1. Bedlam is back! For the first time since Blake Griffin and James Anderson took the floor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State was must-see television over the weekend. Not only are we headed for a photo finish for the Big 12 title, the conference Player of the Year race will be just as interesting. As usual, Marcus Smart did Marcus Smart things Saturday afternoon, scoring a career-high 28 points to go along with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. The Cowboys are playing their best basketball at the right time. Also, how big will Wednesday’s game vs. Kansas be?
2. Kansas State got its fifth win in the last six games with a blowout win over Baylor on Saturday. Sure the usual suspects did their job for the Wildcats but it was a seven-foot senior who had his best game of the season. Jordan Henriquez posted 10 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots but it isn’t his first time lighting up the Bears inside. In last year’s Big 12 Tournament, the big Wildcat dropped 22 points, 14 rebounds and blocked four more shots in a loss. K-State still has to make a return trip to Waco in two weeks so I’d count on Henriquez to make an impact if they were to win that one.
3. So the first game back for Myck Kabongo and he helps Texas to a come-from-behind, double-overtime win against Iowa State. How was he against Kansas? How about 2-of-10 shooting, zero assists, three turnovers and a 26-point loss. But it wasn’t entirely his fault. Both teams turned the ball over 14 times plus Kansas only held a three-rebound edge on the glass. The problem is that Texas only made 12 shots for entire game including 19 missed three-pointers. Forward Ioannis Papapetrou summed it up best after the game: “It is just different playing at home.” You’re telling me.
4. Despite everything that’s happened, West Virginia finds itself at 6-6 in Big 12 play. Of course I’ll point out that their six wins have come via season sweeps of Texas, Texas Tech and TCU, but even that is a surprise because WVU is not a good basketball team. The Mountaineers’ final third of conference play will come against teams that are firmly in the NCAA Tournament conversation or fighting for their Tournament lives. What if they had the audacity to run the table and win a game or two in the Big 12 Tournament? It likely won’t happen but it would make for some compelling TV on Selection Sunday.
5. February has become the month of the Harlem Shake and the Kansas basketball team has released its own version of the viral video. (For the record, the dance featured in the video is not the actual Harlem Shake dance. The real dance was conceptualized in the early 1980s.) The video features a cameo from the very serious Bill Self but I’ll venture to say his appearance has nothing on Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 18th, 2013 at 7:31 am by Nate Kotisso and is filed under big 12, microsites, morning 5. Tagged: bedlam, harlem shake, jordan henriquez, kansas, kansas state, marcus smart, texas, west virginia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.