Rush The Court

TCU basketball is back! Or, at least, not where they used to be! The Horned Frogs went a perfect 13-0 in non-league play by beating up on bad opponents through the first two months of the season. Still, it was a welcome change for a team that typically struggles against anyone above, on or below their level of play. As a result, Associated Press voters rewarded TCU with a Top 25 ranking in December, a cool but misguided notion. Trent Johnson’s club won’t be a contender for Big 12 titles just yet, but it is taking the necessary steps into becoming a competitive program. They’ll likely win a handful of games in Big 12 play, and they’re making inroads in recruiting the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. For those reasons alone, the perception of the program will change and, who knows, perhaps in a few years we’ll be talking about TCU as a perennial NCAA Tournament team.

Power Rankings

1. Kansas — 3 points (All voted 1st). Comment: “The Jayhawks opened their Big 12 slate with a close road win at Baylor and followed that up with a 32-point thrashing of Texas Tech at home. Kansas leads the league in offensive efficiency and defensive field goal percentage through two games. Plus, Bill Self’s squad is the 10-time defending champion.” – Chris Stone (@cstonehoops)
2. Iowa State — 6 points (All voted 2nd). Comment: “In a game where they committed 27 fouls and 18 turnovers, the Cyclones found a way to win at a West Virginia team with similar aspirations. If Kansas and Iowa State can remain undefeated until Saturday night, the winner of that game will have our top spot in next week’s rankings.” – Nate Kotisso (@natekotisso)
3. Oklahoma — 9 points (All voted 3rd). Comment: “The Sooners have issues of their own, as they need to get Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodard back on track. Still, they’re just two big Marcus Foster plays away from being undefeated, so it’s hardly time to sound any alarms.” – Brian Goodman (@BSGoodman)
4. West Virginia — 15 points (Nate-4th, Brian-5th, Chris-6th). Comment: “Take me away from home, Mountain momma. Oklahoma invades Morgantown tonight after a home loss to Kansas State while West Virginia is attempting to shrug off its own home loss to Iowa State on Saturday. The ol’ something’s gotta give game.” – NK
5. Oklahoma State — 16 points (Chris-4th, Brian & Nate-6th). Comment: “Phil Forte has taken such a big leap in his junior year that it’s fair to ask whether this year’s Cowboys team is better than last year’s despite losing a lottery pick in Marcus Smart.” – BG
6. Texas — 17 points (Chris & Nate-5th, Brian-7th). Comment: “Texas has lost two straight after winning its opener against Texas Tech. The Longhorns have yet to find consistent offense as Isaiah Taylor and Jonathan Holmes have struggled to open Big 12 play. If they can’t sort it out, this team won’t be the potential league challenger it was billed as.” – CS
7. Baylor — 20 points (Brian-4th, Chris & Nate-8th). Comment: “The Bears are one of the stranger teams in the country. They have a top-20 offense but shoot an abysmal 45.1 percent on twos, relying heavily on putbacks, ball control, three-pointers and free throws for their points. They don’t have a win that sticks out but that could change tomorrow.” – BG
8. Kansas State — 22 points (Chris & Nate-7th, Brian-8th). Comment: “We’re starting with the Wildcats at eighth, not because we’re ignoring their win at Oklahoma but due to the hole they’ve dug for themselves in November and December. Saturday’s effort was commendable but Kansas State needs to prove that it is capable of putting a few victories together before moving them up.” – NK
9. TCU — 27 points (All voted 9th). Comment: “The Horned Frogs have played three competitive games to open Big 12 play. Despite losing all of them, TCU could be poised to pick up its first Big 12 win in over a year at Texas Tech on Saturday.” – CS
10. Texas Tech — 30 points (All voted 10th). Comment: “The Red Raiders just don’t have the experience (or the talent) to keep pace in the conference, and it hasn’t helped that their most important senior, Robert Turner, has regressed.” – BG

Big 12 Video/GIF of the Week

The Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge is a wonderful cause. A group of coaches across the country select a charity of their choice, and based on online voting, Infiniti will donate $100,000 to the winning charity while also giving $1,000 to each charity. The Infiniti Coaches’ Charity Challenge also provides us with ads that show a different side of the college coaches who are involved with the cause. If you haven’t seen this ad featuring Iowa State’s Fred Hoiberg, or are interested in laughing at his laughable dance moves for a millionth time, please watch!

And thanks to VICE Sports, here are the accompanying GIFs:

Again, it’s for charity.

Five Big 12 Games You Better Watch This Week

1. Tuesday: Oklahoma State at Kansas (6:00 PM CT, ESPN2)
2. Tuesday: Oklahoma at West Virginia (6:00 PM CT, ESPNews)
3. Wednesday: Iowa State at Baylor (8:00 PM CT, ESPNU)
4. Saturday: West Virginia at Texas (5:15 PM CT, ESPN)
5. Saturday: Kansas at Iowa State (8:00 PM CT, ESPN)