The Big 12 Conference revealed the 2008-09 men’s basketball schedule yesterday, a slate which includes three Big Monday appearances for the Longhorns. The weekly spotlight on ESPN opens with this year’s contest between Texas and Oklahoma, with Rick Barnes’ crew also playing on Monday nights against Texas A&M (February 16th) and in a home game against Baylor (March 2nd).
The full conference schedule is available on the league website, while the Texas schedule is compiled here for your convenience.
Texas’ 2008-09 Big 12 Schedule
Saturday, January 10th - vs. Iowa State
Monday, January 12th - at Oklahoma (ESPN)
Saturday, January 17th - at Texas Tech
Saturday, January 24th - vs. Texas A&M (ESPNU)
Tuesday, January 27th - at Baylor
Saturday, January 31st - vs. Kansas State
Wednesday, February 4th - vs. Missouri (ESPN2)
Saturday, February 7th - at Nebraska (ESPN)
Tuesday, February 10th - vs. Oklahoma State
Saturday, February 14th - at Colorado (ESPN)
Monday, February 16th - at Texas A&M (ESPN)
Saturday, February 21st - vs. Oklahoma (ESPN)
Wednesday, February 25th - vs. Texas Tech (ESPN2)
Saturday, February 28th - at Oklahoma State (ESPN)
Monday, March 2nd - vs. Baylor (ESPN)
Saturday, March 7th - at Kansas (CBS)
An in-progress composite schedule will pop up here on the site later this afternoon, which will include the non-conference games that have been confirmed, along with any dates that have been announced. Check the top menu bar under “Schedules” to find the 2008-09 slate once it’s added.
Texas remained a 2-seed in Lunardi’s latest Bracketology, although he shifted them out West to Phoenix. There’s still a week to go, but it’s pretty safe to say that Texas is a solid 2-seed — barring back-to-back losses to Oklahoma State and in the Big 12 Quarterfinals — but now the question is where. Personally, my only concern is to not draw the Detroit site. One trip to that city per season is enough for me.
Fans who want to check out the Kansas/Texas A&M game can still buy tickets, thanks to a majority of the Aggie students heading home for Spring Break. Unsold student tickets can now be bought at this link, so if you’re in the area and want to catch the 3 P.M. showdown, you’ve still got a shot.
Big 12 hoopsheads or fans of teams seeded five through twelve can buy my Big 12 Tourney tickets for Session 1 and 2 off of eBay. All games are on Thursday in the Sprint Center, and you can bid using these links for Session 1 and Session 2.
Apparently there are some technical difficulties with the Flash video player, as it will only work for one video per page. That means if you try to watch the Baylor video while the Tech one is still on the main page, you get the Tech video. Yet if you click over to the Baylor write-up by itself, the video plays just fine. All of the technobabble that makes this stuff work is just Greek to me, so I’ve passed it along to some more knowledgeable folks to see what they can do. For now, if you want to watch the Baylor video, you can view it on the single-entry page.
Although slots four through ten are no longer separated by just a game as they were this time last week, the league is still a complete mess in the middle as the season winds to a close. Thanks to a complete tanking by Kansas State — losers of four straight and five out of six — the Baylor Bears actually control their own destiny in regards to the 3-seed in Kansas City. And with a late-season push, even the Oklahoma State Cowboys are within striking distance of that fourth and final bye in the conference tournament.
Texas Longhorns (11-3) Remaining games: vs. Nebraska (Tuesday), vs. Oklahoma State (Sunday) Outlook: The loss to Tech puts the Longhorns in a tie with Kansas once again, but they hold the tiebreaker for the #1 seed in Kansas City thanks to the victory over the Jayhawks last month. The crowds for this week’s games could be abysmal, with the Nebraska tip at 6:30 P.M. and the Oklahoma State game being played during Spring Break.
Kansas Jayhawks (11-3) Remaining games: vs. Texas Tech (Tonight), at Texas A&M (Saturday) Outlook: Unless the Longhorns stumble, the best that Kansas can hope for is a split title and the 2-seed in the post-season tournament. But Kansas must match Texas stride-for-stride down the homestretch, and their schedule is admittedly more difficult. Tech has a very slim shot at the NCAAs, but a road win in Lawrence would propel them to the top of the bubble discussion. And with A&M fading fast, their backs will be against the wall when Kansas comes to town on Sunday. KU cannot afford to overlook either one of these two teams.
Baylor Bears (8-6) Remaining games: vs. Texas A&M (Wednesday), at Texas Tech (Saturday) Outlook: Thanks to the head-to-head win over K-State, the Bears would claim the 3-seed if they win their remaining two games. But a stumble against A&M or Tech opens the door for the four teams sitting just a game back at 7-7, so Scott Drew’s guard-tastic team has to stay on top of its game this final week.
Kansas State Wildcats (8-6) Remaining games: vs. Colorado (Tuesday), at Iowa State (Saturday) Outlook: While Baylor does hold the tiebreaker, the Wildcats have the more manageable schedule this week. The home game against Colorado should finally snap the KSU slide, but this team has struggled all season long on the road and Hilton Coliseum will be a tough place to win on Senior Night. A split this week could drop the ‘Cats all the way from first place at the beginning of February to an opening-round game next Thursday in KC.
Texas A&M Aggies (7-7) Remaining games: at Baylor (Wednesday), vs. Kansas (Saturday) Outlook: While the K-State slide might seem monumental, the Aggies are the only team in the country this year who have fallen from the Top 10 to sweating things out on the bubble. A&M managed less than a point a minute in Norman on Saturday, and that simply won’t get the job done against the high-powered offenses of Baylor and Kansas. If Texas A&M wants to feel secure about its place in the NCAAs, they really have to steal that road game in Waco on Wednesday night, one that Longhorn Road Trip will be watching live from the Ferrell Center.
Oklahoma Sooners (7-7) Remaining games: at Oklahoma State (Wednesday), vs. Missouri (Saturday) Outlook: Of the four southern teams knotted at 7-7, Oklahoma has the easiest schedule left. The road game against Bedlam rival OSU won’t be easy, but a 9-7 finish and a potential 4-seed is within the grasp of the Sooners.
Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-7) Remaining games: vs. Oklahoma (Wednesday), at Texas (Sunday) Outlook: Raise your hand if you thought OSU would be earning fringe bubble talk with a week left to go in the season. Anyone? Fry? Bueller? The Pokes have a bitch of a finish in Austin on Sunday, but home court in the Bedlam series could put them above .500 in league play for what feels like the first time since Grover Cleveland was in office.
Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-7) Remaining games: at Kansas (Tonight), vs. Baylor (Saturday) Outlook: Pat Knight already has two Top 25 upsets on his nine-game bio, but both of those came in the friendly confines of the United Spirit Arena. This difficult final stretch will test the Red Raiders, and they could easily drop both games and find themselves playing in the dreaded 8-9 game next week.
Nebraska Cornhuskers (6-8) Remaining games: at Texas (Tuesday), vs. Colorado (Sunday) Outlook: After a promising non-conference start, Nebraska fizzled in Big 12 play. Winning three of their last four has them in the mix, but a tough road date with the Longhorns could quickly kill that momentum. The home game against Colorado on Sunday should provide an easy win, setting the Huskers up for potential home games in the NIT.
Missouri Tigers (5-9) Remaining games: vs. Iowa State (Wednesday), at Oklahoma (Saturday) Outlook: A possible split to finish the season for the Tigers, who have to be happy with even five conference wins after their entire team decided to have a brawl in a nightclub. If only they’d decided to have their Ultimate Fighting Championship prior to the game with Texas…
Iowa State Cyclones (4-10) Remaining games: at Missouri (Wednesday), vs. Kansas State (Saturday) Outlook: With K-State struggling on the road, the Cyclones could put a nice capper on a disappointing season by pulling off the home upset on Jiri Hubalek’s senior day. While the season has generally been a wash, the young talent that Coach McDermott has on-board could mean that great things will be happening in Ames in the near future.
Colorado Buffaloes (3-11) Remaining games: at Kansas State (Tuesday), at Nebraska (Sunday) Outlook: Richard Roby will finally exhaust his eligibility. It’s about damned time.
While Kansas, K-State, and Texas are fighting it out atop the conference standings, there’s another interesting battle brewing for that fourth and final first-round bye in the post-season tournament. While Baylor’s early play made it seem they could be the frontrunners for the 4-seed, losses in six of their last seven games have made the picture a little more murky for Scott Drew’s bunch.
Now, a look ahead at the next games for the top teams in the league…
Kansas Jayhawks, 9-2 This week: at Oklahoma State (Sat)
The Jayhawks get a long week to rest and a cupcake of an opponent to feast on this weekend. Only one team from the Big 12 South has ever won in Allen Fieldhouse, and I wouldn’t put money on Sean Sutton to win a second-consecutive road game. Kansas essentially gets a full-speed practice in preparation for a battle the following weekend with K-State.
Texas Longhorns, 9-2 This week: vs. Oklahoma (Sat)
Texas took care of business against the Sooners in Norman and are playing some incredibly impressive basketball at the moment. Without Longar Longar, OU could find itself in some trouble come Saturday afternoon.
Kansas State Wildcats, 9-2 This week: at Nebraska (Wed), at Baylor (Sat)
The roadie with Baylor this weekend could be a trap game, with the Wildcats potentially looking ahead to its next two with Texas and Kansas. Add to that the fact that the Bears desperately need some résumé-building upsets to offset their recent slide, and the Ferrell Center could be a very dangerous place for Beasley’s Bunch.
Texas A&M Aggies, 6-5 This week: vs. Nebraska (Sat)
After dropping two straight games, the Aggies have a chance to get well against Big Red at home. The tussle with the Cornhuskers is the most winnable contest that A&M has left, so they’ve got to get things clicking early in front of the Reed fans, who are becoming restless as of late.
Oklahoma Sooners, 6-5 This week: at Texas (Sat)
The last two Sooner wins came on insane three-pointers (and a foul), but they’ll have to work extremely hard to keep the momentum going in Austin on Saturday. As mentioned earlier, the loss of Longar to a stress fracture makes an already-thin Sooner frontcourt look like Kate Moss, so they can’t afford foul trouble on the road.
Baylor Bears, 5-6 This week: vs. Kansas State (Sat)
If Baylor is going to stop the bleeding, they’ve got to do it against the ‘Cats. A loss drops them even further out of contention for the first-round bye, and is one of only two remaining chances for a marquee win. (The other comes against A&M in the last week of the season.) If Baylor loses this one, fans might want to start printing up those green-and-gold NIT shirts.
The game preview for Colorado won’t be up until sometime after 3 P.M., but there’s a lot of hoops action on TV between now and then to keep you busy. And if you feel like watching some old games, ESPNU is even running some of the best games in the Border War all morning long. On to the listings…
#21 Villanova (12-3 overall, 2-2 Big East) at Syracuse (13-5, 3-2) - 11 AM CST, ESPN - The Orange is looking to break out of the pack in the Big East, and they have the huge advantage of playing this one at home in the Carrier Dome. The Wildcats are 0-2 on the road in conference play so far this year, which is unsettling for coach Jay Wright heading into this one.
Illinois (9-9 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) at Purdue (12-5, 3-1) - 1 PM CST, ESPN - Bruce Weber’s Illini are really struggling this year, but it’s tough to get well on the road against Purdue and its stifling defense. Meanwhile, the Boilermakers are looking to keep pace with the league’s top teams this week to set up a huge match-up with Wisconsin next weekend.
Rutgers (8-10 overall, 0-5 Big East) at DePaul (7-9, 3-2) - 1 PM CST, ESPNU - If Rutgers is going to get its first Big East win anytime soon, the Blue Demons are a possible victim. DePaul is a streaky shooting team that doesn’t do much else right, so if the shots aren’t falling for the home team, the Scarlet Knights could pull off the upset.
Oklahoma State (10-6 overall, 1-1 Big 12) at Iowa State (11-6, 1-1) - 12:30 PM CST, KNVA/Full Court - Two teams who have each split their first two conference games, OSU and ISU are mid-pack teams in the muddled Big 12 looking to make a mark. If the first week of league play is any indication, home court should give the ‘Clones the win in this one, but we all know that trends were made to be broken.
Maryland (11-7 overall, 1-2 ACC) at #1 North Carolina (18-0, 3-0) - 2:30 PM, ABC - This game isn’t quite as exciting on paper as some Maryland/Carolina tilts in recent years, but the rivalry usually produces some great games. And while Wednesday night’s game showed that UNC still has some vulnerabilities, you’ve got to like the Heels in the Dean Dome.
USC (10-6 overall, 1-3 Pac-10) at #4 UCLA (16-1, 4-0) - 2:30 PM, CBS - This is part of a split national telecast from CBS, so check your local listings to see which game you get. (Viewers in the Austin area are scheduled to get this game.) UCLA looks good in this cross-town rivalry, and it’s worth watching just to see O.J. Mayo get embarrassed yet again.
Ohio State (12-5) at #7 Tennessee (15-1) - 2:30 PM, CBS - The other half of the CBS split-national telecast is a rematch between two teams who played a pair of games last year decided by a total of three points. Ohio State ended Tennessee’s season on a blocked shot in the Sweet Sixteen last year, and you can be sure the Vols — and their rowdy fans in Thompson-Boling Arena — will be looking for some revenge.
#9 Texas A&M (15-2 overall, 1-1 Big 12) at Kansas State (11-4, 1-0) - 3 PM CST, ESPN - The Aggies collapsed in Lubbock under the pressure of their first road test in almost two months, and now they get another one just days later in Manhattan. K-State hasn’t lived up to expectations yet this season, but they’ve got the talent in Bill Walker and Michael Beasley. This one ought to be a dandy.
Texas Tech (10-6 overall, 1-1 Big 12) at Oklahoma (12-5 overall, 1-1) - 3 PM CST, KNVA/Full Court - Tech and OU? That means it’s time for the best Raiders/Sooners clip ever. Oh, and, uh…Blake Griffin’s hurt for the next two weeks.
Eastern Illinois (2-16 overall, 1-9 OVC) at Tennessee State (7-10, 4-4) - 4:30 PM CST, ESPNU - I don’t understand why every time they put a mid-major game on ESPNU, one of the teams has to be absolutely God-awful. There really are good teams playing basketball below the radar, but the “Worldwide Leader” decides to give us these crapfests instead. Thanks, guys!
#23 Clemson (14-3 overall, 2-1 ACC) at #5 Duke (14-1, 2-0) - 5 PM CST, ESPN - Remember the clock controversy in the first game between these two schools last year? Yeah, there might be some bad blood left over.
Oregon State (6-11 overall, 0-5 Pac-10) at Washington (10-7, 1-3) - 5 PM CST, FSN - If this is your first chance to watch the Pac-10 this year, please don’t think the Beavers represent the rest of the conference in any way, shape, or form.
Kent State (14-3 overall, 3-0 MAC) at Ohio (10-6, 1-2) - 5 PM CST, ESPN Classic - A live game on ESPN Classic? It’s like a giant mind-puzzle.
#3 Kansas (17-0, 2-0 Big 12) at Missouri (11-6, 1-1) - 7 PM CST, ESPNU - The Border War is always exciting, and the fans in Mizzou Arena are going to be rabid tonight when the hated Jayhawks come to town. As one Tiger fan told me last week, “This isn’t just a rivalry. We literally killed each other in the Civil War.”
Kentucky (7-7 overall, 1-1 SEC) at Florida (15-3, 2-1) - 8 PM CST, ESPN - This is your Game of the Night, ESPN? Really? Don’t let the schedule that the Baby Gators racked up against cupcakes fool you. Of course, they could’ve always played like Kentucky and lost to those cupcakes…
Wyoming (6-9 overall, 0-3 MWC) at San Diego State (13-4, 3-0) - 10 PM CST, CSTV - I don’t know a damned thing about the Mountain West, but just judging by records this one ought to be ugly.
And if that’s not enough basketball for you, here’s all the extra games you can watch if you’ve got the ESPN Full Court package…
It was an exciting night in college basketball, with a bunch of upsets and a few close calls for top teams. When all was said and done, Bobby Knight earned his 900th win, the Big 12 was a bigger mess than before, the A-10 saw a little bit of a shake-up, and the top of the ACC was able to hang on for dear life.
#1 North Carolina 83, Georgia Tech 82 - Georgia Tech came into this game as the worst defensive team in the ACC, but their offense proved enough to hang with the Heels all night long in Atlanta. The game came down to the final possession, but Zack Peacock had a shot blocked and missed a jumper from the elbow, allowing UNC to escape with perfection intact.
#2 Memphis 77, Rice 50 - Memphis kept its own perfect season intact, although they did it with much less drama than the Tar Heels. The Tigers’ stifling defense forced 29 turnovers in this one, allowing them to easily roll to victory despite a season-low 37% shooting performance. CDR finished the night with 16 points, while Joey Dorsey led the glass-crashing with 14 boards.
#5 Duke 70, Florida State 57 - The Seminoles kept up with Duke for most of the night, but the Blue Devils’ poise proved too much in the final minutes. Duke iced away the road win with solid free throw shooting as the clock wound down, allowing Coach K to overcome a poor start from his starters, who combined for only eight points in the first half.
Texas Tech 68, #9 Texas A&M 53 - Lubbock is clearly a House of Horrors for the Aggies, regardless of sport. The Red Raiders worked their way to a 15-point halftime lead and even expanded it out to 23 points midway through the second half, completely dominating the Aggies all night long. The win was #900 for legendary Coach Bob Knight, who took the mic after the game just long enough to give a backhanded compliment to the fans for finally attending a game. The stat that tells the story for the sloppy Aggies is this — they made only 18 field goals on the night while turning it over 20 times.
#15 Mississippi 89, Florida 87 - Ole Miss twice squandered big leads at home against the two-time defending champs, including a meltdown situation with a frustration technical. But the Rebs were able to hang on for dear life despite missing eleven free throws, keeping them within striking distance of Mississippi State in the SEC West.
Massachusetts 82, #18 Dayton 71 - The Minutemen shook things up in the A-10, taking out the Flyers and leaving the door open for Charlotte to slip into first place. UMass wasn’t rattled on the road, earning their first victory over a Top 25 team in nearly two years.
Temple 78, #20 Xavier 59 - Temple took a two-point lead with twelve minutes left and expanded it into a lopsided 19-point victory over the 20th-ranked Musketeers. The Owls shot 13-of-27 from three-point range and were led by Dionte Christmas, who scored 23 points in the upset win.
#21 Villanova 76, DePaul 69 - The Wildcats withstood a barrage of first-half threes from DePaul before making a steady comeback in front of a packed house at The Pavilion. Villanova had a ridiculous 43-20 rebounding advantage in this one, forcing the Blue Demons into one-and-done possessions nearly every time their threes didn’t fall. Now back at .500 in the Big East, Villanova faces a real test in a road game with Syracuse on Saturday.
Virginia Tech 70, Virginia 69 (OT) - This one isn’t Top 25 or Big 12, but it was an exciting enough game to warrant a mention. The interstate rivalry was so hard-fought that they needed an extra five minutes to sort it out before a crazy last possession finally anointed the Hokies with a victory. First there was an offensive rebound for Virginia Tech but after the ensuing missed shot the ‘Hoos fumbled a rebound which rolled out of bounds and gave V-Tech the ball back. Deron Washington took advantage and drove in for a tricky layup, giving the Hokies a buzzer-beating overtime win on the road.
Iowa State 72, Missouri 67 - Does anyone in the Big 12 want to win a game away from home? The two Kansas teams are the only squads to record a road victory in the league’s first 11 games, with Iowa State’s victory over Mizzou being the 9th win for a homestanding team. Missouri clawed back from huge deficits in this one and had the game within their grasp in a crazy final minute, but the ‘Clones held them off for their first league victory.
Baylor 79, Oklahoma State 71 - Oklahoma State lost their 15th-consecutive road game and possibly their leading scorer at the Ferrell Center in Waco. James Anderson left the game with an ankle injury midway through the second half and never returned, leaving Sean Sutton’s bunch in a lurch. The win for Baylor gave them their best start since the 1945-46 season, one in which the Bears finished with a solid 25-5 mark.
Colorado 55, Nebraska 51 - Doc Sadler’s Cornhuskers entered conference play looking to be on their way up in the conference, having logged wins against Arizona State and Oregon in the first half of the season. But Nebraska shot only 34% on the road in Boulder last night, losing to what will likely be the worst team in the conference when all is said and done. With their next three games against Baylor, Kansas, and Mizzou, things could get ugly in a hurry for the Cornhuskers if they can’t defend home court against the Bears.
#11 Michigan State 66, Ohio State 60 - The Spartans opened up a massive 21-point lead but let Ohio State crawl their way back into it as the game wore on. MSU shot only 39% and struggled without Raymar Morgan, who battled foul trouble all night and was limited to 19 minutes of play. It was a character-building victory for the Spartans, who badly needed a bounce-back win after the debacle at Iowa.
#17 Wisconsin 80, Penn State 55 - The Badgers stormed out to an 18-2 lead and dominated the Nittany Lions the whole way, moving to a perfect 4-0 in Big Televen play. Wisconsin hit 10-of-18 from behind the arc on a night where they couldn’t seem to miss, and Michael Flowers had a career-high 23 points in the win.
#23 Clemson 70, NC State 54 - Clemson’s nosedive hasn’t quite yet hit full speed, as the Tigers righted the ship with a convincing win on their home floor. Duke is next on the sked for Clemson, giving them a chance to silence all the critics with a meaningful January victory.
Boston College 76, #24 Miami (FL) 66 - The Golden Eagles won their 13th-straight game against Miami, knocking the Hurricanes from the polls as soon as they had arrived. Frank Haith’s squad was ranked 3rd in the ACC in three-point percentage heading into this one but shot a paltry 8-of-26 in the losing effort. In addition to dropping the ‘Canes to .500 in league play, the road loss prevented them from matching the best start in school history.
Conference play in the Big 12 finally begins tomorrow, and despite the fact that there seem to be only three clear-cut contenders, this season promises to be an exciting one as new teams will likely emerge in the middle of the pack and a handful of sensational freshmen will get a chance to shine.
Everybody runs their conference previews this time of year, and LRT is no exception. While we won’t get into a detailed player breakdown — those are saved for the actual game previews when the Horns face each team — this brief look at the league should give fans an idea of what’s to come.
Without any further blustering, here’s a rundown of the league, in our predicted order of finish:
Even Sasha Kaun is producing for the loaded Jayhawks (Photo credit: Michael Dwyer/Associated Press)
1) Kansas Jayhawks - This is by far the deepest team in the league, and is without a doubt on the short list of national title contenders this year. When Texas played the Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse for the regular-season finale last March, the usual Senior Night ceremonies seemed to be missing. But the sickening fact of the matter is that the Jayhawks return every single piece of their Elite Eight team, including Brandon Rush who was ohsoclose to going pro. The only question now is how many wins KU can rack up on their way to a 51st conference championship.
2) Texas Longhorns - If you’re reading this, you’re likely already a Longhorn fan and know all about this club. But just in case you don’t, I can sum it up in two words — balanced attack. All five of the Texas starters average double-digits in scoring, including freshman Gary Johnson, who was just cleared to play last week and will beef up an inside game that badly needed his presence. While Texas might run into problems against bigger, more physical teams in league play, defenses will still have their hands full trying to decide which threat to focus their attention on.
3) Texas A&M Aggies - If you thought lock-down defense was going to leave College Station with Billy Gillispie, you would be sorely mistaken. The Aggies boast the sixth-most effective defense in the nation according to Ken Pomeroy, and their inside-out attack is a pick-your-poision conundrum for opposing coaches. Inside, freshman big man DeAndre Jordan is an incredible threat, although the best defense so far seems to be simply fouling him — Jordan is an atrocious 33.9% from the line this year.
Jeff Capel had a little too much Novocaine (Photo credit: Jeff Gentner/Associated Press)
4) Oklahoma Sooners - Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like this team was headed for a tailspin after a perplexing home loss to Stephen F. Austin. But OU has since put together impressive wins over Arkansas and West Virginia (on the road) that has the Sooners hitting their stride at exactly the right time. Not to be outdone by Turgeon or Martin, Capel has his own excellent freshman in Blake Griffin, the Oklahoma City kid who is leading the Sooners in scoring this year.
5) Kansas State Wildcats - This slot could easily have gone to the team just below the Wildcats in our rankings, but K-State has the luxury of playing bottom-feeding Iowa State and Colorado twice each this season. While KSU is struggling to get an offense going with stars Michael Beasley and Bill “Towel Pisser” Walker, there is enough talent on this team to make some noise in the Big 12 if they can ever figure it out. And with mafia enforcer Frank Martin as coach, the Wildcats should get their fair share of calls from refs who don’t want to swim with the fishes.
6) Baylor Bears - The Bears challenging for an NCAA bid? It could be true, and quite frankly their fans deserve it. Just years after the Dave Bliss/Carlton Dotson disaster and the NCAA’s interesting sanctions, Scott Drew has finally gotten his great talent to jell. The Bears were seconds away from knocking off Washington State, currently the fourth-ranked team in the country, and had Arkansas on the ropes before making some stupid decisions to waste possessions late in the game. If Baylor can learn how to finish games, the Bears can be the surprise team of the year.
Aleks Maric has the Huskers thinking postseason (Photo credit: Catrina Rawson)
7) Nebraska Cornhuskers - Doc Sadler’s Nebraska team is leading the league in interior defense, and they already have a pair of quality wins over Arizona State and Oregon. They’re hoping to grab a few more upsets in the Big 12 and somehow sneak on to the bubble, but I feel a mid-conference finish is a bit more likely. Aleks Maric is still the big man on campus, running the show down low for an up-and-coming team in the northern half of the conference.
8) Missouri Tigers - Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year DeMarre Caroll is already making an impact after transferring from Vandy, while guards Stefhon Hannah and Keon Lawrence anchor a quick backcourt. Mike Anderson’s squad still plays exciting basketball, but they are still too sloppy to completely pull off his style of play. Give Mizzou another season or two and they will be fighting for a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
9) Texas Tech Red Raiders - This is the most bi-polar of the conference teams this year, one which has losses to Sam Houston State and Centenary, but also a win over Gonzaga and a great showing against Stanford. Just having Bob Knight on the bench means that this projection is likely too low for the Red Raiders, but until they show any semblance of consistency, it’s tough to have faith that this team can survive without last year’s leading scorer, Jarrius Jackson.
Jiri Hubalek is ISU’s go-to guy in the paint (Photo credit: Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press)
10) Iowa State Cyclones - Greg McDermott is in his second year on the Ames campus, but it’s still too early to expect results. He’s taking the Gillispie approach in building the ‘Clones confidence against an easier non-conference slate, but the seven wins against teams with RPIs of 200+ isn’t going to help too much against the likes of Kansas, Texas, or A&M. Jiri Hubalek is still fun to watch, but he won’t be playing in any postseason tournaments to finish off his senior year.
11) Oklahoma State Cowboys - For the same reason that K-State earned the nod over Baylor, Oklahoma State slides below the Cyclones. OSU is a better ballclub — although inept coaching certainly nullifies that advantage — but a murderous schedule with a pair of games against Texas, A&M, Oklahoma, and even Baylor means that the Pokes are going to be slogging their way to the finish line. You feel bad for the talent amassed on this roster, but Baby Sutton is in way over his head.
12) Colorado Buffaloes - There’s rebuilding, and then there’s complete demolition followed by a new structure. The latter is what new coach Jeff Bzdelik needs to do with a Colorado program that has not seemed dedicated to winning in many years. He’s definitely got talent on the team in Richard Roby and Austin product Xavier Silas, but any success to be had in Boulder is still a few years off.
Sure, there might be bowl games on today, but there’s wall-to-wall hoops action on ESPN2 and some local action on FSN for those in the south. A full listing of games on tap can be found a few paragraphs down, but for now let’s get to scores and news from the college basketball world.
Butler survived a scare at Southern Illinois, beating the Salukis on A.J. Graves’ 28-foot buzzer beater. It was only the fifth loss in the last 87 home games for SIU, who fell to a disappointing 5-6 mark with the defeat. Butler, meanwhile, is only one win away from running the table in their non-conf slate, having only lost to Horizon League foe Wright State.
Ole Miss is still undefeated! The Rebs knocked off Southern Miss, 78-58 in Southaven, moving to 12-0 for the first time in school history. And if that weren’t historic enough for Ole Miss, it is also the school’s first 12-game winning streak since 1926. With Alabama A&M next up on Wednesday, it looks like the streak should continue.
The Weber State Wildcats spoiled Eddie Sutton’s return to coaching, knocking off the San Francisco Dons, 62-54. Bitter Beer Face gets his next shot at 799 against the horrible Utah Valley State Wolverines on Monday night, but the Dons are pretty horrible themselves. Ought to be quite a thrilling match-up.
Chad Ford’s new draft rankings are out, and he’s got D.J. Augustin slotted 10th ($$). Fellow Big 12ers Darrell Arthur and DeAndre Jordan also cracked the Top 10, checking in at 7th and 5th, respectively.
Can anyone run the table this season? Fox Sports’ Dick Weiss won’t call it a lock just yet, but he concludes the Tigers have the best shot at it. While I don’t think they will put together six wins in a row come March, they definitely have a shot at an undefeated regular season. Their second-half defense against Big East power Georgetown was practically a clinic, and that was likely their toughest opponent on the schedule. The C-USA should be a cakewalk, but the Tigers could still potentially stumble against Arizona, Tennessee, or Gonzaga, although those three opponents will be played at home in the FedEx Forum.
Ready for a long day on the couch spent channel flipping between basketball and football? We’ve got you covered. ESPN2 has action all day long, starting with the Wisconsin/Texas game (11 AM CST), followed by San Diego/Kentucky (1 PM), Tennessee at Gonzaga (3 PM), OU against West Virginia (5 PM), Pitt and Dayton (7 PM), and that Arizona/Memphis matchup in the nightcap (9 PM). Local fans can check out Texas A&M hosting Florida A&M on FSN, tipping at 1 PM CST.
There’s only four days left in the Big 12 regular season — six if you count that pointless Monday night make-up between OSU and Nebraska — which means the post-season picture is getting a bit clearer. Thanks to the Oklahoma State win over K-State last night, Texas is now guaranteed to finish no worse than third place and of course will enjoy a first-round bye in Oklahoma City.
As we all know, tonight Texas takes on the rival Texas A&M Aggies at 8 P.M.in Austin. Later today I’ll bring you a re-preview of this very talented Aggie team. But for now, let’s look ahead at the games left on the conference slate that can affect the Horns.
Wednesday, 8 P.M. - Texas A&M (12-2) at Texas (11-3)
Saturday, 11 A.M. - Texas (11-3) at Kansas (13-2)
Saturday, 3 P.M. - Missouri (6-8) at Texas A&M (12-2)
Although it’s a heck of an uphill battle, the Longhorns do control their own destiny. If they win both of their remaining games, they will force a tie for first place, which results in a co-championship. But for the sake of seeding in Oklahoma City, the Horns would come out with the 1-seed. They would own the head-to-head tiebreaker with the Jayhawks, while that same criteria would be a split between A&M and the Longhorns. In that case, the tie would move on to divisional record, which the Longhorns would win thanks to an 8-2 mark against the “south.”
Besides that longshot to claim the top spot in the post-season tournament, all permutations but one would put Texas squarely on the 3-seed line. However, if the Longhorns win tonight against A&M, but lose to Kansas, there is still a slim chance they could earn a 2-seed. That’s because if Missouri were to then upset the Aggies on Saturday, both the Horns and Ags would finish with 12-4 marks. Once again their head-to-head marks would be split, while Texas would have eight “south” wins to A&M’s seven.
For those of you planning ahead to travel or watch the Longhorns next Friday, this means that Texas will most likely be playing in the nightcap at 8:20 P.M., which actually ends up being roughly 30 minutes after the 6 P.M. game finishes. If the Horns somehow pull off the miracle and the 1-seed, they would open on Friday morning at 11:30 A.M. And that reeeeeeally unlikely 2-seed scenario would result in the 6 P.M. game.
So now that you know our Friday possibilities, who’s joining me in Oklahoma City? Anybody? Bueller?
