1. Texas fell to Oklahoma in its Big 12 home opener on Monday night, and the 21-point margin of defeat was unexpectedly large, causing both head coach Rick Barnes and his players to afterward challenge the team’s effort and pride. Effort and pride may certainly have played a part in the defeat, but the loss to Oklahoma may be symptomatic of a larger problem for a Longhorns squad that shot just 30.o percent from the field. Texas hasn’t shown an ability to score at an elite level this season, posting an adjusted offensive efficiency of 106.0 that ranks 61st nationally, according to KenPom. Part of the problem? According to Barnes, the players can’t remember their plays. “I don’t even know if we can be a good offensive team or not,” Barnes said. “We can’t even remember the play half the time.” That responsibility, of course, falls on the head coach who will need to give his players some mnemonic devices or other forms of memory training in order to make a deep run in March.
2. While Texas struggled, Oklahoma continues to improve. Lon Kruger pulled off what may turn out to be the most important transfer move in the Big 12 this year with the addition of senior TaShawn Thomas. He has provided the Sooners with a legitimate inside threat and is becoming an increasingly important part of the Oklahoma offense. He finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds against the Longhorns, which marks the sixth time in the last seven games that he has scored in double figures. Although the transfer wasn’t very efficient in getting his numbers, the fact that he attempted 17 shots in the game suggests that he’s becoming a robust option inside. Thomas also came through with an early contender for best dunk during conference play with a big finish on a couple of Texas bigs, resulting in a fantastic bench celebration from the Sooners’ reserves.
3. Kansas will open its Big 12 season tonight on the road at Baylor, and while the Jayhawks have won at least a share of the last 10 Big 12 regular season titles, the odds seem somewhat stacked against them this year. Ken Pomeroy’s conference predictions currently project Texas, Oklahoma, and West Virginia to finish ahead of Kansas in the league standings this season. The biggest worry for head coach Bill Self at this point is the Jayhawks’ defense. Self’s teams have always prided themselves on being one of the better defensive teams in the conference and country, but Kansas is entering league play with a field goal percentage defense that ranks eighth among Big 12 teams. That number will need to improve in order for Kansas to win an 11th straight Big 12 championship in what is shaping up to be the most competitive league in the country.
4. In what is a bit of an odd arrangement, TCU is playing its home games this season at Wilkerson-Greines, which is an off-campus athletic facility owned by the Fort Worth school district. Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, the usual home of the Horned Frogs, is currently undergoing renovations. On Monday, TCU head coach Trent Johnson defended his team from critics who have suggested that the change of venue is the reason behind the Horned Frogs’ improved defense. “The rim is 10 feet,” Johnson said, “The only advantage we have, if any, is that if we come out and play extremely hard and rebound. It creates an advantage against certain teams regardless of where you play or when you play.” The Horned Frogs have the sixth-best field goal percentage defense in the country, allowing opponents to shoot only 34.7 percent on the season. If Johnson’s guys are able to keep that up, they’ll be able to pick up a great number more conference wins than last season.
5. Oklahoma State’s Phil Forte was named the conference’s player of the week after scoring 41 points on 14-of-24 shooting in the Cowboys’ wins over Missouri and Kansas State. Forte has always been a knock-down outside shooter for Travis Ford’s squad, but his offensive role has increased so that he is finishing five percent more of the Cowboys’ possessions and his 17.3 points per game is tied with teammate Le’Bryan Nash for the Big 12 lead. If Oklahoma State is to make it back to the NCAA Tournament this season, Forte must continue to exhibit a high level of play over the next couple months of action.

1. Big 12 conference play got under way over the weekend and the biggest story line was the return of point guard Isaiah Taylor to the Texas lineup in the Longhorns 70-61 victory over Texas Tech. Taylor had missed the last 10 games with a wrist injury. He was rusty on the offensive end, hitting only two of his ten field goal attempts, but his defense proved impactful. The sophomore recorded four steals in the game as Texas forced the Red Raiders to turn the ball over on 22.4 percent of their possessions. Texas has one of the best defenses in the country, but has been unable to create turnovers in Taylor’s absence. His return should provide the Longhorns with an even more effective defensive scheme in league play.
2. In their final non-conference game, Iowa State fell 64-60 to unranked South Carolina at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Saturday. The Cyclones are shooting 34.5 percent from behind the arc this season, but connected on only one of 18 attempts against the Gamecocks in Brooklyn. Given that Fred Hoiberg’s squad is shooting 40 percent of their field goal attempts from behind the three-point line, that’s not a recipe for success in Big 12 play. As Randy Peterson of The Des-Moines Register pointed out, Iowa State may be able to survive against the bottom of the league with their “B-games,” but in order to compete for a conference championship, the Cyclones must knock down their three-pointers and match the physicality of the other top teams in the Big 12.
3. Baylor entered conference play as one of the more intriguing teams in the Big 12. Despite losing three of their four leading scorers from last season, the Bears have found themselves ranked highly in Ken Pomeroy’s efficiency ratings, but Baylor lost their conference opener on Saturday to Oklahoma, 73-63. The Sooners were able to shoot 8-for-22 from behind the three-point line in the win. Bears’ wing Taurean Prince noted after the game, “We did a poor job of limiting their 3s. We have to do a better job of closing out defensively on the perimeter. We missed some defensive assignments and made some bone-headed plays that we normally make.” Closing down the three-point line will be an important component of Baylor’s defense in the near future. The Bears take on a Kansas team that is shooting 39.2 percent from behind the arc on Wednesday night.
4. Speaking of Kansas, the Jayhawks closed out their non-conference slate with a 76-61 victory over UNLV on Sunday afternoon. Kansas was paced by point guard Frank Mason who finished with 18 points, seven assists, four rebounds, and four steals in the win. During the Jayhawks’ loss to Temple, NBC Sports‘ Rob Dauster called Mason a “mid major PG,” but the sophomore has been much better than that. Since their loss to Kentucky, Mason is providing the Jayhawks with 12.9 points, 4.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game. The sophomore is giving Bill Self his best point guard play since Sherron Collins was in Lawrence. Self will need Mason to continue to play at such a high level if Kansas is to compete for an 11th straight Big 12 title.
5. Finally, Bleacher Report’s Jason King created a bit of a stir amongst Big 12 fans on Twitter Sunday night when he proclaimed that he’s not buying the league as the best conference in America. King is a graduate of Baylor and was a longtime writer for The Kansas City Star, so he’s certainly familiar with the Big 12. However, the numbers tell a different story than the one King is crafting. KenPom’s efficiency ratings suggest that the Big 12 is tops and it’s not particularly close. The gap between the Big 12 and King’s favored conference, the ACC, is larger than the gap between the ACC and the fifth ranked conference, the SEC. The Big 12 looks poised to send over half of the league’s teams to the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row. Despite King’s claims about the top tier of the ACC, the Big 12 remains the best conference in America.

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

Junior college transfer Devaugntah Williams has made a big impact for the Red Raiders. (Texas Tech Athletics)

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.

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Fred Hoiberg’s activity in the transfer market continued over the weekend when former Marquette wing Deonte Burton committed to play for Iowa State next season. Marquette coach Steve Wojciechowski announced Burton would be leaving the program back on December 9. The sophomore will be able to play for the Cyclones after the first semester of next year and will have one and a half years of eligibility remaining. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello is reporting that Burton will ask the NCAA for a waiver to receive this year of eligibility back due to the passing of his mother in October.

Marquette transfer Deonte Burton is headed to Iowa State (Jeff Hanisch/USA Today)

Burton is an intriguing case for Iowa State. He was recruited to Marquette by Buzz Williams who left for Virginia Tech after last season. Burton was the 52nd ranked player in the Class of 2013 according to Rivals, and was billed as an explosive slasher who need to improve on his jump shot in order to live up to his potential. During his freshman season, the 6-foot-4 wing only played 12.6 minutes per game but his averages of 6.9 points and 2.2 rebounds resulted in per 40 minutes numbers (22.1 points and 6.9 rebounds) that suggested a potential breakout sophomore season. Unfortunately, through nine games, it hasn’t materialized. Burton is playing more minutes (16.1) this season, but his scoring (6.4) and rebounding (1.4) numbers are down.

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Kansas head coach Bill Self announced prior to the Jayhawks’ win against Utah on Saturday that freshman guard Devonte’ Graham will miss at least the next four weeks after suffering a severely sprained right big toe in a 75-70 victory over Georgetown last Wednesday. The injury is not likely to require surgery, but the team’s doctors told Self it is possible that Graham won’t return this season. Although the team isn’t planning for it, Kansas would likely seek a medical redshirt if Graham is unable to return. According to Self, “The doctors feel he can come back but also say he may not come back. We’ll have to make a decision before the first half of the season is probably over so we can obviously utilize a medical redshirt if we need to, but we’re not thinking like that.”

Kansas will be without freshman guard Devonte’ Graham for at least four weeks (Nick Krug/KU Sports)

The loss only magnifies Kansas’ lack of depth at the point guard position after the preseason transfer of sophomore Conner Frankamp, as Graham and Frank Mason III are the only two point guards on scholarship. Prior to his injury, the freshman was averaging 14.9 minutes per game, mostly as the backup point guard, but Self has also used Graham and Mason together to increase defensive pressure on ball-handlers. “Just watching the game, we put so much more pressure on the defense when those guys were in there together, as opposed to when just one of them was in the game,” Self said in his news conference last Monday. Indeed, Kansas will miss Graham defensively. His 4.1 percent steal percentage would rank in the top 100 in the country if he had enough minutes to qualify. That number is important because a high steal percentage has correlated well with the Jayhawks’ best defensive efficiency numbers throughout Self’s tenure.

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Iowa State will be without starting wing Bryce Dejean-Jones for tonight’s big game against intrastate rival Iowa. The senior was suspended by head coach Fred Hoiberg following his arrest Thursday morning involving a noise disturbance at his home in Ames. Police found marijuana in the apartment and he was eventually charged with three offenses. The most serious charge, hosting a drug house, was dropped because officers were found to not have sufficient probable cause, but the other two charges relating to the noise disturbance remain pending, according to the Des Moines Register‘s Tommy Birch.

Iowa State will be without Bryce Dejean-Jones against Iowa on Friday. (Cyclones.com)

According to KenPom’s predictions, home team Iowa was already a four-point favorite over the Cyclones prior to the suspension. His absence will likely increase that number as Dejean-Jones represents a significant component of the Iowa State offense. The UNLV transfer has found his way in Hoiberg’s system, averaging 17.1 points per game while taking 23.1 percent of the team’s shots when he’s on the floor. Unlike Kansas’ situation with Jamari Traylor earlier this week, it will be more difficult for the Cyclones to find a replacement for Dejean-Jones’ production because he has been so critical to their offense. The senior is currently shooting 56.8 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent from behind the three-point line, and 89.7 percent on free throws, all while being the team’s leading rebounder with 6.9 boards per game.

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As Brian Goodman noted in today’s Big 12 Morning 5, Kansas forward Jamari Traylor was arrested early Sunday morning for interfering with the duties of a police officer at a Lawrence nightclub. On Monday afternoon, head coach Bill Self doled out the punishment for his transgression by announcing that Traylor would be allowed to travel with the Jayhawks to Washington D.C. for Wednesday’s game against Georgetown, but he will not play. That appears to be the extent of Traylor’s sentence on the basketball court. Self closed the matter by saying, “Hopefully it’ll be a situation where we can put it behind us.”

Jamari Traylor will be on the bench when Kansas takes on Georgetown (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Traylor’s suspension means Kansas will be without the junior forward for its first true road game of the season. The Hoyas’ frontcourt is anchored by 6’10”, 350-pound senior Josh Smith, who averages 12.7 points per game as Georgetown’s most used player (28.4 percent of their possessions while on the floor). Traylor’s loss will be felt most acutely as Kansas tries to defend the burly but talented Smith in the paint, as his presence off the bench provides Self with another experienced body to utilize should Landen Lucas or Cliff Alexander end up in foul trouble. In the absence of Traylor, the Jayhawks may now need to rely on little-used big man Hunter Mickelson instead. The 6’10” junior transfer has played only 4.6 percent of his team’s minutes this season, but he could be called on for more significant duty on Wednesday. If Mickelson can contribute like he did during a freshman year at Arkansas when he blocked 13.5 percent of opponents’ shots, then Kansas shouldn’t miss Traylor much defensively.

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In a loaded Feast Week of action, several Big 12 schools will head to a neutral site to take on all comers and hopefully build their resumes. Let’s take a look at each, this time with Oklahoma in the Bahamas.  

Catching Up: Oklahoma opened its season led by an impressive performance from junior Buddy Hield. Hield, a likely All-Big 12 first teamer, scored 25 points and hit seven 3-pointers in the Sooners’ 25 point win over Southeastern Louisiana. However, Oklahoma stumbled on the road against Creighton in their second game when they gave up an 18 point lead in the second half and fell to the Bluejays in Omaha. OU bounced back against Northwestern State behind 20 points from junior Isaiah Cousins. The addition of TaShawn Thomas gave the Sooners one of the best starting fives in the Big 12 and although Thomas hasn’t lived up to the expectations yet (averaging just 8.0 points 4.3 rebounds per game), expect him to get acclimated to coach Lon Kruger’s system in the near future.

Buddy Hield will lead Oklahoma into the Battle 4 Atlantis

Opening Round Preview: Oklahoma opens the tournament on Wednesday afternoon when they square off with Steve Alford’s UCLA squad.  Alford has his team playing well and ranked in both of the top 25 polls. The Bruins have started the season with one of the top 10 offenses in the country according to KenPom with five players averaging double figure points through four games. Two of those players, Bryce Alford and Norman Powell, are scoring over 20 points per game. The good news for Oklahoma is that the Bruins have played one of the worst schedules in Division I so far. UCLA’s first four games rank 328th in strength of schedule according to KenPom. On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma should be able to challenge the perimeter players of UCLA with the likes of Hield, Cousins, and Jordan Woodard. The Sooners possess the outside shooting (40.9 percent on 3-pointers) to challenge the Bruins should Steve Alford choose to play zone and are balanced enough with the addition of Thomas against a man-to-man defense. With two high powered offenses, this contest will likely be a fan-pleasing, high-scoring affair. A win would bolster the resume of either team and, in particular, would be a great way for the Sooners to bounce back from their defeat at Creighton.

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Texas will be without point guard Isaiah Taylor for “several weeks,” according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman, a report that was later confirmed by Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports and Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog. Taylor injured his wrist in the Longhorns’ 71-57 win over Iowa when he was hit by Iowa forward Gabe Olaseni while driving to the basket. According to Goodman’s source, the injury is not “season-ending,” and Taylor will be re-evaluated to determine if there is a fracture in the wrist when the team returns to Austin after tonight’s game against California. Taylor, a 6’1″ sophomore, averaged 12.7 points and 4.0 assists per game during his freshman season in Austin. Through three games of 2014-15, he has been the Longhorns’ leading scorer at 15.0 points per game while shooting an outstanding 60.0 percent effective field goal rate. Taylor’s loss from the lineup won’t just hurt Texas offensively, though, as the guard is also swiping 1.3 steals per game this year.

Isaiah Taylor was injured late in Texas’ win over Iowa on Tuesday (Associated Press)

The injury obviously looms large for a surging Texas team. The sophomore has been an integral piece on both ends of the floor for the Longhorns and their schedule is not particularly forgiving in the short-term. Texas will face California in the finals of the 2KSports Classsic tonight, a team that our own Brian Goodman predicted it would handle easily. However, the Longhorns will now face the Golden Bears without Taylor, which will make it harder to defend a deep California backcourt that includes Tyrone Wallace and Jabari Bird. Over the coming weeks, Texas is scheduled for away games against defending national champion Connecticut and top-ranked Kentucky — two teams that also feature strong guard play with Ryan Boatright and the Harrison twins leading the way. Looking beyond those contests, Texas will need a healthy Taylor to compete in the Big 12 where they have the potential to challenge perennial favorite Kansas.

Taylor’s injury also has implications for the rest of the Big 12. The conference got off to a rough start on Wednesday night when Oklahoma lost on the road at Creighton. Additional non-conference losses will put the league at a disadvantage come Selection Sunday because they drag down the league’s overall RPI. After sending seven teams to the NCAA Tournament last season, the conference will be aiming to achieve that mark again this year with depth that is unmatched by few conferences around the country. For the sake of Texas and the Big 12, hopefully Taylor’s injury is manageable so that he’ll be back on the court very soon.

The 2014-15 Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 watch list released on Monday features 10 players from the Big 12. League favorite Kansas leads the conference with four selections — a number matched only by the top-ranked (and tonight’s opponent in the Champions Classic) Kentucky Wildcats. Five other Big 12 schools are also represented on the list, including Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia. The conference most recently won the award when Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin took home the honor at the end of the 2008-09 season.

Juwan Staten is one of 10 Big 12 players on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 watch list.

This year’s watch list features three Big 12 freshmen, all of whom were top 10 recruits according to Rivals. Kansas’ Cliff Alexander began the season by playing 12 minutes in a 69-59 victory over UC Santa Barbara last Friday, scoring nine points and grabbing four rebounds behind the more experienced frontcourt players, Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor. The second Kansas freshman on the list, Kelly Oubre Jr., played only four minutes in Friday’s contest. Oubre has struggled to find his place in Bill Self’s rotation, playing behind sophomore Brannen Greene and freshman Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk and having a minimal impact against UCSB. While Oubre struggled, Texas center Myles Turner opened the season with a bang against North Dakota State, scoring 15 points and pulling down six rebounds in 20 minutes of playing time in the 85-50 victory. He followed up that performance with a 10-point, seven-rebound, six-block game in an 85-53 win over Alcorn State on Sunday night.

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