The big picture Baylor and Kansas both got out to slow starts against league doormats TCU and Texas Tech on Saturday afternoon, with the Bears trailing the Horned Frogs by one at the break and the Jayhawks holding just a two-point lead heading to the locker room in Lubbock. Both teams woke up in the second twenty minutes, however, and cruised to victories in advance of their showdown tonight. As expected, both teams are undefeated as Allen Fieldhouse hosts the first Big Monday match-up of the Big 12 season. Most league observers figured that only Baylor had a shot to compete with the Jayhawks at the top of the standings, and this long-awaited battle is the first opportunity to see if the Bears can provide much of a threat. Kansas State and Oklahoma also remained undefeated on Saturday, picking up their second league wins against West Virginia and Oklahoma State. The Wildcats won by the narrowest of margins, thanks to late-game heroics by Shane Southwell and poor free-throw shooting by the Mountaineers. The Sooners had four different starters score in double figures as they won the first round of the Bedlam series. Foul trouble limited Marcus Smart to just 27 minutes for the Cowboys, who are now 1-20 in their last 21 conference road games. In Ames, Iowa State bounced back quickly from a stunning overtime loss to Kansas by pulling away in the second half for an easy 20-point win over Texas. The Cyclones knocked down more than 42% of their three-point attempts and held Texas to just four points in the last 7:20 of the game. Iowa State now gets to give West Virginia its first taste of Hilton Magic before traveling to Fort Worth and Lubbock for very winnable road games. If the Cyclones can take care of business against the Mountaineers, the team picked eighth in the Big 12 preseason poll should easily be 4-1 heading into a home date with Kansas State on January 26th. Mid-week games Baylor at Kansas; Monday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPN) The Kansas Jayhawks have won 100 out of their last 101 games at Allen Fieldhouse, with the lone loss coming to Texas in January of 2011. Before that, the Texas A&M Aggies were the last visiting team to escape the Phog with a victory, all the way back in February of 2007. While history holds that Baylor doesn’t stand much of a chance to win at Kansas tonight, they at least have geography on their side, as the state of Texas is the only one that has found even a modicum of success in Lawrence over the last half-decade. The Bears also have Isaiah Austin on their side, a 7-foot, 1-inch freshman who is going to make tonight’s match-up very interesting. Iowa State managed to limit the effectiveness of defensive stopper Jeff Withey on Wednesday by using Georges Niang to stretch the floor and draw KU’s big man out of the paint. On Saturday, Texas Tech tried to neutralize Withey on the offensive end, doubling him and forcing Kevin Young to step up. It took a half of basketball, but Young found his stride and poured in 14 to lead all scorers and propel Kansas to their 13th-consecutive win. Austin provides an interesting match-up, because he brings the floor stretching ability of Niang and the driving ability of a small forward. Taking Withey out of the lane makes it harder for the KU guards to apply their usual ball pressure, perhaps opening things up for Pierre Jackson and Brady Heslip. Defensively, Austin can battle Withey one-on-one and allow Cory Jefferson to handle Young and the frontcourt reserves. With the home crowd behind them and Bill Self making adjustments from the bench, it’s hard to pick against the Jayhawks. But, if anybody in the Big 12 has a good shot to end Kansas’ home dominance this season, it’s these Baylor Bears. Texas Tech at Oklahoma; Wednesday, 7 P.M. CT (Big 12 Network/ESPN Full Court) Oklahoma earned an impressive victory at home over in-state rival Oklahoma State on Saturday, keeping the Sooners just a half game behind Baylor in the standings. Wednesday’s game against Texas Tech shouldn’t provide too much of a threat for OU, which could set up another battle of undefeateds on Saturday, when the Sooners travel to Bramlage Coliseum to take on K-State. Romery Osby has led the way in Oklahoma’s first two conference games, averaging 19 points and six rebounds. Kansas State at TCU; Wednesday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPNU) Stats guru Ken Pomeroy gives TCU a 17.8% chance of going winless through league play, and it’s unlikely they will avoid that distinction by snagging a win over K-State on Wednesday night. Per Pomeroy, the Horned Frogs have a 12% chance to knock off the Wildcats, who are really clicking under first-year head coach Bruce Weber. With the Wildcats limiting opponents to an adjusted 0.889 points per possession and TCU scoring only 0.869 each time down the court, the final score could resemble those of the peach-basket era. In an early-season loss to Northwestern, TCU scored just 31 points, with only 14 of them coming in the first half. If you’re into torture movies like Saw and Hostel or enjoy painfully-awkward Ricky Gervais sitcoms, watching this game could be the perfect way to spend your Wednesday night. West Virginia at Iowa State; Wednesday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPN2) The battle of wills continues between point guard Juwan Staten and coach Bob Huggins in Morgantown. Staten did not play in the second half or overtime of WVU’s win at Texas, and after the game, Huggins told reporters, “It’s my team. It’s not his. We talk about being on the same page…well, I wrote the book.” On Twitter, Staten appeared to have received the message loud and clear. “Moral of the story: Listen to the man that makes the decisions. I understand and I’m smart enough to make the adjustment.” Staten’s adjustment must not have been enough for the head coach, however, as the Dayton transfer did not play against Kansas State on Saturday. Coach Huggins has confirmed that the point guard will travel to Ames, but has not decided if he will play on Wednesday night. That power struggle will only make it more difficult for the Mountaineers to pull off a big road win. The Cyclones have looked like one of the league’s best teams in its first two conference games, and they have won 22 out of their last 23 at Hilton Coliseum. The Mountaineers finally appeared to be playing the Huggins brand of basketball on Saturday, but it’s still tough to imagine they can steal a win against a highly-efficient Cyclone squad. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
