Checking in on the… Big 12
Posted by rtmsf on February 10th, 2009Patrick Marshall of Bluejay Basketball is the RTC correspondent for the Big 12 and Missouri Valley Conferences.
Current Records and my standings (Conference Standings) (Last Week)
- Oklahoma (23-1)(9-0) (1)
- Kansas (19-4)(8-0) (2)
- Missouri (20-4) (7-2) (3)
- Nebraska (15-7) (5-4) (7)
- Kansas St. (16-7) (5-4)(8)
- Texas (15-7) (4-4) (4)
- Texas A&M (17-7) (3-6) (5)
- Baylor (15-8) (3-6) (6)
- Oklahoma St. (14-8) (3-5) (9)
- Texas Tech (12-11) (2-6)(11)
- Iowa St. (12-11) (1-7) (10)
- Colorado (8-12) (1-7) (12)
A lot of teams have separated themselves this week. A few teams are on life support and the Big 12 south is eating each other alive.
GAME OF THE WEEK
Nebraska 58, Texas 55—Nebraska took advantage of a down Texas team grinding their way to a win against Texas on Saturday. Nebraska was down by as many as 10 in the second half, but inched their way back into the game, took the lead, and held on for the last 4 minutes of the game. Despite being the shortest team in the Big 12 (probably the nation) going against Texas, who has several 6-10 players, the Huskers were able to overcome the adversity to pull out a big win. Now they are a surprisingly tied for 4th in the Big 12 standings.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
DeMarre Carroll, Missouri—Carroll was a monster in the win against Iowa St. this week getting 31 pts, 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks. Then he was also a crucial contributor in the Texas game helping Missouri get the win. The Big 12 North is looking pretty good right now with several players starting to show up and Carroll is one of those players.
TEAMS PLAYING WELL
Nebraska (2-0 this week)—Don’t look now, but Nebraska is in the top half of the Big 12 as they are in a 3-game winning streak including a win over a struggling Texas team. A big match-up at Missouri this week will help shed some light on whether the Huskers can keep this momentum going. There is no harm for the Huskers to “dream big”.
Oklahoma (2-0 this week)—Oklahoma continues to win. Texas A&M and Colorado kept things close and created a scare, but the Sooners keep finding ways to win. The bad news for Oklahoma is the DUI arrest of guard Roy Willis . Baylor and Texas Tech are on the agenda this week as they try to run the table.
Kansas (2-0 this week)—Kansas is very quietly putting themselves in a great situation still sitting undefeated in conference play. Cole Aldrich (facemask and all) is dominating the boards including a career-high 18 rebounds against Oklahoma St. this weekend. However, some questions will be answered as Kansas takes on surging Missouri and Kansas St. this week. After the Jayhawk Musical video displayed for everyone over the last few weeks, Conner Teahan doesn’t mind the attention.
Kansas St. (2-0 this week)—The Wildcats have now won 5 in a row and could easily stretch that streak to 6 when they play Texas Tech before a showdown with Kansas this weekend. Jacob Pullen expects the Wildcats to finish in the top 3 of the conference. It is a real possibility at this point. They are really playing well right now.
Missouri (2-0 this week)—Missouri is probably one of the bigger surprises this season as they have won 7 of their last 8 conference games. Their full court pressure has helped create turnovers and is something that teams are having trouble preparing for. With Texas and Kansas book-ending the Iowa St. game, Missouri did not get distracted.
TEAMS UP AND DOWN
Oklahoma St. (1-1 this week)—No real surprises here as the Cowboys are playing inconsistently which has led to them being 2-5 in the conference. Bad shooting like the 26.5% in the first half against Kansas isn’t going to win games. They have a tall order playing at Texas this week as Texas should be fired up after losing their last 2 home games.
Texas Tech (1-1 this week)—Pat Knight sort of flew under the radar this week. Sad when the coach makes more news than the actual team’s performances. A win against Baylor stops the bleeding temporarily.
TOUGH WEEK
Texas (0-2 this week)—Texas is in a lot of trouble right now. They have now lost 3 with all three against the Big 12 North teams. Hopefully they can bounce back by playing Oklahoma St. and Colorado this week. Texas is putting themselves in a bad situation right now with all of these losses in the North and they still have to face the South teams again. However with fewer “big dogs” in college basketball this season, Texas may still be ok unless they totally melt down.
Baylor (0-2 this week) and Texas A&M (0-2 this week)—These two teams are lumped together this week because they are both on the verge of playing themselves out of NCAA tournament consideration. Baylor has lost 5 straight and A&M has lost 5 of 7. Both teams are looking for good conference wins and neither have gotten any yet. One team will separate itself this week as these two play each other this week. At least one of these teams will be the odd team out when it comes to Selection Sunday. Mark Turgeon has a small window left to win with Billy Gillispie’s recruits so the time is now for the Aggies to step it up.
Colorado (0-2 this week) – The only real news at Colorado this week is the story of walk-on Andrew Zehnder , who was arrested this week on suspicion of breaking into containers filled with CU merchandise. I guess he broke the lock and was about to steal things when he “realized what he was doing was wrong”.
Iowa St. (0-2 this week)—Iowa St. is just in shambles right now as they are now 1-7 in the conference and get to play cellar dweller partner Colorado this week. This one should be an ugly game. The bench players may be starting before we know it.
WEEK AHEAD AND GAMES TO WATCH
Some key match-ups this week which will shake up the standings.
- 2/9, (Big Monday) Kansas @ Missouri—This should be a great game with both teams really on a roll.
- 2/10, Oklahoma St. @ Texas—Can Texas break their 3-game losing streak including their last two home games?
- 2/11, Oklahoma @ Baylor—Baylor is on life support right now and winning this game will do something to help them save some face.
- 2/14, Nebraska @ Missouri—Nebraska gets a week off to prepare for this big game.
- 2/14, Kansas @ Kansas St.—Rivals continue their battle in the Big 12 North.
- 2/14, Texas A&M @ Baylor—These two teams are trying to separate themselves from the pack. Both heading the wrong direction.
