GAME OF THE WEEK

• Texas A&M (8-1) at Florida (7-2), Orange Bowl Classic, Saturday 1:30 p.m. CT

Texas A&M Will Play A "Neutral" Game in The State of Florida Against the Gators

The key individual match-up is… Dash Harris vs. Erving Walker. Although Texas A&M’s schedule has not been demanding, this team could have really slipped had Dash Harris not played so steadily. The senior point guard is known for his defense, but offensively, Harris has kept the Aggies afloat without Middleton by making good decisions and taking care of the basketball. He won’t score much, but he’s irreplaceable as a distributor in this offense. And as a defensive stopper, he has the skills to slow down Erving Walker. Harris has a few inches on Walker, and he’s as quick as any guard in the nation. No matter the defender, though, it’s up to Walker to rise to the challenge. He looks to score much more than Harris, and at times, he has looked terrific with the ball in his hands. When he has struggled, it has been his own fault: against Arizona, for example, he settled for quick threes and forced up 16 shots. If he doesn’t settle down against Harris, Walker could be in for a tough night.

Brian Otskey is the Big East correspondent for RTC and a regular contributor. You can find him @botskey on Twitter. See bottom of the post for the Official RTC Star System.

With Dead Week mercifully over, we finally have some good games to enjoy this Saturday despite Sunday being a very slow day in the hoops world.

#6 Baylor @ BYU – 2:00 PM EST Saturday on BYU TV (****)

Perry Jones Leads Baylor into Provo Saturday (AP)

• The Bears have had difficulty on the road in past seasons but they already passed one important test, demolishing Northwestern in Chicago a couple weeks ago. This game, however, will be an even better measure to see where the highly-rated Bears are really at. The Marriott Center is a notoriously difficult place to play but Baylor has a clear talent edge in this game. BU welcomes Gary Franklin, now eligible after the first semester, to an already highly skilled roster. Franklin didn’t play all that well at California last season but he was a four star recruit out of high school. He should help the Bears out at the point guard position, a place where turnovers are still an issue. Baylor averages 16 turnovers a game and that will be dangerous playing on the road against a team like BYU that likes to push the pace. 5.8 of those 16 turnovers come from the point guard position so Scott Drew is hoping that Franklin can help handle the ball. How Franklin will fit in alongside Pierre Jackson and A.J. Walton remains a question mark.
• BYU’s top six scorers are all 6’5” or taller, an important factor against the length and athleticism of Baylor’s front line. Noah Hartsock, Brandon Davies and Charles Abouo do the bulk of the damage for Dave Rose, as those three are his top scorers and rebounders. Hartsock in particular has been outstanding, scoring in double figures in every game thus far. All three will have to play well in order for BYU to pull the upset because Baylor’s front court is strong, deep and talented. With Quincy Acy blocking 3.3 shots a game, BYU’s big men should find it more difficult to score inside on Saturday. The Cougars have to get their outside game going as well. Baylor’s defense is very average against the three and BYU has three big deep threats, Abouo, Stephen Rogers and Brock Zylstra. Going up against the top-ranked interior defense in the nation, BYU needs its outside shots to fall in order to win. However, the Cougars can’t afford to settle for threes if they aren’t falling. They must get something going in the paint, even against such a strong defense, in order to balance out their offense.
• This is an important game for both clubs. Baylor has played only two teams of note so far while BYU’s best win is over a mediocre Oregon team. Baylor shoots well (49.1% FG) but the biggest difference this season has been its defense. The Bears allow only 33.3% shooting inside the arc and their defensive efficiency has been terrific. Both teams get most of their offense from their respective front courts but Baylor may have the ultimate edge with Cory Jefferson off the bench. He adds some scoring punch and, more importantly, rebounding and depth for the Bears. For the Cougars to win, they’ll have to force turnovers to get points in transition because it’ll be awfully tough to score inside in the half court. In addition to making its threes, BYU must rebound well and get to the line while putting the Baylor big men in foul trouble. However, BYU ranks #295 in free throw rate and Baylor doesn’t foul too often. Although BYU rarely loses at home, this is a game Baylor can win. There are some who still doubt the Bears but a win here would put them on their way towards legitimate national recognition.

Texas A&M vs. #10 Florida (at Sunrise, FL) – 2:30 PM EST Saturday on FSN (***)

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1. For the first time this season, Kansas State allowed its freshmen to talk to the media, and we uncovered a few interesting facts about Thomas Gipson and Angel Rodriguez in the process. One of the more intriguing comments made by coach Frank Martin regarded Rodriguez and a comparison to former Wildcat Denis Clemente. Clemente, the catalyst for an Elite Eight team under Martin, isn’t much like Rodriguez, according to Martin. But that’s also not a bad thing. Martin said Rodriguez lacks the speed of Clemente — but then again, he’s so fast that everybody is slow compared to him– but he also said he makes up for that by being more “crafty.”
2. When we heard Missouri players allude to the fact that Mike Anderson did not watch video of other teams as MU’s head coach, we laughed off the accusations. That’s crazy talk. Right? Well, maybe not entirely. According to this article in the Columbia Tribune, Anderson’s teams did in fact watch game tape, but they did not engage in the activity nearly to the extent that Frank Haith‘s staff does. Now, Anderson has done just fine as a head coach by qualifying for six NCAA Tournaments at both UAB and Missouri, so this is no knock on his style of coaching. But it is very eye-opening to get an inside look at Haith’s techniques as a head coach.
3. It’s not necessarily news, but here’s an interesting thought we hadn’t considered yet: Of the four new coaches in the Big 12, all of them have previously coached in the league before as head coaches or assistants. Again, this isn’t groundbreaking, and Missouri’s Frank Haith and Texas A&M’s Billy Kennedy will both be gone to the SEC next year anyway. Still, maybe this explains why the coaches have enjoyed modest success in their first seasons.
4. Like we mentioned yesterday, Oklahoma is off to a solid 7-1 start under new coach Lon Kruger. And more people are starting to take notice. Oklahoma will need to prove itself in Big 12 play, but this just simply looks like a different team. It’s more mature, more disciplined and more understanding of how to win at the Division I level. An NCAA Tournament bid could be right around the corner, and that would have sounded crazy just a few months ago.
5. In another part of the state, Oklahoma State’s LeBryan Nash has had to deal with all sorts of expectations thanks to his status as a highly-recruited freshman. The promising wing is finally learning how to win at this level, and it’s no surprise that it’s taken him a little while to get a hang of things. In the end, Nash will be OSU’s best player, by far. But like most freshmen, it’s hard for Nash to play at the college level because the game doesn’t come as easy as it it did in high school. Once that the adjustment period is over, though, we can’t wait to watch Nash in the Big 12.

Steve Fetch is the RTC correspondent for the Big 12. You can also find his musings online at Rock Chalk Talk or on Twitter @fetch9.

Reader’s Take

The Week That Was

• Kansas scored a huge win over Ohio State on Saturday. One big difference was accuracy behind the arc as the Jayhawks shot 53% from three while the Buckeyes shot just over 29%. The other key was the great defense Travis Releford displayed while guarding William Buford, limiting him to a paltry 8-23 from the field. Thomas Robinson scored 21 points on 77.8% shooting despite rumors that he was battling the flu, and Tyshawn Taylor had a career high 13 assists – against one of the best defenders in the country – all while playing with a torn meniscus.

Tyshawn Taylor Went Under The Knife Sunday, But With Finals Week And A Package Of Cupcakes On The Docket, Kansas Should Be Just Fine With Him On The Mend (Danny Medley, US Presswire)

• Missouri keeps rolling, beating Villanova in Madison Square Garden on Tuesday and Navy on Saturday. They are currently favored by Ken Pomeroy in every game but two remaining on their schedule, and while I don’t think it will happen, there is at least a chance that they will be 22-0 on February 4 for perhaps the last border showdown ever with Kansas in Columbia. Entering this week, they are currently ranked in the top 15 nationally in the following offensive categories: adjusted efficiency, effective FG%, turnover rate, three-point percentage, two-point percentage and free throw percentage. There were a lot of questions aboutFrank Haith when he was hired, but for now, he seems to have passed the test.
• Khris Middleton made his return to the Texas A&M lineup this weekend, scoring 24 points on 8-14 shooting (2-5 from three) and grabbing six rebounds. With Texas A&M struggling offensively despite starting the season 8-1, Middleton is just the medicine they need. And with the team being extremely effective defensively so far, perhaps the Aggies will prove to be Big 12 title contenders yet.

Power Rankings

1. Missouri (9-0) – The Tigers are fantastic offensively as I noted above, but they have struggled a bit lately on the defensive end. They allowed Villanova to score over a point per trip and they are down to 41st nationally in forcing turnovers (though if the season ended today, it would be right in line with their rate last year, when they finished ninth nationally). They’ll have two cupcakes to practice against before a big rivalry matchup with Illinois on December 22. Read the rest of this entry »

This Weekend’s Lede. Saturday was one of the wildest afternoons of college basketball in recent memory. Within a five-hour window from around 2:30 PM to 7:30 PM EST, we experienced one of the ugliest incidents in the modern history of college basketball, followed by both the nation’s #1 and #2 teams losing their first games of the season on the road. The afternoon’s action had the feeling of March in the intensity and drama of the games played, but the added bonus of insane home crowds hungry for key December victories over a bitter rival or, just because. Let’s jump into a busy weekend of storylines…

Your Watercooler Moment. Malice in the Cintas.

We will have much more to say on this in our sister ATB focusing exclusively on the events that occurred with 9.4 seconds remaining in the Crosstown Shootout on Saturday (the post will go live at 6:45 AM EST). Look, we all know that fights sometimes happen in sports, and they’re more likely to happen in volatile situations involving bitter rivals who don’t like each other. The fight was bad enough — in our view, Cincinnati’s Cheikh Mbodj should face criminal battery charges for his stomp to Kenny Frease’s head while the player was already lying on the floor — but the real shame in all of this was the aftermath. Not only did Xavier completely embarrass itself as a school and program in allowing Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons to get on the dais and act like they were representing XU straight outta Compton, but both schools failed to step up Sunday and properly punish the players involved — the most any player was suspended was six games (UC’s Yancy Gates, Octavius Ellis and Mbodj). We hate to say it, but the image-conscious NBA would have been much harsher in its punishments of these players, and given that all of the adults at both schools went to great pains afterward to suggest that such an out-of-control incident was unconscionable, this appears to be yet another example of actions speaking louder than words.

Grab a Coffee While You’re At It. #1 Kentucky Loses at the Buzzer.

Rules for rushing the court are mostly general guidelines that come down to whether it feels right given the specifics of the situation. There are few scenarios that will feel better than Indiana’s buzzer-beating win over #1 Kentucky on Saturday evening. All of the following boxes were checked: 1) IU beat the #1 team in America; 2) on a buzzer-beating shot; 3) after it appeared the Hoosiers had blown the game; 4) versus a bitter rival; 5) in a statement win for the program that announced its status as a national player again. You simply won’t find many more perfect situations for an RTC, and Hoosier fans responded appropriately, filling the court from all corners of the arena with exalted jubilation. It was an outstanding game, and an even more outstanding RTC. For some great reactions recorded around the interwebs, check out some of these: a real-time call by IU’s play-by-play radio guy, Don Fischer;  an IU dad goes crazy in his house; a Bloomington bar called Nick’s explodes when Watford’s shot goes down; the scene at floor level for the final play and the ensuing RTC.

Perhaps the best thing we’ve seen from this weekend is this mash-up put together by an IU student (@dbaba12) which shows clips from the camp-out, the game itself (including his halftime prediction of an RTC), the final play, and the aftermath. It’s stuff like this that reminds us why we love college basketball.

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1.  We were very afraid of this when we saw it happen live on Tuesday night, and sure enough, the results came back yesterday. Marquette center Chris Otule has torn his left ACL and may miss the rest of the season depending on the severity of the tear and the treatment decision between he and his doctors. As we mentioned in that night’s After the Buzzer, we really hate this for the 6’11” junior. Not only is he playing with the severe disadvantage of only having vision in one eye, but he’s suffered broken bones in both his left and right foot during his time in Milwaukee. Despite his best efforts, the guy has seemingly never been able to stay healthy. No matter his decision on a treatment plan, he’s only been able to play in 57 games in four seasons, so we’re crossing our fingers that he’ll get at least one more injury-free season of basketball at Marquette.
2. How about some better injury news? Texas A&M’s Khris Middleton is expected to officially return to his team for Saturday’s game against Louisiana-Monroe after spending the better part of the last month rehabilitating a hamstring injury suffered in the first game of the season. His loss hasn’t impacted A&M’s fortunes terribly against a light schedule, as the Aggies have only one loss against Mississippi State so far, but he will be needed on the floor for an upcoming game against Florida and of course the 18-game Big 12 schedule. In other good news, Ohio State sounds like it expects to have its NPOY candidate, Jared Sullinger, back in action for Saturday’s monster game versus Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. Although Thad Matta played coy with his answers in the article, if Sullinger is “dancing around” his dorm room, he’ll be ready to play this weekend.
3. In a somewhat odd turn of events, St. John’s sophomore point guard Nurideen Lindsey has decided to transfer out of the program. What makes it peculiar is that the starter has averaged nearly 30 minutes per game and is putting up good numbers in the first month of the season — 12.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG. His statements about leaving are even more confounding: “I came to St. John’s for a couple of reasons. One was to be close to my mom, whose health has been up and down due to some past experiences. The second was to play for Coach Lav. In both instances, it has not worked out how I envisioned.” He surely isn’t holding Lavin’s own health issues against him, so there has to be something else going on here. More on this later today on RTC’s Big East microsite.
4. The number of D-I schools is apparently set to grow again, as Northern Kentucky will join the Atlantic Sun Conference and start playing a full conference slate as soon as next season. Even though the school will not be eligible for league championships and revenue sharing for a few years while going through a probationary period, NKU preferred to join the much-farther geographic footprint of the A-Sun rather than the closer-to-home OVC because it was willing to let them play games next season. The A-Sun is generally located in the deep South — Georgia, South Carolina, Florida — although it does have two schools in Tennessee and as we’ve learned in conference realignment theater, geography rarely matters anymore. The article reports that the average road trip within the league will be around 580 miles, though, which can seriously add up for mid-major school budgets.
5. You’ve been waiting patiently for it, well here it is: Luke Winn‘s weekly power rankings. Per usual, there’s more graphs, still frame images, and thoughtful analysis than you can shake Seth Davis’ stick at, but if you look carefully, you’ll find his All-Americans after one month, his analysis as to why Louisville fails to impress us, and an rundown of why Saturday’s delightful stack of games without the annoyance of football is something worth carving your day around.  Enjoy.

1. Tonight is it: Bob Huggins returns to the state of Kansas to face Kansas State, which he spurned for West Virginia after the 2006-07 season. Despite the fan outrage– Huggins spent just one year at KSU, after all– there’s no denying he helped build the successful program Frank Martin currently oversees. True, Huggins did not even make the NCAA Tournament in his lone season as the Wildcats’ head coach, but he overachieved with a blue-collar roster and made the NIT. From there, he left his stamp on the program by luring Michael Beasley and Bill Walker to Manhattan, Kansas. As the article points out, he could have easily taken his entire coaching staff and those two star recruits with him to West Virginia. He didn’t, however, and it set up a solid foundation for Martin.
2. Kansas’s Jeff Withey was once a heralded recruit when he originally committed to Arizona. After leaving for Kansas, Withey toiled in anonymity for awhile, but he’s back in action this season as a key contributor. The junior center nearly tallied a triple-double on Tuesday, and he has started every game so far this season. With Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor the only players on the roster with major experience at the Big 12 level, Withey’s continued production is a must for Bill Self.
3. We all know the difficult story of Billy Kennedy, who had to take a break as Texas A&M‘s coach this fall due to a diagnosis of Parkinson’s. Luckily, he’s starting to regain his strength and normal level of energy. That’s great news for the Aggies, who should also get star wing Khris Middleton back from an injury very soon. A&M has lost just one game thus far, and it has handled the inferior opponents on its schedule. From here, the season should only trend uphill.
4. Iowa State is Newcomer U with so many transfers this season, but freshman Percy Gibson is starting to make a name for himself as well. Gibson started his first game of young career on Tuesday in a win over Prairie View A&M, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Although he may not stay in the starting lineup, he’s poised to earn major playing time with his performance so far this year.
5. If Missouri keeps winning, you will probably see quite a few more articles that are basically mea culpas for criticizing the hiring of Frank Haith, which at the time was widely criticized and had little support from fans or analysts. If they did so privately, they certainly wouldn’t have gone public with that opinion. Haith had very little success at Miami, and there was almost nothing to suggest he could succeed in Columbia. That, folks, is why they play the games. Haith’s team hasn’t lost yet, and it looks like the top team in the Big 12 right now with blowout wins over Notre Dame, Cal, and Villanova. 

Khris Middleton could be returning to Texas A&M at exactly the right time.

The preseason All-Big 12 wing played in the Aggies’ season opener, but he underwent surgery for a partially torn meniscus in mid-November and has not played since. According to a tweet by Jon Rothstein today, Middleton participated in a full practice yesterday for the first time since his injury. Although no news outlets have reported anything about his official return yet, we’ve got to think A&M will have its star back by the time it plays Florida on December 17.

Middleton Is Back on the Practice Court After a Knee Injury

Without Middleton, the Aggies have managed to avoid disaster. At 6-1, they own a one-point win over St. John’s and have handled all of the inferior opponents on their schedule. But Billy Kennedy’s squad has also looked far from perfect. In its only true test of the season against Mississippi State in the NIT Tip-Off at the Garden, the Bulldogs embarrassed the Aggies, running away with the game during the first 10 minutes of regulation. Without Middleton, A&M looked lost offensively, and that has carried over throughout his month out of action. A&M struggled to pull away from the likes of Alcorn State and Stephen F. Austin, and they have been especially poor from three-point range. Against Alcorn, for example, they missed all 17 three-pointers they attempted.

If Middleton can return to A&M sometime during the next week, he could suit up for the game on Saturday against Louisiana-Monroe. The Aggies can survive without Middleton in the short term, but they’ll need him at full strength when they face the Gators. Middleton brings more than just his 14.4 points per game from the 2010-11 campaign. With a developed inside game as well the ability to shoot, he’s a matchup problem for almost every team. When he hits the court for the first time since his surgery, the dynamics of A&M’s team will change dramatically — for the better.

1.  As we previewed the 2011-12 season this fall, we agreed that the Big 12 Conference was wide open this season. But is the league as whole down this year? It’s very difficult to tell, considering the month of December just began. However, there’s legitimacy to the argument. There are a lot of question marks at the top: How will Texas A&M fare if Khris Middleton’s injury nags at him this season? Is Baylor as good as advertised? How about Missouri‘s hot start, and what do we make of the revamped Kansas Jayhawks? And at the bottom of the league, there are several teams still trying to prove themselves. We know one thing, at least: This will all be naturally sorted out during the next few months.
2. TCU is still a member of the Mountain West Conference right now, but it will get a taste of the Big 12 when it faces Texas Tech tonight. The Horned Frogs, who are set to join the league beginning in the 2012-13 season, are a modest 6-2, but Jim Christian‘s team does at least appear improved. Despite a couple of losses in the Paradise Jam tourney, TCU actually owns solid road wins at Houston and Evansville and knocked off Virginia. Laugh if you want, but TCU’s early-season stretch could have been much worse.
3. Missouri‘s early-season stretch, on the other hand, couldn’t have been better. Literally. The Tigers are undefeated, and they’ve now cracked the Top 10 in both national polls after their dominating start. Considering the whirlwind of an offseason MU experienced, it’s amazing Frank Haith has his team in this position right now. With Villanova looming tonight at Madison Square Garden in the Jimmy V Classic, Haith’s squad has another chance to showcase its improvement to the nation.
4. Iowa State began the season on a three-point tear, but the Cyclones’ accuracy from the perimeter has faded of late. That could be a serious problem for a team that relies on shooters like Chris Babb, Chris Allen, Scott Christopherson and Tyrus McGee to produce. During the past two games, ISU has taken 45 threes and the Cyclones made just 10. That’s not very productive, folks. Of course, that’s a rather small sample size. We’re guessing Iowa State’s shooters will heat up one of these days. There’s just too many of them to all go cold at once.
5. In an interesting move, Oklahoma has actually dropped ticket prices to its men’s basketball games this season. In fact, the Sooners’ athletic department cut $100 off the price for student tickets in an effort to get more people out to the games. And from the 2008-09 season to last year, ticket revenues dropped by about 14 percent. Remember, the 2008-09 team made the Elite Eight with Blake Griffin, so it appears OU may have to keep these prices low until Lon Kruger gets the program turned around.

Steve Fetch is the RTC correspondent for the Big 12. You can also find his musings online at Rock Chalk Talk or on Twitter @fetch9,

Reader’s Take

The Week That Was

• After blitzing Northwestern State on Friday, Missouri’s offense is now the fourth-best in the entire country. Oddly enough even though they have a general lack of big men, they have the second-best two point offense in the entire country (58.2%), though shooting a lot of lay-ups will do that for you. They don’t depend on just one guy either: four Tigers are averaging double digits in scoring, led by Marcus Denmon’s 20.3 ppg. Senior Kim English is also the fourth-most efficient shooter in the country.
• From great offense to great defense. Kansas might have the worst offense of Bill Self’s tenure, but it might have the best defense. The 42 points the Jayhawks allowed to South Florida on Saturday were fewer than Kansas scored in the second half alone. They’ve gotten it done via a mixture of not letting opponents have many good looks (15th-best two-point defense) and not letting them have many second looks (22nd-best defensive rebounding).
• This week’s most overrated yet maybe underrated team is Baylor. They’re ranked seventh in the coaches poll, but just 31st  in the KenPom ratings. The reasons why they are ranked so low there are obvious: barely scoring over a point per possession in their wins over San Diego State, South Carolina State, and UT-Arlington. It’s also why they were an underdog at Northwestern. But they also showed why they’re so easy to love: their unreal athleticism, which helped hand Northwestern its first loss via a 69-41 drubbing.

Kim English And The Tigers Have Their Eyes On Villanova In One Of The Most Interesting Games Of The Week Monday. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

Power Rankings

1. Missouri (7-0): Missouri heads to the Jimmy V Classic this week to take on Villanova. Given the Wildcats’ inability to force turnovers and being not phenomenal at hanging onto it, we could get to see a lot of Tigers running up and down the floor. Both Marcus Denmon and Kim English have 22 or more threes made and English is shooting an incredible 57%. Still they seem to be the team’s only threats from beyond the arc something that bears attention.
2. Kansas (5-2): Thomas Robinson is currently the second best defensive rebounder in the country, but hasn’t been shooting very efficiently, shooting just 46.3% from two. A match-up with Long Beach State, the team that upset Pittsburgh, on Tuesday plus a heavyweight match-up against Jared Sullinger and Ohio State on Saturday will give Robinson two big tests. Read the rest of this entry »