Rush The Court

As the Big 12 schools near the completion of their non-conference schedules this week, it’s a great time to catch up on where the league’s 10 teams stand entering conference play. At this point, the bottom of the league appears likely to include Texas Tech, TCU and Kansas State, in some order or another. We’ll begin our Conference Catch-Up series with those three teams, and roll out the remainder during the rest of this week.

Texas Tech

• Key Wins: None
• Bad Losses: Houston

Texas Tech was predicted to finish in last place in the Big 12 according to the preseason coaches poll, and the Red Raiders’ non-conference play has not changed that perception. Tubby Smith’s team managed to notch a win against Auburn and played LSU to overtime in its second game of the season, but Texas Tech has lost two of its last three games and is limping into Big 12 play. After losing four of their five leading scorers from a year ago, the team’s offense has predictably failed to impress. They currently rank 221st in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, and that number makes them the worst offensive team in the Big 12 by far — over 140 spots below TCU. Junior college transfer Devaugntah Williams has been a bright spot, leading the Red Raiders in scoring at 11.4 points per contest, and the team’s defensive numbers suggest perhaps it may be able to slow the tempo and play some Big 12 teams closely. Their 10-3 record, however, is largely the product of a weak non-conference schedule, and therefore expectations for the Red Raiders should remain muted. Tubby Smith is still in the process of rebuilding this program and his team is one of the youngest in the country; it’s likely to take a few more years before Texas Tech is ready to realistically compete in the Big 12.

TCU

• Key Wins: Ole Miss
• Bad Losses: None

Surprisingly, TCU enters Big 12 play as the lone undefeated team in the conference. The obvious criticism, though, is with the Horned Frogs’ schedule. TCU’s non-conference slate currently rates as the easiest non-conference schedule in Division I basketball, so it’s not incomprehensible that it has yet to lose a game. That said, a team can only beat the other teams on its schedule, and Trent Johnson’s squad has done that in a convincing way. The Horned Frogs rank seventh in the country in scoring margin, winning their games by an average of 22.2 points and picking up a top 100 win on the road against Ole Miss at the beginning of December. Senior Kyan Anderson is scoring 13.2 points while dishing out 4.4 assists per game, and he is a major reason why the team is currently ranked in the top 100 in adjusted offensive efficiency. Perhaps more impressive, though, has been TCU’s defense. It has only allowed one opponent to score more than 70 points on the season, and it ranks fourth nationally in defensive effective field goal percentage at 38.1 percent. TCU is an intriguing team entering Big 12 play. It’s played an incredibly soft schedule, but the Horned Frogs have demolished all comers and their efficiency numbers represent that. Johnson’s team did not win a game in the league last season, but that looks poised to change this year. While the Horned Frogs certainly don’t deserve to be ranked in the Top 25 as they were last week, they shouldn’t be the laughingstock of the Big 12 again either. Expect TCU to finish near the bottom of the conference standings, but don’t be surprised if they pull off an upset or two along the way.

Kansas State

• Key Wins: Texas A&M
• Bad Losses: Long Beach State; Texas Southern

Kansas State stumbled early with a road loss to Long Beach State on its way out to the Maui Invitational. The Wildcats would go on to lose three more games before capping off a recent three-game winning streak with a top 100 win over Texas A&M. Unfortunately, Bruce Weber’s squad completed what may go down as the most epic collapse of the season last weekend, blowing a four-point lead with 3.8 seconds remaining at home against Texas Southern. The Wildcats have been a solid offensive team, exhibiting success in getting to the free throw line and shooting a robust 40.0 percent from behind the arc. Defensively, however, they’ve struggled. Their adjusted defensive efficiency numbers rank last in the Big 12, according to KenPom, and data from hoop-math.com suggests that the team’s lack of an interior presence is a problem. Opponents are attempting 37.0 percent of their shots at the rim and converting there 60.2 percent of the time. Kansas State was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 by the league’s coaches and was looking forward to another NCAA Tournament appearance. Based on their play so far, though, it’s unlikely that they will live up to those expectations. The Wildcats have shown some potential in their close loss to Arizona and win over Texas A&M, but Kansas State badly needs to improve on the defensive end of the floor in order to avoid a truly disappointing campaign.