The big picture The Kansas Jayhawks took care of one challenger to the throne in convincing fashion on Saturday, walloping their in-state rivals by 26 points. Although the victory sent a clear message as to who reigns supreme in the Sunflower State, Kansas will have to survive a tough eight-day stretch to claim the same dominance in the Big 12. Over their next three games, the Jayhawks will travel to Iowa State before hosting Oklahoma State and Baylor at raucous Phog Allen Fieldhouse. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma remained just a half-game behind the Jayhawks by posting big wins in their Saturday games. The Cowboys needed a last-second three from Markel Brown to escape Morgantown with a victory, yet another reminder that every road win will be precious in a loaded Big 12 this season. Oklahoma gave Iowa State the same memo in Norman, knocking the Cyclones from the ranks of the national unbeatens with an 87-82 win. The Sooners were given a dangerous five-game stretch to open conference play, but have so far navigated the minefields to a 2-1 start. Two tough road tests await OU at Kansas State and Baylor this week; survive those, and the Sooners will have proven to be legitimate contenders for a conference crown. Weekday games Texas at West Virginia; Monday, 6 P.M. CT (ESPNU) LRT’s full preview of the Texas/West Virginia game is available here. Kansas at Iowa State; Monday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPN) Tonight, fans at Hilton Coliseum will have revenge on their minds as the Kansas Jayhawks visit the Iowa State Cyclones. Last year, the teams played a thrilling overtime classic that was ultimately won by KU, but the victory was overshadowed by a late game no-call that Cyclone fans won’t soon forget. With Iowa State ahead by two and just five seconds left in the game, Elijah Johnson collided with ISU’s Georges Niang while trying to drive to the hoop for a tying bucket. The play didn’t result in a whistle, although fans wanted a charge call. Instead it was Niang who was whistled when he held Johnson while trying to rebound the missed shot, and EJ sunk the ensuing free throws to force an extra period. Two days later, the conference office “acknowledge[d] that officiating errors were made at the end of regulation.” The damage was obviously done by that point, and Kansas went on to share the league crown with Kansas State. Even though the result didn’t prevent Iowa State from competing for the title — they finished three games behind the Jayhawks and Wildcats — the memory still stings the Ames faithful. With Iowa State’s DeAndre Kane reportedly ready to play after injuring his ankle at the end of Saturday’s loss to OU, the Cyclones should give KU and the scorching-hot Wayne Selden quite a battle. Oklahoma at Kansas State; Tuesday, 6 P.M. CT (ESPN2) The Sooners were one of the surprise teams in the Big 12 during non-conference play, and they’ve continued to surprise in league play. Although OU couldn’t pull off the home upset against Kansas, they were able to hold serve against Iowa State and are now right in the middle of a very deep Big 12 pack. Buddy Hield has emerged as an unstoppable force for the Sooners as Oklahoma’s opponents focus their energy on containing senior Cameron Clark. The sophomore from the Bahamas went medieval on Iowa State from long range, knocking down 6-of-12 during a 22-point performance. In three Big 12 contests, he’s averaging 20.7 points per game and finished just shy of a 62% effective field goal mark. With Hield on fire and the Sooner offense clicking along at 1.177 adjusted points per possession, the stout Kansas State defense will have its hands full. The Wildcats currently boast the 13th-best defense in terms of adjusted efficiency, but their offense has lagged behind for much of the year. With newly-eligible freshman Jevon Thomas injecting a spark from the bench and Marcus Foster slicing through opposing defenses, Kansas State might finally be putting it together on that end of the court. TCU at Oklahoma State; Wednesday, 7 P.M. CT (Big 12 Network/ESPN Full Court/ESPN3) Teams often have to avoid falling into the trap of looking ahead to huge games, but that probably won’t be a problem for Oklahoma State against TCU on Wednesday night. The Cowboys will face a massive test when they travel to Lawrence on Saturday, but should first get a chance to rest their small core rotation in an easy home game against TCU. Baylor at Texas Tech; Wednesday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPNU) While TCU is still the league doormat, Texas Tech is much improved, despite returning almost all of the team that went 3-15 in the Big 12 last year. Baylor still shouldn’t have major problems against the Red Raiders, but many league foes have been surprised in Lubbock over the last few years. Tech has done very well on the offensive glass this season, but could find that difficult against a formidable Baylor front line. However, if the Red Raiders can manage to hold their own and extend some possessions with offensive boards, they might be able to keep things close enough to make it interesting down the stretch. With Baylor playing at a glacial pace of just 64.1 possessions per game, it certainly increases the odds that lesser teams can hang around for longer than expected. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
