, Okla. This time no one can enjoy the advantage of a home floor.

“We keep crashing into one another like a demolition derby,” Missouri Coach Norm Stewart said.

Somehow, Oklahoma overcame the loss of two NBA first-round draft picks, center Stacey King and point guard Mookie Blaylock, to remain a national power in what Tubbs feared would be a year of rebuilding. Already this season, the Sooners have beaten Nevada Las Vegas, Arizona and Loyola Marymount, as well as Kansas and Missouri.

Relentless offense is Oklahoma’s game. As have many coaches of outstanding college teams in the last few seasons, Tubbs turns loose a lineup that resembles five forwards more than it does two forwards, two guards and a center. The hottest hands usually belong to 6-foot-7 Skeeter Henry and 6-6 William Davis, and Oklahoma has a tough cookie nearer the hoop in 6-8, 250-pound Tony Martin from Manual Arts High.

All three are seniors, showing how deep Tubbs’ pool of talent was after his recent personnel losses that ranged from Wayman Tisdale and the Grant brothers, Horace and Harvey, to last season’s 1-2 punch of King and Blaylock. The Sooners went 30-6 last year, being eliminated by Virginia in the NCAA Southeast Regional’s third round.

“Most people say we don’t rebuild, just reload,” Tubbs joked.

Missouri, which defeated Oklahoma in the 1989 Big Eight tournament final, might have the best talent in the conference, but the Tigers are erratic, as evidenced by last week’s startling 98-67 loss to Notre Dame. No wonder Stewart has had a lot on his mind, from his own health concerns--last year’s cancer surgery--to the NCAA’s investigation and accusations in the new book dealing with basketball recruiting, “Raw Recruits,” in which Missouri assistant Rich Daly is profiled unflatteringly.

The top Tiger is 6-10 junior Doug Smith, who walks around campus wearing a Davy Crockett-style coonskin cap and so much jewelry that his teammates call him “Ringo.” Smith can score from inside and out. He was the most valuable player of last season’s conference tournament, then led Missouri to two NCAA victories before a three-point loss to Syracuse.

Neither Oklahoma nor Missouri has won the national championship, and Missouri has never reached the Final Four.

Ricky Calloway of Kansas is trying to win his second NCAA title with his second school. He played for Indiana’s 1987 champions before growing disenchanted with Coach Bob Knight and transferring to Kansas, where the 6-6 forward has helped fans forget last year’s limbo of NCAA probation.

Kansas Coach Roy Williams retains three regulars from Larry Brown’s 1988 championship team--forward Mike Maddox, swingman Jeff Gueldner and outstanding point guard Kevin Pritchard, who almost single-handedly held things together in the interim. Center Mark Randall is 6-9 and steadily improving, and Williams can’t wait to see more of the freshman guard from Reseda with the memorable name to go with his game, Adonis Jordan.

“I just hope that after we get through pounding one another in this tournament,” Williams said, “we’ve all got something left for the NCAAs.”