As hoops junkies, it’s unfathomable to non-sports fans how many college basketball games we watch on a yearly basis. Thanks to the four-letter network, we’re plugged into our televisions and computers during every waking minute from November through March. As the days and years pass you by, though, you start to forget all the meaningless regular season games you watched on ESPN3. It’s impossible to remember everything, so to vividly remember a specific game, something wild must have happened. Austin Rivers would have needed to make a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. DeJuan Blair would have had to have flipped Hasheem Thabeet on national television. Kansas would have had to rally against a red-hot Kevin Durant. Point is, with so many games and so many seasons, we really only remember the special games.

Le’Bryan Nash Has Something to Prove This Weekend

For some reason, I have a vivid memory of January 26, 2009. Fifth-ranked Oklahoma was on the road in Stillwater, and the place was wild. If I remember correctly, a massive ice storm had crippled a portion of Oklahoma, which made the circumstances of the game even more epic. As has often been the case with Oklahoma State under Travis Ford, the Cowboys had absolutely no size and played a four-guard lineup. They were fast, athletic and, to put it bluntly, were playing their hearts out in a rivalry game against a much better opponent. Blake Griffin was on that OU team, for god’s sake. The Sooners escaped with an eight-point win at Gallagher-Iba Arena, but it wasn’t easy. I remember that was also the first game I noticed a little freshman named Keiton Page. That kid looked so out of place on the court, but according to the announcers, he used to average 50 points a game in high school. I would hear that story a million more time before he graduated, and it never got old. I remember watching the way Oklahoma State overcame its complete lack of size against an All-American, and I remember thinking, ‘this is college basketball, man.’ Bedlam! How can you not love it? In the regular season finale a few months later, Oklahoma won by four points at home behind 33 points from Blake Griffin. And less than a week later, the Cowboys shocked Oklahoma in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, thanks to a couple of free throws by the venerable Byron Eaton in the final seconds. The Bedlam Series was in full swing. It meant something. Both teams made the NCAA Tournament that year, and the Sooners advanced to the Elite Eight.

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David Cassilo is an RTC columnist who also writes about college basketball for SLAM magazine. You can follow him at @dcassilo.

While the non-conference schedule gives us some fun match-ups, conference play is the time of year where we really see what players and teams are made of. Look no further than Ben McLemore. The Kansas freshman was on our radar before Wednesday, but his performance against Iowa State elevated him to another level nationally. So don’t be surprised when you see so many new names on this week’s rankings. It’s just that time of year.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

10. Russ Smith – Louisville (Last Week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 19.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 2.6 SPG

Always a dangerous scorer, Smith makes his debut this week due to the versatility he’s been showing lately. Against Seton Hall on Wednesday, the junior grabbed seven boards and had six dimes. His ability to be useful even when he isn’t shooting well is what will make him a contender. This week: January 12 vs. South Florida, January 14 at UConn

9. Ben McLemore – Kansas (Last week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 16.9 PPG, 5.3 RPG

Ben McLemore is in the middle of it all for Kansas. (Photo credit: Getty Images).

McLemore had perhaps the best performance in college basketball this season with his 33 points and 6-of-6 three-point shooting against Iowa State on Wednesday. That included a banked trey as time expired to save Kansas’ home court win streak. The freshman is now on everyone’s radar. This week: January 12 at Texas Tech, January 14 vs. Baylor

8. Jack Cooley – Notre Dame (Last Week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 15.2 PPG, 11.2 RPG

Here’s a player getting absolutely no love for Player of the Year, and I’m not quite sure why. Cooley is averaging a double-double and has carried Notre Dame to a 14-1 start. He may not be a pretty player to watch, but he’s still really good. This week: January 12 vs. UConn, January 15 at St. John’s

7. Cody Zeller – Indiana (Last week – 6)
2012-13 stats: 16.5 PPG, 7.9 RPG

Zeller has been one of only four players to stay in the top-10 all season. While he was expected to be a little higher right now, he has been consistently solid for Indiana, and that is why he is still here.  This week: January 12 vs. Minnesota, January 15 vs. Wisconsin

6. Deshaun Thomas – Ohio State (Last week – 5)
2012-13 stats: 20.3 PPG, 6.8 RPG

Here’s another player that isn’t get as much love as he should. Yes, Ohio State probably isn’t as good as we expected, but Thomas has been a scoring machine since the season began, and he can rebound too. This week: January 13 vs. Michigan

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1. After struggling last week, Ben McLemore proved to Kansas fans and all of us last night that he is gonna be juuust fine. His bank-three with 1.6 seconds left forced overtime with Iowa State, where eventually the Jayhawks took control and avoided their first loss in the conference opener in two decades. Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg had some interesting comments after the game. On the bank shot, Hoiberg said, “I wish it would’ve swished. I’d feel better about myself right now if that thing didn’t bank in.” I don’t know if that’s the alternative you really want, coach. Maybe I’m crazy, but if I were you, I’d rather he miss the shot. What a game nonetheless.
2. There was another Big 12 game that came down to a game-tying three and bonus basketball. The problem was that your eyeballs were in risk of a complete meltdown if you watched West Virginia and Texas duke it out to the end last night. Fortunately for you, Chris Flanagan of Hook’em Headlines survived to provide a quick breakdown of last night’s game. I’d like to think I can draw some positives from a game like this for UT but the facts are that Texas choked away a double-figure lead, couldn’t hit their free throws and will face Iowa State in Ames on Saturday. Eep.
3. In an interview with Oklahoma State’s student newspaper before Wednesday’s game, Marcus Smart opened up on the struggles of teammate Le’Bryan Nash. Ever the team leader, Smart said, “We need to find him in the post and give him the ball at times where he needs to get his confidence back. He is down right now, but that is partially my fault because, as a point guard, you need to know when and where to get players the ball.” Nash went 6-of-10 from the field for 13 points last night. I hope it’s a step in the right direction, because the guy’s too talented to be playing the way he has been.
4. Conference play has commenced which means it’s time for Andy Glockner to start up Bracket Watch once again. After feeling uneasy about teams through the first two months of the season, Glockner projects the Big 12 to receive six NCAA Tournament bids: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. That is also as many as the Big Ten, Mountain West and Big East are projected to receive. The Big friggin’ East! That’s a major compliment, for this season anyway.
5. When we see good programs schedule cupcakes on their schedule (and they know who they are), college hoops and non-college hoops fans alike ask the question, “Does the regular season even matter?” Eamonn Brennan gives us his opinion which, like mine, is a definitive “yes.” The sport is doing fine as-is on the business side with CBS and Turner signing checks to the NCAA Tournament. Whether it’s Indiana-Butler or Indiana-Central Connecticut State, it matters a whole lot if either game is lost. We need to bury this hatchet already.

1. Sad news from the Oklahoma State family as Patsy Sutton, the wife of former basketball coach Eddie Sutton, passed away Tuesday at the age of 74. From everything I have heard about the late Mrs. Sutton, Patsy was loved and respected by just about everyone she has come in contact with. The Tulsa World gives a proper obituary for a woman described by her son Sean as “the steady hand” through “a lot of challenging experiences” for the family. Oklahoma State has been through a lot of heartache since the new millennium so we would like to send along our thoughts and prayers to the Sutton family.
2. If you look at the conference schedule last night, you’ll find there was just one game, pitting Baylor against Texas Tech. The reality is after tip-off, it wasn’t much of a game. The Bears dominated from start to finish. Pierre Jackson filled up the stat sheet, Brady Heslip was hitting treys, and Cory Jefferson was once again controlling the paint. Jefferson would get my vote for the conference’s Most Improved Player award if such an honor existed. With Scott Drew’s two-game suspension now over, the Baylor coach will return for Saturday’s game against TCU.
3. CBSSports.com has updated their freshman power rankings and you will find something fascinating about this week’s list — it’s the exact same as last week. Marcus Smart and Ben McLemore have had amazing seasons to this point, but the play of UNLV forward/”Monstar” from Space Jam Anthony Bennett kept the Big 12 representatives from climbing up the ladder. Smart (24 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.5 apg last week) won Big 12 frosh of the week honors Monday while McLemore (11 ppg, 4 apg) struggled a bit in Kansas’ two games last week.
4. My memory of the Jim Wooldridge era at Kansas State is when he had surgery to remove a bulging disc in his neck and literally coached his team with a neck brace on. While I laughed at how ridiculous he looked on the sideline, I knew it was definitely worse to watch for Wildcat fans. So what’s he up to now? Now he’s the head man at UC-Riverside, a program that has only been in the NCAA since 2001. The progress he has made as Highlanders coach doesn’t jump off the page but is noteworthy considering the circumstances. Plus, looking at the last 6 1/2 years, him not coaching at K-State anymore was probably for the best.
5. Robert Whetsell of Cowboys Ride For Free are growing concerned about the state of the basketball team, specifically about one of their superstars. Le’Bryan Nash has disappeared in the last four games (7.5 points per game on 11-for-35 FG) and since the step up in competition his absence has been more apparent. Whetsell has become so frustrated with the play of Nash that he has put his concerns into song form, which fortunately (or unfortunately) is only available in the form of lyrics and not a YouTube video.

1. The Big 12 offices have announced the player and freshman of the week awards for the first weekend of conference play. POTW went to Kansas State’s Rodney McGruder, who locked up the award by scoring 26 of his 28 points in the second half of Saturday’s win against Oklahoma State. It is hard to believe, but this is McGruder’s third such honor in the last six weeks. FrOTW honors went to another repeat winner: Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart. All he did was average 24 points, 4.5 rebounds, four assists. and two steals per game in losing efforts to Gonzaga and the aforementioned Wildcats last week. It’s not a crazy prediction to say Smart and McGruder will win these awards again before the season ends.
2. Last season, Anthony Davis dominated both ends of the court to take home National Player of the Year honors. But as Eamonn Brennan points out, Kansas’ Jeff Withey is hosting a bigger, more impressive “block party” so far this season than Davis did in 2011-12. Through the first 13 games of last year, Davis had 58 blocked shots while committing 29 personal fouls. Currently, Withey has 68 blocked shots and has committed only 16 personal fouls. To be a consistent shot blocker while avoiding contact and foul calls is pretty incredible. Davis finished last year with 186 blocked shots and 78 fouls, so we will definitely keep our eyes on Withey’s numbers going forward.
3. Kansas State received a verbal commitment from 2013 forward Neville Fincher this week. The Teaneck, New Jersey, native describes his game to the Kansas City Star as a defensive-minded player who blocks shots and rebounds with “a few [offensive] moves on the block.” According to ESPN, the three-star Fincher joins an already solid class with four-star point guard Marcus Foster and three-star shooting guard Wesley Iwundu coming to Manhattan as well. Fincher decided on the Wildcats over Marshall, Duquesne, Seton Hall, Houston, and Western Kentucky.
4. Iowa State has been able to regroup and recover over the past three weeks as they have only played one game, but at what cost? They will have to travel to Lawrence, Kansas, tomorrow for their conference opener against a Kansas team that is again the overwhelming favorite in the conference. As Cyclone Fanatic writes, if the Cyclones can weather the storm on Wednesday, they have the opportunity to start 5-1 in the Big 12 with subsequent games against Texas, West Virginia, Texas Tech, TCU, and a home date with Kansas State, which even he admits is “optimistic.”
5. Are you ready for some NIT bracketology? Yes, there is such a thing. Big Apple Buckets released its NIT S-Curve this week and two Big 12 schools made the cut. Iowa State is considered a #1 seed while Texas is slated as a #7 at this point. To put this in perspective, Iowa State is probably seen as a team that just missed the NCAA Tournament, and with its name recognition Texas was able to slide into an NIT bid despite a shaky record. What’s even scarier is that West Virginia of all programs isn’t even considered to be NIT material. I thought NIT bracketology would be kinda fun but now it’s just depressing.

David Cassilo is an RTC columnist who also writes about college basketball for SLAM magazine. You can follow him at @dcassilo.

Can a team affect a player’s candidacy for Player of the Year? It’s a question I’ve been struggling with lately. There’s no question that guys like Erick Green and C.J. McCollum have played like top 10 players this season, but should they suffer because their teams are well outside the Top 25? The Wooden Award says that the honor is given to the most outstanding basketball player, and there’s no mention of team. But I think to be an outstanding player you need to find a way to lead your team to victories. So in the end, Green and McCollum stay, but if their teams continue to play poorly, that might change regardless of their individual numbers.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

10. Otto Porter Jr. – Georgetown (Last Week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 13.2 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 3.2 APG, 2.2 SPG

Otto Porter has his Georgetown Hoyas back in the fold as a Big East contender (M. Sullivan/Reuters)

It’s a long overdue appearance for Porter, who has done a little bit of everything for Georgetown this season. While his per game averages seem a little low, keep in mind he played six minutes in his season debut before leaving with injury. His stock could skyrocket with a strong start to Big East play. This week: January 5 at Marquette, January 8 vs. Pittsburgh

9. Erick Green – Virginia Tech (Last Week – 4)
2012-13 stats: 24.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 4.6 APG

While Green’s ranking is on the decline, it’s hard for me to remove someone from this list who has had just one bad game all season. His Hokies, though, are struggling and having to do it all is starting to take its toll on Green. This week: January 5 at Maryland, January 9 vs. Boston College

8. C.J. McCollum – Lehigh (Last Week – 9)
2012-13 stats: 25.7 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 3.0 APG

Lehigh suffered an ugly loss to Bryant last Saturday, but it was no fault of McCollum’s, who poured in 34 points on a season-high six three-pointers. Despite receiving extra defensive attention every night, he still leads the nation in scoring and is shooting an impressive 50.8 percent from the field. This week: January 5 at VCU, January 8 vs. Muhlenberg

7. Michael Carter-Williams – Syracuse (Last Week – 8)
2012-13 stats: 12.2 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 10.1 APG, 3.0 SPG

Carter-Williams has recorded double-doubles in his last two games, and has actually shot well (11-of-20) in the process. It’s the first time he’s shot 50 percent from the field in back-to-back games this season, and that is what the Orange need to win the Big East. This week: January 6 at South Florida, January 9 at Providence

6. Cody Zeller – Indiana (Last Week – 5)
2012-13 stats: 16.6 PPG, 8.1 RPG

Zeller opened up his Big Ten season with a bang against Iowa by recording his first double-double since December 8. At this point, the sophomore will need a monster conference season to get back to No. 1. This week: January 7 at Penn State

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Seth Davis is at it again. In the 2013 edition of his “Hoop Thoughts Stock Report” — which seems eerily similar to how Pardon the Interruption plays Buy or Sell — Davis included six teams from the Big 12 among his long list of schools across the country. There’s a reason Davis writes for Sports Illustrated and we, well, don’t write for SI, but regardless, no writer is off limits in the world of college basketball. Here’s are some excerpts of what Davis said about those Big 12 teams, and more importantly, here’s what we think about what Davis said about the Big 12 teams.

Pierre Jackson (#55) and Isaiah Austin (#21) Will Make or Break the Bears’ Season. (Associated Press/Rod Aydelotte)

BAYLOR (8-4): HOLD: This team is too soft defensively to buy, but it has too many good pieces to sell.

Hold? Agreed, to an extent. Baylor has looked marvelous at times and horrendous at others, so simply in terms of stock, let’s go ahead and even things out and call it a hold. You don’t want to buy a team that has already lost four games and was out-rebounded by College of Charleston and Northwestern, but you also don’t want to sell a team that made BYU look silly and won at Kentucky. There’s a chance this team could still wind up as good if not better than last year’s team, simply because Isaiah Austin is an animal, Pierre Jackson looks like the Big 12 Player of the Year contender we all thought he’d be and, as Davis mentions, there’s no chance Brady Heslip keeps misfiring from beyond the arc at this rate. Here’s where Davis is wrong, though: Baylor is not “too soft defensively.” The word “soft” is much too harsh. The Bears’ zone embarrassed and confused Kentucky at Rupp Arena, and they held BYU in check with a sub-40 percent percentage from the floor. Gonzaga lit them up, sure, but the word is “inconsistent.” Not necessarily “soft.”

KANSAS (11-1, No. 6): BUY It is rare to see a team have so many talented pieces that fit together so well. […] We know the Jayhawks are going to win the Big 12 yet again, so they’re almost certain to go into the NCAA tournament as a No. 1 seed. I’d be surprised if their season does not end in the 404.

Easy pick here. Seth Davis, you’ve got no argument from us. In fact, you’ve likely got no argument from anybody on earth, save a few delusional Missouri fans. Bill Self has proven once again that he has no problem recovering after defections to the NBA and graduation. That’s because his bench can usually outplay the rest of the Big 12 in any given year. So now that it’s Jeff Withey‘s turn to be the star, he’s doing it. Now that it’s Ben McLemore‘s time to shine, he’s doing it, too. The question is not whether Kansas will win the Big 12. The question is whether the Jayhawks are good enough to win it all. Davis hits the nail on the head here, but you knew that already.

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For the Big 12’s sake, let’s hope Gonzaga is as good as their No. 10 ranking suggests. Because with their win against No. 22 Oklahoma State Monday night, the Bulldogs have completed a 5-0 run against the Big 12 this season. They opened the season with a 34-point walloping of West Virginia at home, beat Oklahoma in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, defeated Kansas State in Seattle, held off Baylor at home last week, and traveled to a riled up Gallagher-Iba arena Monday night to escape with a 68-67 win.

Baylor was just another victim of Gonzaga in their run through the Big 12. (James Snook/USA Today Sports)

While a win Monday night would have been great for Oklahoma State’s NCAA Tournament resume, it should have solidified most people’s thoughts that this is a two-team race in the Big 12. Because going forward, are the Cowboys any better of a team if freshman point guard Marcus Smart had made both of his free throws with eight seconds left to tie the game? Not really, but the narrative would have been much different about the Cowboys if he had dropped both attempts in. Smart had 23 points and six assists in the loss and the Cowboys risk dropping out of the next Top 25 on Monday, leaving only Kansas at #6 to represent the Big 12. As for OSU, they attempted 23 three-pointers in each of its losses this season. For a team that shoots just a paltry 32.5% from deep, that number is too high, especially with a distributor like Marcus Smart and a talented slashing guard like Le’Bryan Nash capable of creating opportunities at the basket. It seems to be an easy teaching point for head coach Travis Ford: if we settle for too many long jump shots, we will lose. Of course, it is rarely that easy. The Cowboys shot 22 threes (making eight) in their upset of then No. 6 North Carolina State in November.

As long as they don’t fall in love with the three-ball, the Cowboys can challenge Kansas for the Big 12 regular season championship. That is a big “if,” though. They have attempted over 20 three-pointers in seven of their 12 games this season. When they shoot fewer than 23 three-pointers, they are 7-0. When they attempt 23 or more treys, they are 3-2. There are not enough consistent shooters on the roster to shoot so many threes a game. It certainly isn’t the primary strength of their perimeter players such as Smart, Nash, and Markel Brown. The sooner they realize that, the sooner they can approach their ceiling, which is a legitimate shot at the conference title and a subsequent deep run in March.

1. Burnt Orange Nation always does a terrific job breaking down the nitty-gritty and statistics of Texas hoops, but this week’s entry has some interesting numbers relevant to the Big 12 as a whole. Read toward the bottom of the article and look at some of the surprising statistics with regard to Oklahoma State‘s defense. As the article explains, the Cowboys have blocked 16 percent of their opponents’ shot attempts in the paint. That’s not a statistic you often hear about, so it is difficult to put that in perspective. Still, blocking almost one out of every six shots from up close seems impressive. And it is also odd to consider that Oklahoma State’s opponents are shooting a lower percentage from the field in transition than in a half-court setting.
2. Speaking of Oklahoma State, the Cowboys blew a golden opportunity to really arrive on the national scene in a one-point loss to Gonzaga Monday night. No shame in a loss to the Zags, though, who have ripped through non-conference play with a 5-0 record against the Big 12. That’s quite bizarre in the aggregate, but not at all that surprising when you dig deeper to see how it happened. In order, Gonzaga has now defeated: West Virginia, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Baylor, and Oklahoma State. Maybe the basketball gods can arrange a showdown between the Bulldogs and Kansas in the NCAA Tournament to see Gonzaga really is King of the Big 12 this season.
   
3. Bear with us as we analyze the Gonzaga/Oklahoma State match-up one more time. As disappointing as Travis Ford has to feel in letting one slip away at home, simply competing with the Zags in a down-to-the-wire, nationally televised game has to mean something. They will kick you out of the coaching profession for praising a team for a moral victory, but even Ford can admit he liked what he saw for the most part. “We did some good things,” he said. And he’s right. He learned that Marcus Smart is a gamer in big contests, and he learned that his team can really defend. If only the Cowboys didn’t have to play a front line like Gonzaga’s on this particular night.
4. And your Big 12 Player of the Week hails from… Texas Tech, in a surprise selection. It’s Jaye Crockett, who emerged as a real playmaker in Big 12 action a year ago, and this year he is taking over as the primary scoring option. In fact, he is leading the team in scoring. Meanwhile, Jordan Tolbert has not been quite as effective after a stellar freshman season. As a sophomore, he is not getting to the free throw line as often as he did last year, so it helps that Crockett, Dejan Kravic, and freshman Josh Gray have all picked up a bit of the slack.
5. We will leave you on a heartwarming note that has nothing to do with men’s basketball. Instead, here is a video of an Iowa State women’s basketball player being proposed to at center court. Our only complaint: Why pull this stunt after a non-conference game against Alabama State? If the dude was really bold, he would wait until Brittney Griner were in town and ask his girlfriend at halftime then in front of a packed house.

David Cassilo is an RTC columnist who also writes about college basketball for SLAM magazine. You can follow him at @dcassilo.

With the lack of college games lately, I’ve been catching up on some NBA action. To tie in with my article, I focused mostly on players who have won the Wooden Award over the last decade. To no one’s surprise, Anthony Davis is already starting to be a force in the NBA, but that’s not the case for most. There are stars (Kevin Durant and Blake Griffin), starters (Jameer Nelson, Evan Turner and Andrew Bogut), role players (J.J. Redick, Tyler Hansbrough and Jimmer Fredette), and T.J. Ford, who was forced out of the league due to injury. Overall, being the top player in college means little more than likely getting drafted. There’s still a lot of work to do.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

10. Anthony Bennett – UNLV (Last Week – NR)
2012-13 stats: 19.5 PPG, 8.5 RPG

While Mike Moser and Anthony Marshall were supposed to lead UNLV, that responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of Bennett. He’s been more than up to the task and is our first freshman on this list since the preseason. This week: December 29 at North Carolina, January 3 vs. Chicago State

9. C.J. McCollum – Lehigh (Last Week – 9)
2012-13 stats: 24.9 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 3.1 APG

Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum will need to keep lighting it up.

With his injury, McCollum will go 21 days between games. He’ll need to shake off the rust quickly to move back up the list. This week: December 29 vs. Bryant

8. Michael Carter-Williams – Syracuse (Last Week – 8)
2012-13 stats: 12.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 10.3 APG, 3.4 SPG

While Carter-Williams does a lot while he’s on the court, it will be hard to get much higher than No. 8 until he improves his shooting. Over his last two games, he is 4-for-23, 1-for-9 from three-point land and 16-for-25 from the line. This week: December 29 vs. Alcorn State, December 31 vs. Central Connecticut State, January 2 vs. Rutgers

7. Deshaun Thomas – Ohio State (Last week – 5)
2012-13 stats: 20 PPG, 6.8 RPG

Two of Thomas’ worst games this season have come in titanic tilts against Duke and Kansas. He’ll need to play better in big games, as the Buckeyes will have plenty of them come conference play. This week: December 28 vs. Chicago State, January 2 vs. Nebraska

6. Jeff Withey – Kansas (Last week – 7)
2012-13 stats: 14.1 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 5.0 BPG

While Thomas struggled in the game against Kansas, Withey put together his second straight double-double. It’s a promising sight, as Withey has never been a dominant rebounder despite his size and athleticism. This week: December 29 vs. American

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