1. Early this morning, the NCAA cleared Kansas center Cheick Diallo to fly with the team to the Maui Invitational. Diallo still hasn’t been cleared to play, which is an important distinction for obvious reasons, but at least the possibility exists for the star freshman to suit up if he’s cleared between now and next Wednesday. Whether and when that actually happens is still anyone’s guess, but this seems like a step in the right direction for both the Mali native and his team. Diallo would hardly be a cure-all for Kansas’ woes, but his athleticism and size can help defend the paint, which is something (though not the only thing) Kansas needs in order to realize its aspirations of a deep NCAA Tournament run.
2. Sticking with the Jayhawks, Scott Phillips of NBCSports.com was in Chicago for Kansas’ Champions Classic loss to Michigan State on Tuesday, and he has some interesting thoughts on Wayne Selden‘s polarizing tenure and ruminations on how the junior could best be utilized. If you watched the game, you saw Selden look completely out of sorts, going 3-of-12 from the floor to finish with an inefficient 12 points in his first major test since the World University Games. Selden’s inconsistency, especially against quality opponents, makes it fair to wonder if the Jayhawks have another solution to their stagnant offensive play in freshman Carlton Bragg. Bragg’s play in practice has drawn rave reviews, and he’s shown that he might be able to hold his own in his limited minutes.
3. The first in-season edition of Luke Winn’s Power Rankings at SI.com is out, and it features Kansas as well as Oklahoma. We’ve spent a considerable amount of time discussing the Jayhawks already, so I’d like to focus on Winn’s thoughts on the Sooners for a bit. Like him, we’re intrigued by the possibility of Isaiah Cousins and Jordan Woodard splitting duties at the point to add some variety to the Sooners’ offense. We all know about All-American candidate Buddy Hield and how the team needs to find some consistent help for Ryan Spangler, but Cousins and Woodards’ effectiveness beyond Hield’s outbursts will be crucial to keeping opposing backcourts on their toes.
4. Oklahoma State took care of Towson in its Charleston Classic opener yesterday, but the 69-52 victory came at a cost. As Phil Forte battled for a loose ball, a Towson player landed on his left side, causing his left elbow to hyperextend. Forte spent much of the rest of the game on the bench, and although the injury doesn’t seem too serious, it appears as if the Cowboys may have to finish the weekend tournament without him. There are a couple of silver linings here, however. First, the Cowboys shouldn’t need Forte in the lineup to beat a rebuilding George Mason squad. Secondly, transfer forward Chris Olivier has stepped up to average 15.0 PPG in just 56 total minutes of action this season. That the injury happened on the first day of a tournament where the rounds are played on consecutive days makes for some bad timing, but hopefully Oklahoma State’s sharpshooter is back in action soon.
5. Texas Tech wasn’t particularly close to the NCAA Tournament’s at-large picture before last night’s 73-63 loss to Utah in Puerto Rico, but the Red Raiders still may end up kicking themselves for dropping this one. They shot terribly from three-point range in the first half and didn’t do a good job of attacking the rim, but thanks to some fortune on jump shots and Jakob Poeltl running into foul trouble, Tubby Smith’s team was able to hang around in this game much longer than expected. Eventually, though, Poeltl righted himself and the Red Raiders were unable to keep Utah guard Lorenzo Bonam from getting into the teeth of the defense. This was ultimately a missed opportunity, but Texas Tech’s effort did nothing to dissuade us from the notion that they’ll be one of the more improved teams in the Big 12 this season.

Brian Goodman (987 Posts)

Brian Goodman a Big 12 microsite writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BSGoodman.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2015 at 8:31 am by Brian Goodman and is filed under big 12, microsites, morning 5. Tagged: carlton bragg, chris olivier, isaiah cousins, jordan woodard, kansas, oklahoma, oklahoma state, phil forte, Wayne Selden. 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.