Rush The Court

How was your weekend?

Because it wasn’t such a great one for anyone affiliated with Oklahoma State’s men’s basketball program. Marcus Smart’s three-game suspension was handed down on Sunday, meaning the potential lottery pick will be unavailable in a crucial contest Tuesday at Texas followed by grudge matches against Oklahoma and Baylor. Lost in all the Marcus Smart-Jeff Orr confrontation talk and ESPN’s redundant wall-to-wall coverage of it is the future of Cowboys’ head coach Travis Ford. It wouldn’t surprise me if he were a nervous wreck with all the pressure — lofty preseason expectations; the injury of a key inside player; dismissal of another guy; and now this. Ford seemed to get choked up during his press conference on Sunday while defending his star guard’s character, but that isn’t the only reason he almost lost it in front of the assembled media. He knows that his job is in jeopardy. And that’s a hard thing to swallow as a coach — knowing that you are expected to win now and things aren’t working out in your favor. Our weekly Big 12 power rankings continue on, regardless.

1. Kansas — 4 points (previous: 1st; Brian, Kory, Nate & Taylor-1st)

Comment: “The Jayhawks weren’t going to go undefeated in the Big 12 and they’ll likely lose at least one more game. But with a two-game lead on Texas with eight games to go, their 10th consecutive conference title is almost in the bag.” – Kory Carpenter (@Kory_Carpenter)

2. Texas — 8 points (previous: 2nd; Brian, Kory, Nate & Taylor-2nd)

Comment: “Similar to the way Texas manhandled Kansas last weekend, it wasn’t surprising that the Longhorns lost but it was surprising to see just how badly Kansas State took it to them.  Home games this week against a struggling Oklahoma State team and West Virginia are big before road trips to Ames and Lawrence next week.” – Taylor Erickson (@tc_erickson)

3. Iowa State — 13 points (previous: 3rd; Brian, Nate & Taylor-3rd, Kory-4th)

Comment: “Lost in the shuffle of everything Marcus Smart was Melvin Ejim’s career day against TCU. I’m just going to leave this shot chart of his here.” (h/t to CBSSports.com) – Brian Goodman (@BSGoodman)

4. Oklahoma — 15 points (previous: 4th; Kory-3rd, Brian, Nate & Taylor-4th)

Comment: “Let’s show some love for point guard Jordan Woodard. He’s averaging 11.7 points and 4.8 assists per game, shooting 38.5 percent from the perimeter and — oh, did I mention that he’s only a freshman? It’s not Woodard’s fault he plays in a league stocked with elite point guards. Lon Kruger has found himself another good one.” – Nate Kotisso (@natekotisso)

5. Kansas State — 20 points (previous: 6th; Brian, Kory, Nate & Taylor-5th)

Comment: “The Wildcats have posted defensive rebounding numbers below 67 percent in six of their last eight games. If the front line can’t keep opponents from getting so many second chances, it will be tough for Kansas State to pull out many wins from their remaining schedule.” – BG

6. West Virginia — 26 points (previous: 7th; Kory & Nate-6th, Brian & Taylor-7th)

Comment: “The biggest question now becomes whether can the Mountaineers make a run down the stretch to put themselves in position to earn an NCAA Tournament bid? Watching how West Virginia competed in Lawrence behind Juwan Staten and Eron Harris, it’d be hard to argue that they don’t pass the eye test.” – TE

7. Oklahoma State — 28 points (previous: 5th; Brian & Taylor-6th, Kory & Nate-8th)

Comment: “Has there been another team with Final Four aspirations like the 2013-14 Cowboys experience their season imploding BEFORE March? Because I can’t think of one.” – NK

8. Texas Tech — 31 points (previous: 9th; Kory & Nate-7th, Brian-8th, Taylor-9th)

Comment: “It’s been long forgotten by now, but the Red Raiders won a basketball game against Oklahoma State on Saturday night and are now 4-6 in conference play.” – KC

9. Baylor — 35 points (previous: 8th; Taylor-8th, Brian, Kory & Nate-9th)

Comment: “Time for some real talk, Bears fans: Baylor won’t make the NCAA Tournament this year. It’s amazing to say this about a team that has Kentucky and Colorado as wins on its resume and gave a very tough game to the No. 1 team in college basketball. I thought the Oklahoma State win was a turning point in their season but they came out Tuesday and laid an egg against Kansas on their home floor. A similarly-shaped egg was laid at Oklahoma on Saturday. On top of that, Tournament teams don’t have one conference win at home.” – NK

10. TCU — 40 points (previous: 10th; Brian, Kory, Nate & Taylor-10th)

Comment: “The Horned Frogs are still looking for their first win in 2014.” – KC

Big 12 Video/GIF of the Week

WARNING: Watching this Vine of Kansas’ Frank Mason break the ankles of West Virginia guard Gary Browne may spontaneously cause your ankles to break as well. Rush the Court is not responsible for any injuries sustained. Thank you. (h/t to Chris Marshall)

Five Big 12 Games You Better Watch This Week

1. Monday: Iowa State at West Virginia (6:00 PM CT, ESPNU)
2. Monday: Kansas at Kansas State (8:00 PM CT, ESPN)
3. Tuesday: Oklahoma State at Texas (6:00 PM CT, ESPN2)
4. Saturday: Oklahoma at Oklahoma State (1:00 PM CT, ESPN)
5. Saturday: West Virginia at Texas (7:00 PM CT, Longhorn Network)