- Part of the reason for Oklahoma’s modest improvement under Lon Kruger this season has been the play of point guard Sam Grooms, who ranks near the top of the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio. In a loss to Cincinnati last week, however, the junior college transfer faced his first major adversity of the season. Grooms and the rest of the Sooners blew a double-digit lead in the second half, mostly because they could not take care of the basketball. That’s the learning curve for Grooms right now, who can correct his mistakes by helping upset Missouri tonight in Columbia. It’s a tall task, but for OU to have any chance it must protect the basketball. The Tigers’ defenders are relentless, and hopefully Cincy was a tune-up for Grooms and his teammates.
- Surprise, surprise: Thomas Robinson is your Player of the Week in the Big 12. With 30 points and 21 rebounds against North Dakota, it’s hard to deny him the award. Robinson has now won the award three times, and there’s no doubt who the new leader on this re-made Kansas team is. Robinson made 14-of-20 field goals last week in games against Howard and North Dakota, averaging 14 rebounds in those contests. All season long, the 6’10” forward has terrorized opponents, and don’t expect that to stop just because the competition is improving. He’s as good as it gets in this league… and around the nation.
- John Lucas III is “famous” for a few things. First of all, he plays for the Chicago Bulls. And second of all, you surely remember him leading Oklahoma State to the Final Four in 2004. Still, it’s easy to forget that Lucas is part of Big 12 history in another way. He was originally at Baylor during the Patrick Dennehy murder scandal, though he said he had already decided to transfer before the incident due to playing time issues. That case is well-documented so it’d be silly to rehash it here, but it’s nice to see that Lucas’ basketball career turned out just fine.
- Yep, you guessed it– here’s another Big 12 Conference preview article, this time from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Situated in the state of Missouri, this paper has a bit of a different outlook considering Missouri is leaving for the SEC after the season. From that perspective, it’s interesting to consider what could happen if the Tigers win the league in their final year. The article is also worth reading because that endlessly quotable Kim Mulkey comment was included — you know, the one with an analogy about divorce and relationships as it pertains to the Big 12/SEC realignment. If you haven’t heard what she said about Texas A&M leaving the Big 12, then click the link and get ready for a laugh.
- And finally, we bring you a little bit of information out of Iowa State, where the Cyclones are gearing up for Big 12 play. Fred Hoiberg‘s team is still unproven at this point, and it just recently survived a two-point win over Mississippi Valley State. In that game, Royce White played just three minutes and he said he felt “dead” after the game. That’s how important the forward is to this basketball team. Melvin Ejim is another important part of this team, but after a stellar freshman season, he has found a new role on the bench. But he’s not having any trouble adjusting, especially after a double-double against MVSU. “I don’t mind. I think I’ve been playing well,” Ejim said. That’s got to be nice for Hoiberg to hear.