1. While it’s quite obvious Oklahoma State is just fine at the starting point guard spot with Marcus Smart, their bench depth at the position may have taken a bit of a hit when head coach Travis Ford announced Monday that freshman guard Stevie Clark had been suspended and would not make the trip with the team to South Florida on Monday night for the first round of the Old Spice Classic. Rumors began surfacing on Monday fueled by Clark’s Twitter account that led many to question whether he had quit or been kicked off the team, however, The Oklahoman confirmed that Clark was still a member of the Cowboy backcourt, at least for the time being. Clark has averaged 9.8 points per game and has a team high 20 assists this season.
2. Texas fell to BYU 86-82 on Monday night in the CBE Classic in Kansas City, and while the outcome may have disappointed some Longhorn fans, Texas has to be encouraged with how they competed with a fringe-Top 25 Cougar team. More importantly, the performance by Texas big man Cameron Ridley may have been the best of his career, contributing 12 points, 10 rebounds, and six blocks. If Texas has plans of competing in the top half of the league this year, establishing interior scoring will be key.
3. Interested in catching a Kansas home game at Allen Fieldhouse this season? If so, you had better bring your checkbook. A report issued on Monday by Vivid Seats, an online ticket marketplace, stated that tickets for Jayhawk home games on the secondary ticket market were selling for an average price of $265, tops in the nation ahead of Kentucky ($200) and Duke ($179). One of the hottest topics in college athletics revolves around the idea of paying athletes, and given the fact that fans are paying on average a quarter of a thousand dollars per game to watch these players, you can’t help but understand the argument.
4. For as much criticism as Baylor head coach Scott Drew takes in the eyes of the public for his coaching track record, there’s no denying the positive impact he’s had on the program since arriving in Waco. On Monday night, Baylor made their first appearance in 26 years in the EA Sports Maui Invitational against host school Chaminade. It’s not that Drew has turned down opportunities to play in Maui, it’s just that it’s hard to get such an invitation. The Bears won their first game of the tournament handily by overcoming an amazing performance by Chaminade guard Christophe Veridel, who poured in 42 points in a loss for the Silver Swords.
5. The Big 12 has capitalized on opportunities for impressive non-conference wins so far this season, with the most recent coming last week when Iowa State won at BYU. Iowa State senior guard DeAndre Kane was an important factor in the win, contributing 21 points and 11 rebounds, earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors for the second time this season. After the departure of Korie Lucious a season ago, it was important for Fred Hoiberg to once again blend transfer talent in Ames this season, and it appears the addition of Kane will allow the Cyclones to challenge for a top spot in the conference this year.

Taylor Erickson (54 Posts)

Taylor Erickson is a Big 12 contributor for RTC. You can follow him on Twitter @tc_erickson.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 26th, 2013 at 9:01 am by Taylor Erickson and is filed under big 12, microsites, morning 5. Tagged: baylor, DeAndre Kane, kansas, stevie clark, texas. 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.