For his first couple of years in a Kansas uniform, senior center Jeff Withey’s game reflected his nonchalant personality to a fault. A California native, Withey transferred from Arizona in December of 2008 and became eligible midway through the 2009-10 season. He was a non-factor for almost two years, averaging 2.3 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 2010-11 as a sophomore. Two years later, his personality is still the same. After the Jayhawks defeated North Carolina last season to advance to the Final Four, Withey was speaking with a few media members on the court of the Edward Jones Dome as players celebrated and people searched for a ladder. “Excuse me,” Withey told the reporters after a few questions. “I have to go cut down the net.”

Jeff Withey is Taking His Defense to a New Level This Season (AP Photo)

Withey knows every team-first cliché in the book. He rarely talks about his numbers or dominant defense, but somebody needs to, because Withey is becoming one of the best defenders college basketball has seen in years. Last season, Withey broke the all-time NCAA Tournament record with 31 blocks in six games. He has only gotten better this year, blocking 37 shots through the season’s first six games. C.J. Moore of CBSSports.com found that if Withey was a team all by himself, he would rank 13th in the country in blocked shots. A year after Anthony Davis won nearly every National Player of the Year Award for his defense and shotblocking ability, Withey is putting up similar numbers this season.

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With a couple of weeks of games in the books, we can start getting a good gauge on Big 12 teams this season — not a great gauge this early, but good enough. The three Big 12 writers — myself, Danny, and Nate — will publish our conference power rankings every week. While a team that loses usually drops a few slots in the AP or Coaches Top 25 poll, that might not be the case here. The best teams (in our opinion at least) up until that point in the season will be on top. But don’t expect things to remain stagnant with this group of teams. There aren’t many guarantees other than TCU being pretty bad. Each of our top 10’s will be averaged out with any ties going to the higher ranked KenPom team. We’ll also try to mix it up a bit each week with a theme facing each team — this time around, we examine a player stepping up for each squad, someone who maybe wasn’t expected to shoulder as much of the load as he’s done so far this season.

1) Oklahoma State (5-0, 0-0 Big 12)
Previous Ranking: 6

Oklahoma State makes its debut at No. 1 on our list with a nice win over North Carolina State.

Last Week: W 81-51 vs. Portland State

This Week: Saturday @ Virginia Tech, 2:00 PM CST

• Rundown: With the return of sophomore guard Le’Bryan Nash and the introduction of freshman point guard and former five-star recruit Marcus Smart, the Cowboys are 5-0 with an impressive upset of then No. 6 North Carolina State on November 18. It’s enough for them to begin the season atop the list.
• A Player Stepping Up: Junior G Markel Brown: Brown has been a nice complement to the underclassmen duo of Nash and Smart through five games this season. He’s averaging 14.6 PPG, 5.2 RPG, and 2.2 APG including a season-high 23 points on opening night against Portland State.

2) Kansas (5-1, 0-0)
Previous Ranking: 1

Last Week: W 78-41 vs. Washington State, W 73-59 vs. Saint Louis

This Week: W 70-57 vs San Jose State, Friday vs. Oregon State, 7:00 PM

• Rundown: The Jayhawks should have beaten Michigan State a few weeks ago but struggled down the stretch, eventually losing, 67-64. They’ve also looked less than impressive at times against subpar competition at home. Southeast Missouri State got within striking distance in the second half, Chattanooga held an eight-point halftime lead, and San Jose State lost by only 13 on Monday night in Allen Fieldhouse. Bill Self will have this group improved by conference play, but for now, they’re going to continue to be inconsistent while the freshmen get acclimated.
• A Player Stepping Up: Senior G Travis Releford: The senior guard was named Big 12 Player of the Week last week after averaging 20 points in wins over Washington State and Saint Louis in the CBE Classic. Never a true first or second option on offense, Releford is Bill Self’s go-to defender on the perimeter and he’s a nearly automatic in transition.

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1. Wednesday marked the first day of the early signing period, and as such, Eric Bossi of Rivals.com updated his 2013 recruiting rankings. Four Big 12 teams made the list of 30 teams, with Kansas coming in at No. 2. The Jayhawks snagged a commitment from center Joel Embiid this week, whom many recruiting experts believe will shoot up the next individual rankings, possibly into the top 20. Three four-star recruits highlight the class: guard Conner Frankamp (#31), guard Wayne Selden (#26) and guard Brannen Greene (#25). Bill Self also added three-star point guard Frank Mason (#134) to round out the group. Baylor’s three-man class is ranked 12th, led by four-star center Dominic Woodson. Big 12 newcomer West Virginia add four players including 2012 ineligible point guard Elijah Macon (56th in 2012) to put themselves at No. 24, followed immediately by Iowa State and sharp-shooting guard Matt Thomas (58th).
2. There are still a handful of top recruits unsigned and uncommitted, however — nine in Rivals.com’s top 30, to be exact. Wing Andrew Wiggins recently reclassified to this year’s class and instantly became the No. 1 recruit on every major recruiting list. Nearly every top program is getting in on his recruitment, and Bill Self is no different. Self is also still going after No. 3 recruit F Julius Randle, who has an offer from Oklahoma as well. Other uncommitted players with Kansas offers include: small forward Aaron Gordon (#6), center Dakari Johnson (#13), power forward Jermaine Lawrence (#21), and shooting guard Keith Frazier (#22). Additionally, the No. 16 recruit, shooting guard Isaac Hamilton, is being recruited by four Big 12 schools: Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas, and TCU.
3. Rumors are swirling about a potential Big 12/SEC Challenge beginning next season, similar to the Big 10/ACC challenge we have every year. The SEC’s 10 best teams (roughly) would play all 10 Big 12 teams, and it could produce some headline-grabbing match-ups if done right. The one potential game fans won’t see, however, is the one that would garner the most ratings: Kansas and Missouri. “Both conferences know their schools well enough to know what their wishes are,” KU associate AD Jim Marchiony told the Kansas City Star‘s Rustin Dodd recently. Translation: KU told the Big 12 they would not agree to play Missouri, and the Big 12 agreed.
4. Just before signing with Kansas State, three-star small forward Alex Etherington out of Arcadia, Indiana, re-opened his commitment, as reported by Indiana Basketball Source. Etherington is unranked on Rivals.com and had committed to Kansas State in June. According to the recruiting site, he also has a scholarship offer from Xavier. Kansas State received signed letters of intent on Wednesday from a pair of three-star recruits, though — shooting guard Marcus Foster and small forward Wesley Iwundu.
5. Ken Davis of Scout.com updated his Power Rankings Wednesday, with only a pair of Big 12 teams making the cut. Kansas dropped from No. 5 to No. 10 after its 67-64 loss to Michigan State on Tuesday in Atlanta. Baylor jumped up a single spot to No. 20 after two easy wins over Lehigh and Jackson State. The Bears should continue to climb the next few weeks leading up to their December 1 showdown with Kentucky. They play Boston College tonight on ESPNU and Charleston next week.

1. The annual 50-player Naismith Award watch list was unveiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club Tuesday Morning, led by Creighton guard Doug McDermott. Five Big 12 players spanning four teams made the list. They are: Baylor G Pierre Jackson, Kansas State G Rodney McGruder, Oklahoma State G Marcus Smart, Kansas G Ben McLemore, and Kansas C Jeff Withey. Jackson has looked the best so far this season, finishing with 25 points and seven assists in Sunday’s victory over Jackson State. The Naismith Award winner will be announced on April 7 in Atlanta.
2. Bill Self didn’t seem too upset after his team’s 67-64 loss to Michigan State last night in the Champions Classic, but he told KUSports.com that it will be a while before the Jayhawks are mentally tough and “learn to compete.” He’s right. This wasn’t a 34-point loss like what West Virginia suffered at Gonzaga late Monday night. There weren’t any demoralizing aspects to last night’s game. Kansas is young. “Green and naive,” Self called his freshmen. And there will be a few more of these close losses throughout the non-conference season as Kansas preps for another Big 12 championship run. A bright spot in the loss was the solid game from redshirt freshman Ben McLemore, who had 14 points on 5-7 shooting. His athleticism and three-point shooting will be key for the Jayhawks’ development this year.
3. Former Iowa State forward Royce White has the talent to make a nice living in the NBA, but his battle with anxiety might be derailing that career before he signs another contract. White’s fear of flying has been well noted by now. He missed parts of the Rockets training camp this season after missing flights, eventually figuring out a travel plan with the team that would allow him to bus to away games when practical. Monday, White skipped his team’s game against the Miami Heat and was absent from Tuesday’s practice as well after the team planned to send him down to the D-League. Today, White released a statement. Part of it reads, “As a rookie, I want to settle into a team and make progress; but since preseason the Rockets have been inconsistent with their agreement to proactively create a healthy and successful relationship. He later added this on twitter. Pardon me for not feeling bad for Royce White and his anxiety. Nobody forced him to sign a contract requiring him to travel across the country for seven months out of the year. If his fear of flying is as detrimental to his health as he says, he should have no problem giving back his NBA money and working at Sears instead. Otherwise, he should do his job.
4. Kansas State finalized its trip to New York City for the Preseason NIT after dismantling Alabama-Huntsville Tuesday in Bramlage Coliseum, 87-26. The Wildcats will play next Wednesday in New York against Delaware, following the Blue Hens’ upset at Virginia last night. A win would put Kansas State in the championship game Friday night against what will be Pittsburgh or Michigan. The two-game trip could be a great experience for a Wildcat team still learning to play in Bruce Weber’s new system. With talented upperclassmen like Jordan Henriquez and Rodney McGruder back on board, getting acclimated with Weber is the only obstacle to another NCAA Tournament appearance for K-State.
5. Jeff Goodman of CBSSports talked about ranked teams with point guard issues this season, and Kansas and its senior guard Elijah Johnson made the list. Johnson has played off the ball in his first three years with the Jayhawks as Tyshawn Taylor ran the show. Now there’s no one else but Johnson to fill that role. He struggled in KU’s opener against Southeast Missouri State, going 1-5 from the field with just four points and one assist. In Tuesday’s 67-64 loss to Michigan State he was much improved, finishing with 16 points along with a solid floor game (four rebounds, three steals). He added just two assists, though, and it’s clear he’s not a stereotypical point guard. With so many freshman on the roster, that might not be the best thing for this year’s team. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Goodman recognized a handful of other teams with solid point guard play and didn’t take long to mention Baylor’s Pierre Jackson, who is averaging 19.5 PPG and 9.5 APG through two games.

1. Joe Rexrode of The Detroit Free Press seems to think Michigan State will have problems with Kansas‘ frontcourt tonight when the teams meet up in Atlanta in the Champions Classic. That could be, but I think Kansas will have just as many problems against Tom Izzo‘s defense. The Jayhawks struggled for a good portion of their 74-55 victory of Southeast Missouri State last Friday, going 2-21 from three-point range. With five freshmen in the rotation, the offense looked lost at times. Elijah Johnson is still getting used to running the point and Jeff Withey has never been the #1 scoring option down low in college. Until those issues get sorted out, it’s hard to predict a convincing win over a team like Michigan State even if they are overrated to this point. Both defenses were impressive last week and we should see a low scoring affair tonight in Atlanta. Don’t be surprised if neither team cracks 65.
2. Yesterday, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf had 24 questions for today’s 24-hour hoops marathon. Here’s what I think about his five questions regarding the Big 12: Will Michigan State Open With Two Losses Again? No. Will Gonzaga Beat The Big 12? (The Zags play Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Baylor after beating West Virginia last night 84-50) I think they go 3-1 with that slate, the lone defeat coming against Baylor. Are Kansas State And West Virginia Underrated? Not at all. The Mountaineers don’t have enough experienced scoring and Bruce Weber is still Bruce Weber. Is Kansas ready for Michigan State? Similar to the first question, the Jayhawks could struggle against that Spartan defense. Who Will Win the Marathon’s Biggest Matchups? (Medcalf might have run out of questions by the end of this thing) Kentucky and Michigan State, but I wouldn’t bet on the Michigan State/Kansas game.
3. Yesterday, Doug Gottlieb posted an article about the four impressions he had during the first weekend of action. Oklahoma State grabbed his attention and not in a good way. The Cowboys beat UC-Davis 73-65 on Friday, an unimpressive debut for a team that’s been talked up for much of the off-season. Le’Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart were highly-touted recruits, but the freshman-sophomore duo have a long way to go to live up to expectations. Smart should be a solid distributor, but as Gottlieb noted there might not be enough scoring options for the Cowboys to win consistently this season. If that’s the case, head coach Travis Ford could be looking for a job next spring.
4. Yahoo!’s Pat Forde gave us his 25 best non-conference games in November and December, and four Big 12 teams made the list. Kansas’ meeting with Michigan State tonight is 13th, but it’s not the best Kansas game according to Forde. That goes to next month’s showdown with Ohio State in Columbus. The Jayhawks defeated the Buckeyes twice last season, once in Lawrence (78-67) and again at the Final Four (64-62). A potential Texas/North Carolina championship game in the Maui Invitational came in at #16, but those games might not be as good as the 22nd best game, Baylor at Gonzaga. After Gonzaga’s shellacking of West Virginia last night, the Kennel in Spokane will be nothing short of insane when the Bears come to town December 28.
5. After speculation that class of 2013 Center Joel Embiid would announce his college decision on Thursday, Embiid’s high school coach Justin Harden told TheShiver.com on Monday that Embiid’s announcement is coming today. He will apparently sign his Letter of Intent on Thursday, and he has narrowed his choices down to Kansas, Texas, and Florida. All three schools have visited Embiid at the Rock School in Gainesville recently in hopes of landing the four-star center, and his recruitment has been void of any big rumors up to this point. All three schools have been hot on the recruiting trail lately and all three have obvious upsides. Kansas has been putting big men in the NBA on a regular basis under Bill Self. Florida is the hometown team, and Texas is, well, in Austin. Check back later if/when Embiid makes the announcement.

1. This could be a big week for Bill Self and his 2013 recruiting class. The Jayhawks were recently named a finalist for 2013 recruit Joel Embiid, a four-star, 7’0″ center out of Gainesville, Florida. Last week, Embiid announced via Twitter that he was cutting his list to Kansas, Texas, and Florida. All three schools visited Embiid at The Rock School in Gainesville last week and he’s expected to make his announcement on Thursday. Kansas, who already has a loaded 2013 recruiting class (led by five-star guards Wayne Selden and Brannen Greene, as well as four-star guard Conner Frankamp), could solidify its case for the nation’s second-best class (behind Kentucky, of course) with a commitment from the big man. With the school’s track record of putting skilled bigs in the NBA as well as the talent on the perimeter he would be playing with, it’s hard to see Embiid not ending up in Lawrence next season.
2. In case you missed it, the guys over at Busting Brackets previewed the Big 12 last week. They discussed everything from the number of Big 12 teams making the NCAA Tournament (five) to their conference Player of the Year (Baylor’s Pierre Jackson) to the Most Disappointing Team (West Virginia.) There were a few surprises, like having Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament but not West Virginia nor Iowa State. Largely unknown Oklahoma shooting guard Steven Pledger made their First Team All-Conference list, as well as West Virginia forward Deniz Kilicli. Perhaps most surprising, though, was seeing TCU and Texas Tech with a projected eight conference victories combined. I for one don’t know where they’ll be getting all of those wins unless they’re able to schedule each other more than twice this season.
3. After the opening weekend of games, the CBSSports.com crew updated their Top 25 (and one) ranking, with three Big 12 teams making the cut. Kansas dropped from second to fourth after its less than impressive 19-point victory over Southeast Missouri State — the Jayhawk offense looked awful for large stretches of the game, not surprising considering the losses of Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson. Tuesday’s game in the Champions Classic against Michigan State might have to be shown in black and white. Baylor took a surprising fall from No. 7 to No. 17 after two convincing wins over Lehigh and Jackson State, while West Virginia debuts on the list at No. 25 in waiting to open the season tonight at Gonzaga. Why did Baylor fall again?
4. Speaking of West Virginia, tonight’s game at Gonzaga kicks off ESPN’s annual 24-hour college basketball marathon, which starts around midnight ET in Spokane and takes us everywhere from a late game in Hawaii to a 7:00 AM start at Rider. There’s 11 total games playing back-to-back throughout the day, finishing with the Champions Classic Tuesday night in Atlanta, with Kansas and Michigan State squaring off in the Georgia Dome before Duke and Kentucky complete the Marathon late Tuesday night. If you can, try staying up for all 11 games. There’s something strangely entertaining about watching a late-night game in Hawaii immediately before a pre-dawn tipoff four time zones away in New Jersey.
5. Sports Illustrated‘s Richard Deitsch has a good college basketball viewing guide here. He touches on a few Big 12-related topics, like the change in the Big Monday telecast as Fran Fraschilla takes over for Bob Knight alongside Brent Musberger. Knight wasn’t bad on the Big Monday games, but he’s old and a bit difficult to follow these days — Fraschilla’s an obvious upgrade. CBS will continue its nationally-aired Saturday afternoon games, with two games featuring Kansas (at Ohio State on December 22 and vs. Temple on January 6). The coolest bit of information Deitsch shared comes from ESPN, who will apparently have at least one game per day — outside of only five days — from now until March 10.

Over the last two weeks, we have brought you the obligatory team preview here at the Big 12 microsite. We finish up our segment with Kansas at the #1 position on our list.

The Skinny

• 2011-12 record: 32-7, 16-2 Big 12
• Key contributors lost: G Tyshawn Taylor, F Thomas Robinson
• Head coach: Bill Self, 10th season
• Projected finish: 1st

Bill Self is Looking for His Ninth Consecutive Big 12 Championship (AP)

Players change, expectations don’t. That’s what Bill Self has been telling people about coaching and playing at Kansas for at least the past few seasons. It’s not meant in a negative light, even though if it was, Self would have no one to blame but himself. What else do you expect when you give one of the most rabid fanbases in the country, at perhaps the most tradition rich school in the country, winning season after winning season? In the last six years, Kansas has more victories (197) than any school over a six-year stretch in history. That stat was largely unknown until C.J. Moore of CBSSports reported it during last season’s NCAA Tournament run. In the era of 1-and-done players and a good amount of parity, Self’s run has been remarkable.

Three things have helped him remain great in that time:

1. Allen Fieldhouse. Losses to Texas A&M in 2006-07 and Texas last year are the only home losses for Kansas the last six seasons.
2. Great players. From Mario Chalmers and Brandon Rush to Sherron Collins, Tyshawn Taylor, and Thomas Robinson. Self has great players coming to Lawrence nearly every season, and West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins has noticed. “He’s a great coach. Of course, having all those players don’t hurt either,” Bob Huggins joked at Big 12 Media Day. “Just in case you were wondering, that doesn’t hurt.”
3. Managing roster turnover. Building a team from a recruiting class into a championship contender is hard enough, no matter how many stars the players received in high school. But doing it multiple times without missing a beat is a whole different challenge.

Self calls it “bridging the gap.” Read the rest of this entry »

Over the next two weeks, we’ll bring you the obligatory team previews here at the Big 12 microsite. West Virginia at the #5 position is next on our list. 

The Skinny

2011-12 record: 19-14, 9-9 Big East

Key Contributors Gone: F Kevin Jones, G Darryl “Truck” Bryant

Head Coach: Bob Huggins, 6th season

Projected Finish: 5th

Huggy Bear is Back (AP)

Bob Huggins is back in the Big 12, and that’s nothing but good news for the conference. The former Kansas State head coach bolted for West Virginia in 2007 and is back after the Mountaineers joined the conference along with TCU this summer. His one year stint in the Big 12 in 2006-07 could help his team’s transition. Or not. “I don’t know,” Huggins said when asked about his familiarity in the league. “I know where to eat.” Huggins is just funny enough and just somber enough that you never quite know if he’s being serious or cracking a joke, like when he talked about the new round-robin schedule that will take him to every Big 12 campus this season. “I didn’t get to go to Lubbock,” he said of his 2006-07 season at Kansas State. “I almost wanted to stay so I cold get to go to Lubbock the next year.”

Huggins’ acrimonious remark towards the West Texas town was dead on to anyone who has been there, and it’s a reminder to Big 12 fans that the conference has personality again, like the days when Norm Stewart and Johnny Orr and Billy Tubbs roamed the sidelines and wrote writer’s stories with their quotes. Huggins might not be so familiar with Big 12 locales, but he is familiar with a tough basketball league. He battled Louisville, UConn, and Syracuse for conference titles in the Big East. Now he’s faced with Kansas, Baylor, and Texas. Getting to those schools won’t be easy, either. “They asked me who our rivalry in the conference was going to be,” Huggins said. “I said it’s probably Iowa State, they’re only 853 air miles away.” Travel nightmares notwithstanding, the Mountaineers seem equipped to battle the Big 12’s top teams on a yearly basis. They’ve won 24 games a season every year Huggins as been in Morgantown. But like a lot of programs in the conference, they face a fair amount of roster turnover in their opening season, losing the top two scorers off last year’s team.

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Over the next two weeks, we’ll bring you the obligatory team preview here at the Big 12 microsite. Iowa State at the #7 position is next on our list.

The Skinny

• 2011-12 Record: 23-11, 12-6 Big 12
• Key Contributors Gone: F Royce White, G Scott Christopherson, G Chris Allen
• Head Coach: Fred Hoiberg, 3rd season
• Projected Finish: 7th

Replacing Royce White will be crucial if Iowa State wants to continue its uptick in the Big 12.

Fred Hoiberg wasted no time after being hired at Iowa State in April 2010, quickly assembling a group of transfers who sat out the first season before making a big impact a year ago. The Cyclones saw a seven-win improvement in 2011-12 and played eventual national champion Kentucky tough — at least for a half — in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament before losing, 87-71. Now Hoiberg is looking to do it again. Last year’s top three scorers are gone, led by NBA first round pick and do-everything forward Royce White. He has two more excellent transfers eligible to play this season and a solid four-man recruiting class to blend with those transfers. Hoiberg proved he could mesh everything together for a successful season a year ago, but he had a lot of help with one of the most difficult forward match-ups in the country in the form of Royce White. The non-conference schedule plays out nicely for the Cyclones, with a few tough games — a possible game with UNLV in Las Vegas in the Global Sports Classic and BYU in Ames — but plenty of multi-directional schools will be at home to boost the win total while the newcomers learn to play together. Hoiberg said at the Big 12 Media Day that he has accomplished what he set out to do, quickly building up the program with transfers and surrounding them with good four-year guys. It was successful last season and Hoiberg’s roster moves this year proves that he thinks it will work again.

The Personnel

Hoiberg said that he’ll always play to the strengths of his team, no matter the style. Last year, he gave the ball to White just about anywhere on the floor and let him distribute to the shooters, and it worked. White was too big for most guards and too fast for most big men. And when he drew extra attention, Cyclone shooters were ready, knocking down 293 three-pointers on the year. Hoiberg called last year’s team unconventional because of White’s offensive game, something that won’t be the case this season. “We’ll have Korie Lucious, a pure point guard again,” Hoiberg said at Big 12 Media Day. “I’m excited about that. It gives us the opportunity to play a little faster.” Lucious, now a redshirt senior, played three seasons at Michigan State, contributing to two Final Four teams for Tom Izzo while averaging 6.5 PPG and 4.1 APG in 2010-11. He takes over for White, sort of. As Hoiberg mentioned, Lucious is a pure point guard, while White was nothing of the sort. Lucious will look to pass first and score second. He’ll push the tempo, and while he’s not a 6’8″, 260-pound mismatch, he brings his own skills to this Cyclone team. “He’s got that experience of leading a basketball team.” Hoiberg said. “And we’ve got the athletes to get out and run and play with him.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Over the next two weeks, we’ll bring you the obligatory team preview here at the Big 12 microsite. Oklahoma at the #8 position is next on our list.

The Skinny

• 2011-12 record: 15-16, 5-13 Big 12
• Key Contributors Lost: None
• Head Coach: Lon Kruger
• Projected Finish: 8th

Lon Kruger Enters His Second Season With the Sooners (Photo by ISportsWeb)

Every school in the country is one hire away from success or mediocrity. Take Kentucky’s handoff from Tubby Smith to Billy Gillispie to John Calipari, for example. So when Oklahoma fired Jeff Capel in 2011, two years after guiding the Sooners to the Elite Eight but failing to survive a tumultuous 2010-11 season, no one could really tell where the basketball program was headed. They had been to three Elite Eights since the turn of the century but it was nothing that could protect them from the wrath of a potentially bad hire. But in came Lon Kruger, the career journeyman who has coached in the Mountain West, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, and the NBA. He took Florida to the 1994 Final Four and will surpass the 500-win mark this season. Last season in year one in Norman, the Sooners went 10-2 in the non-conference season thanks to a slate against teams like Idaho State and Santa Clara but struggled in the Big 12, finishing eighth and missing the postseason for the third straight year. There were a few bright spots between all the losses, though, like the 13-point victory over in-state rival Oklahoma State or the season sweep of Kansas State, an NCAA Tournament team. Luckily for the Sooners, they’re in a considerably better spot this season than Texas Tech and TCU, four should-be wins in the conference. Here’s why: Kruger returns every major contributor off last season’s team. Experience matters — just look at Missouri’s regular season last year. That experience could have a big effect on the program going forward as well. With four seniors in the starting lineup, an impressive season could boost Kruger’s recruiting going forward, which was so-so this year.

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