The big picture In October, the Big 12 coaches unanimously selected Kansas as their preseason favorite in the league. Baylor earned one first-place vote, which came from Bill Self, who could not vote for his own team to win the crown. But even with such a clear-cut frontrunner in the league, the coaches predicted a contentious battle in slots two through five, with the Bears, Cowboys, Longhorns, and Wildcats all within nine points of each other in the poll. Without Myck Kabongo, Texas has failed to live up to those expectations. The Bears also disappointed, but to a much lesser degree. Inconsistent play and shaky defense caused Baylor to drop home games to both the College of Charleston and Northwestern, overshadowing impressive efforts in the hostile road gyms of Kentucky and Gonzaga. The Cowboys had question marks coming into the season, mostly surrounding their head coach. Travis Ford had earned high expectations in the past, but had failed to live up to them since arriving in Stillwater. A broken wrist sidelined Brian Williams in the preseason, while a season-ending knee injury once again took Jéan-Paul Olukemi out of commission for the year. Oklahoma State is currently on a two-game losing streak, but looked dominant in winning the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and still boasts one of the most talented rosters in the league. Kansas State has lived up to its buzz as an upper-tier team in the Big 12, and has shown some flashes that might mean the team can give their in-state rivals some trouble this season. With most of Frank Martin‘s old team back under new coach Bruce Webber, the Wildcats have their old coach’s toughness meshing with the new guy’s offensive influence. KSU was whipped in meetings with Top 10 foes Michigan and Gonzaga, but took care of a very good Florida team in a game at Kansas City’s Sprint Center. In the conference opener, an unbelievable 26-point second-half from Rodney McGruder carried the Wildcats to a statement win over Oklahoma State. We might not really know how good this KSU team is until the first Sunflower Showdown on January 22nd, but early indications are that the Wildcats should make some noise in the Big 12. The surprise teams from the bottom half of the poll have been the Oklahoma Sooners and Iowa State Cyclones, who are both 10-3 on the year. Lon Kruger has his rebuilding project ahead of schedule in only his second season, but the Sooners have yet to prove themselves against a quality opponent. A home loss to Stephen F. Austin raises eyebrows, while narrow wins against Northwestern State and at UT-Arlington are also cause for concern. Iowa State’s schedule also leaves room for doubt. The Cyclones have fattened up the win column against a bunch of terrible teams, while losing three of their four tough games. It should be noted that the losses to Cincinnati, UNLV, and Iowa all came away from the friendly confines of Hilton Coliseum, but it’s still clear that this team has to prove it belongs in the second tier of the Big 12. Simply defending home court won’t be enough to push Iowa State towards the top of the standings. Mid-week games Baylor at Texas Tech; Tuesday, 6 P.M. CT (ESPN2) The first full week of Big 12 play kicks off with this battle for first place. Yes, friends, you read that correctly. Texas Tech is at the top of the standings thanks to a conveniently-scheduled opening game against fellow doormat TCU. As a result, the Red Raiders are above .500 in league play for the first time since March of 2007 and are tied for first until at least 7:45 tonight. Baylor was taken to overtime by Texas on Saturday, but should be able to regroup this week. If they take care of business in Lubbock tonight, the Bears can move to 3-0 with a home win over a very bad TCU team on Saturday. That would set up a true battle for first place, as Baylor opens up Big Monday with a January 14th visit to the Jayhwaks at Allen Fieldhouse. Iowa State at Kansas; Wednesday, 6 P.M. CT (ESPNU) Kansas has looked downright dominant this season, losing only a very competitive game to Michigan State in the Champions Classic way back on November 13th. They destroyed Saint Louis at the Sprint Center, crushed a very good Colorado team at home, and stormed into Ohio State’s Value City Arena to beat the Buckeyes for a third time in the last 13 months. The Jayhawks can score inside and out, have an intimidating defensive presence in senior Jeff Withey, and have their eyes on a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. So, we may have to wait a little while to answer those questions we have about Iowa State. If the Cyclones can march into Allen Fieldhouse and actually pull off a win, those doubts will be laid to rest immediately. But, if Fred Hoiberg‘s bunch loses by 10 to 15 points in a game that’s never in doubt, we probably still won’t know what to make of the ‘Clones. Saturday’s game against a similarly enigmatic Texas squad might not provide much clarity, either. TCU at Oklahoma State; Wednesday, 7 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com) The Horned Frogs squandered their best chance at an early league victory when they dropped Saturday’s home game to Texas Tech. This week, the league’s newcomers have to travel to Gallagher-Iba Arena and then to Waco, a pair of games that would be tough for any squad, much less one expected to finish at the bottom of the table. The Horned Frogs are without starting center Aaron Durley and last year’s leading scorer Amric Fields, and they won’t have starting forward Jarvis Ray back from a broken foot until sometime next month. With so many missing pieces, TCU’s adjusted offensive efficiency is currently ranked 313th according to Ken Pomeroy. Facing the nation’s 12th-most efficient defense in Oklahoma State could have the Horned Frogs challenging records for offensive futility. West Virginia at Texas; Wednesday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPN2) LRT’s preview of the West Virginia/Texas game will be available on Wednesday. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
