Checking in on the… Big 12
Posted by nvr1983 on January 19th, 2009Patrick Marshall of Bluejay Basketball is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley and Big 12 Conferences.
Current Records and my standings (Conference Standings) (Last Week)
- Oklahoma (17-1)(3-0) (2)
- Texas (13-4) (2-1) (3)
- Baylor (14-3) (2-1) (1)
- Kansas (13-4)(2-0) (5)
- Texas A&M (15-3) (1-2) (4)
- Missouri (15-3) (2-1) (8)
- Nebraska (12-4) (2-1) (7)
- Oklahoma State (12-4) (1-1) (6)
- Iowa State (12-6) (1-2) (11)
- Kansas State (11-6) (0-3)(9)
- Texas Tech (10-8) (0-3)(10)
- Colorado (8-8) (0-2) (12)
GAME OF THE WEEK
Baylor 98, Oklahoma State 92 (OT): Baylor was down by as many as 17 points in the 1st half, but made a run and was quite the deal to get the game into overtime, but Tweety Carter came up huge for Baylor hitting two three-pointers at the start of overtime. Then he finished off the Cowboys with a third basket and a key steal to seal the game for the Bears.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sherron Collins, Kansas: Collins was the leader that the Jayhawks expected to have as he helped lead Kansas to wins in their first two conference games this week averaging 21 points (12/12 FT) and 5.5 assists per game. His leadership will determine the wins for Kansas in the conference season and how successful they want to be.
TEAMS PLAYING WELL
Oklahoma (2-0 this week): The Sooners are the only team undefeated in conference play at 3-0 so far. After coach Jeff Capel reminded them of their 6 straight losses against Texas, they respondent with a dominant win against the Longhorns and followed it up with a nice win at Texas A&M. Oklahoma appears to be the team to beat in the Big 12. Texas where Coach Jeff Capel pounded into their head the 6 straight losses against Texas.
Missouri (2-0 this week): After stumbling out of the gate against Nebraska last week, Missouri has rebounded to get wins against bottom-feeders Colorado and Iowa State. Mike Anderson is trusting his freshman to start now. Missouri gets another favorable week as they have a game with Texas Tech, but a great match-up against Oklahoma State.
Kansas (2-0 this week): Kansas just kicked off conference play this week with Kansas State and Colorado. The Jayhawk fans filled “Fieldhouse West” in the Colorado Coors Events Center and outnumbered the Buffalo fans. With struggling Texas A&M and Iowa State are on the slate this week the Jayhawks could easily be 4-0.
TEAMS UP AND DOWN
Baylor (1-1 this week): Baylor was not ready for Texas A&M this week , and had to come back from 17 down against Oklahoma State to take the game into OT to get a win. The Bears will be looking for their first quality win of the year when they go up against Oklahoma later this week.
Texas A&M (1-1 this week): A& M got lucky and will not start 0-5 as I thought they might after they stole a win against Baylor. Chinemelu Elonu is quite a name, but also quite a player. Things won’t get any easier for the Aggies as they go through the ringer of Kansas and Texas this week.
Texas (1-1 this week): Texas looked overmatched against Oklahoma on Big Monday. After that debacle, the lineup was changed and the team played a lot better against Texas Tech as Dexter Pittman was taken out of the starting lineup, AJ Abrams moved to the point, and reserve Matt Hill played a career-high 27 minutes. They have the week to fine tune those changes before they play Texas A&M.
Iowa State (1-1 this week): The Cyclones knocked off Nebraska holding them to 35% shooting, but then lost to Missouri. They will probably be up and down like this the whole season. Kansas comes to town this week.
Nebraska (1-1 this week)— Nebraska was all pumped after that nice victory against Missouri to kick off the conference season, but then choked on that success at Iowa State. A Kansas State team without Michael Beasley this season is not a match for teams in the Big 12 and the Huskers blew the Wildcats out of the Devaney Center. Nebraska received some good news and bad news this week as they found out they finally have a big guy enrolled at school in Jorge Diaz, but incoming big man Vander Joakim might not qualify academically so will he will go to junior college to earn a degree before setting foot on the Lincoln campus.
TOUGH WEEK
Oklahoma State (0-1 this week): This is a team that will be looking for an identity the rest of the season and will be up and down. Their inconsistency was evident when they blew a lead against Baylor this week. The also Cowboys lost for the first time while scoring more than 80 points. They were previously 8-0 when topping that mark.
Kansas State (0-2 this week): No Beasley or Walker = No problem for Big 12 opponents so far.
Texas Tech (0-2 this week): The tumble of this team continues and Pat Knight is still looking for answers.
Colorado (0-2 this week) –Do they have a team this season? No one has noticed and they seem to have a different problem each game.
WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH
There should be a little more separation after this week. The Big 12 South is looking dominant in basketball like it did this past season in football.
1/19: Texas A&M @ Kansas (ESPN)—This Big Monday game might shake out the direction A&M and Kansas are headed.
1/21: Nebraska @ Oklahoma (ESPNU)—The question in this one is how bad will the score be?
1/21: Missouri @ Oklahoma State (ESPN Full Court)-The Tigers and the Cowboys have been playing well to start the Big 12 season. This should be a good match-up.
1/24: Baylor @ Oklahoma (ESPNU) –Can Baylor get a quality win on the road?
1/24: Texas A&M @ Texas (ESPNU)—As up and down as Texas has been, this game will iron some things out.
