TEAM W L LAST WEEK THIS WEEK Kansas 7 1 W vs. A&M, 64-54; L at ISU, 72-64 Wed vs. OU; Sat at Miz Missouri 7 2 L at OSU, 79-72; W vs. Tech, 63-50 W at UT, 67-66; Sat vs. KU Baylor 6 2 W at OU, 77-65; W vs. UT, 76-71 Wed at A&M; Sat at OSU Iowa State 5 3 L at UT, 62-55; W vs. KU, 72-64 Tue vs. KSU; Sat at OU Kansas State 4 4 W at Tech, 69-47; L vs. OU, 63-60 Tue at ISU; Sat vs. A&M Texas A&M 3 5 L at KU, 64-54; W vs. OSU, 76-61 Wed vs. BU; Sat at KSU Oklahoma State 3 5 W vs. Miz, 79-72; L at A&M, 76-61 Tue at Tech; Sat vs. BU Oklahoma 3 5 L vs. BU, 77-65; W at KSU, 63-60 Wed at KU; Sat vs. ISU Texas 3 6 W vs. ISU, 62-55; L at BU, 76-71 L vs. Miz, 67-66; Sat vs. Tech Texas Tech 0 8 L vs. KSU, 69-47; L at Miz, 63-50 Tue vs. OSU; Sat at UT

The big picture

Five days ago, it looked like the Kansas Jayhawks could be well on their way to yet another conference title. They had taken care of the Baylor Bears at home, knocking the upstarts from Waco out of the ranks of the undefeated. Five days later, the Bears suffered another setback at home against Missouri, putting them a full two games back of KU. The Tigers had already stumbled on the road to Kansas State early in the conference season, and hoped to keep the Jayhawks within reach heading into their home-and-home series. Instead, Oklahoma State gave the Jayhawks even more padding in the standings by pulling off a big upset over the Tigers at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

With a two-game cushion, the Jayhawks had slight room for error. Unfortunately, they used their mulligan right away, tripping up on the road against Iowa State on Saturday. Missouri looked shaky in wins over Texas Tech and Texas, but managed to stay just a half-game behind their rivals. With the Jayhawks facing Missouri, Baylor, and Kansas State on the road over the next two weeks, things are about to get very interesting.

In the middle of the standings, Kansas State suffered a home loss to the Sooners, giving OU a season sweep of the Wildcats. Coupled with Iowa State’s statement win over the Jayhawks, it looks like there could soon be a very clear division between the league’s top four teams and its bottom six. If the Cyclones can take care of business at home against the ‘Cats tonight, it will only widen the gap.

Mid-week games

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech; Tuesday, 7 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)

Meteorologist and tempo-free guru Ken Pomeroy gives the Red Raiders a 29% chance to finish the Big 12 slate winless. Of course, their best chances to avoid the conference skunking is when playing some of the league’s other bottom feeders at the friendly confines of United Spirit Arena.

While Oklahoma State finally played up to expectations in their upset of Missouri last Wednesday, the Pokes have just a 2-9 record in games away from Gallagher-Iba. If Billy Gillispie and the Red Raiders are going to avoid a dubious historical distinction, this is one of their best chances to do so. Shut down Le’Bryan Nash, and Oklahoma State becomes a very pedestrian team.

Kansas State at Iowa State; Tuesday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
Kansas State has been one of the toughest teams to figure out in the Big 12. The Wildcats looked great in a home win over Missouri and played tough in a narrow loss to Baylor. But in two games against the Oklahoma Sooners, Kansas State looked like a completely different team. Frank Martin had his overachieving bunch in the top half of the league standings, but their recent schneid has them gravitating towards the mess at the bottom of the standings.

Tonight, the game could very well be won on the perimeter. Iowa State brings in a lofty 37.6% team mark from behind the arc, including a pair of guards in Scott Christopherson and sixth man Tyrus McGee who are making over 41% of their three pointers. Kansas State, meanwhile, has the 15th-best perimeter defense in the country, led by the quick hands of Martavious Irving. While all eyes will be on constant double-double threat Royce White, this one could be decided by the smallest guys on the floor.

Baylor at Texas A&M; Wednesday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPN2)

It wasn’t long ago that the Battle on the Brazos was turning into quite the basketball rivalry. In 2008, the teams played an unforgettable five-overtime thriller that was only seen by those in the building and those dedicated enough to watch an online stream from A&M’s website. Less than two months later, the rematch was a heated affair that involved benches clearing and bottles being thrown on the court, further fueling the hatred between the two fanbases.

With Texas A&M predicted by league coaches to win the Big 12, and with Baylor sporting a lineup rich with NBA prospects, this year’s pair of games appeared to be potential classics on paper. Instead, the Aggies have failed to live up to expectations, dropping to the bottom of the league standings. A&M’s move to the SEC next season means that this will be the last time these two teams play in the regular season for quite some time, but the apathetic Aggie fanbase doesn’t seem to care. Yesterday, A&M slashed upper-level tickets to just $10 for the final installment of this rivalry. It’s a sad way to see this entertaining series come to an end.

Oklahoma at Kansas; Wednesday, 8 P.M. CT (ESPNU)
The Jayhawks can’t get caught looking ahead to the Border War on Saturday, as Oklahoma has proven to be a dangerous team under first-year coach Lon Kruger. The first time these two teams met, the Sooners held a 34-33 edge at the break in Norman. Travis Releford led a second-half Jayhawk surge, scoring a career-high 28 points to lead his team to the road win.

Winning at Allen Fieldhouse is a nearly impossible task, but even Texas A&M made the Jayhawks sweat last Monday when they brought an injured team to Lawrence and fought Kansas until the final minutes. The Sooners are fresh off a road win against Kansas State, so their confidence won’t be lacking in this one. While Oklahoma probably doesn’t have the horses to pull off the improbable upset, they can certainly be competitive with the Jayhawks.

TEAM W L THIS WEEK NEXT WEEK Kansas 7 0 W vs. A&M, 64-54; Sat at ISU Wed vs. OU; Sat at Mizzou Missouri 5 2 L at OSU, 79-72; Sat vs. Tech Mon at UT; Sat vs. KU Baylor 5 2 W at OU, 77-65; Sat vs. UT Wed at A&M; Sat at OSU Iowa State 4 3 L at UT, 62-55; Sat vs. KU Tue vs. KSU; Sat at OU Kansas State 4 3 W at Tech, 69-47; Sat vs. OU Tue at ISU; Sat vs. A&M Texas 3 4 W vs. ISU, 62-55; Sat at BU Mon vs. Mizzou; Sat vs. Tech Oklahoma State 3 4 W vs. Mizzou, 79-72; Sat at A&M Tue at Tech; Sat vs. BU Texas A&M 2 5 L at KU, 64-54; Sat vs. OSU Wed vs. BU; Sat at KSU Oklahoma 2 5 L vs. BU, 77-65; Sat at KSU Wed at KU; Sat vs. ISU Texas Tech 0 7 L vs. KSU, 69-47; Sat at Mizzou Tue vs. OSU; Sat at UT

Texas at Baylor; Saturday, 12 P.M. CT (CBS)
A full preview of the Texas/Baylor game will be available late Friday night.

Texas Tech at Missouri; Saturday, 12:30 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
The Red Raiders already faced long odds to win their first league game of the season when they take on Mizzou in Columbia tomorrow afternoon. But following Mizzou’s loss at Oklahoma State on Wednesday night, you can be sure that the Tigers have had a few days of intense practices to get them ready for their next opponent.

Missouri has not lost to Tech in Columbia since the 2005 season, and the Tigers have won 13 straight home games against conference opponents not named Kansas. Ken Pomeroy gives Tech a 1% chance to win the game, but even that might be a little high.

Kansas at Iowa State; Saturday, 1 P.M. CT (ESPN)
It’s a battle of big men in Ames on Saturday, as Thomas Robinson and Royce White square off once more. Both players are averaging double-doubles against conference opponents, with Robinson posting 17.9 points and 11.7 boards per game, while White owns a 13.9/10.9 line against Big 12 foes.

The Cyclones hung tough in the first meeting between these two teams, trailing by just two points with 6:37 to go. The Kansas defense clamped down, however, limiting Iowa State to just one field goal and a free throw the rest of the way to preserve another home victory. The ‘Clones haven’t defeated Kansas in their last 13 meetings, but the gold-clad sellout crowd expected at Hilton tomorrow afternoon could help to end that streak.

Oklahoma State at Texas A&M; Saturday, 3 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
Fans finally saw the Le’Bryan Nash that scouting services had drooled over in high school, as the freshman phenom carried the Cowboys to a monumental win over 2nd-ranked Missouri on Wednesday night. Nash scored a career-high 27 points, including 13 in a 3:22 stretch that erased a late Missouri lead and put Oklahoma State up for good.

The Aggies also performed well in their test against a Top 5 opponent, but faded down the stretch at Kansas on Monday night. Most impressive for A&M was the fact that they competed with the Jayhawks despite not having the services of Khris Middleton and with Dash Harris hobbled by a foot injury at the half. Middleton’s status for tomorrow’s game is still unknown, but the Aggies have actually looked better at times without their star.

Oklahoma at Kansas State; Saturday, 6 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
Coach Frank Martin was so frustrated by big man Jordan Henriquez and his lack of effort that he limited him to just eight minutes when K-State lost to the Sooners two weeks ago. Four days later, he was again only on the court for eight minutes in a narrow home win over Texas, and was then suspended for the game against Oklahoma State. Reinstated in time for the Texas Tech game on Wednesday night, Henriquez only played three minutes and notched just a pair of free throws.

In the first meeting between these teams, OU big men Andrew Fitzgerald and Romero Osby combined for 39 points on 83% shooting from the field. While the home-court advantage of Bramlage Coliseum is certainly going to make the atmosphere a bit different this time around, the Wildcats will need to perform better in the post. With Henriquez playing just eight minutes in the first meeting, Thomas Gipson and Jamar Samuels couldn’t stop the Sooner big men. If they struggle the same way tomorrow night, the Sooners could escape the Little Apple with a rare road win.

TEAM W L LAST WEEK THIS WEEK Kansas 6 0 W vs. BU, 92-74; W at UT, 69-66 Mon vs. A&M; Sat at ISU Missouri 5 1 W vs A&M, 70-51; W at BU, 89-88 Wed at OSU; Sat vs. Tech Baylor 4 2 L at KU, 92-74; L vs. Mizzou, 89-88 Tue at OU; Sat vs. UT Iowa State 4 2 W vs. OSU, 71-68; W at Tech, 76-52 Tue at UT; Sat vs. KU Kansas State 3 3 W vs. UT, 84-80; W at OSU, 66-58 Wed at Tech; Sat vs. OU Texas 2 4 L at KSU, 84-80; L vs. KU, 69-66 Tue vs. ISU; Sat at BU Oklahoma State 2 4 L at ISU, 71-68; L vs. KSU, 66-58 Wed vs. Mizzou; Sat at A&M Texas A&M 2 4 L at Mizzou, 70-51; W vs. OU, 81-75 (OT) Mon at KU; Sat vs. OSU Oklahoma 2 4 W vs. Tech, 66-54; L at A&M, 81-75 (OT) Tue vs. BU; Sat at KSU Texas Tech 0 6 L at OU, 66-54; L vs. ISU, 76-52 Wed vs. KSU; Sat at Mizzou

Texas A&M at Kansas; Monday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPN)
Most Longhorn fans remember that their favorite team’s victory at Allen Fieldhouse last year was the first in 70 tries for Kansas road opponents. What some may not recall is that the previous team to knock off the Jayhawks in Lawrence was the Texas A&M Aggies, all the way back on February 3rd of 2007. This year’s A&M team has been a massive disappointment, struggling to a 2-4 conference start despite returning one of the top two nuclei in the Big 12. The Aggie offense is only one spot out of the cellar in the Big 12 rankings, so it could be a very rough night for A&M against a Kansas defense that is one of the three toughest in the nation.

Baylor at Oklahoma; Tuesday, 7:00 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
Baylor set a school record with their 17-0 start, but took it on the chin in their first two battles with the other conference contenders. The Bears hung with Kansas at Phog Allen for a half last Monday, but fell apart down the stretch. Porous defense at home against Mizzou ended in a one-point loss, putting Baylor two games out of first place after one-third of the conference slate. If the Bears are to remain contenders, they have to defend their home court and avoid laying any eggs against the league’s lesser teams on the road. The Sooners might be just 2-4 in conference play, but they have one of the top 15 offensive rebounding marks in the country, something that could be a major boost against a Baylor team that is surprisingly ineffective on the defensive glass.

Iowa State at Texas; Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. CT (Longhorn Network)
A full preview of the Iowa State/Texas game will be available on Tuesday.

Missouri at Oklahoma State; Wednesday, 6:30 P.M. CT (ESPN2)
Like Baylor, the Tigers have to take care of business if they want to keep pace with Kansas. The Tigers and Jayhawks still have both games of the Border War series left to play, so winning against the conference’s bottom feeders will keep Mizzou in prime position to make a move with head-to-head victories over KU. The biggest knock on the Tigers coming into this season was their lack of a post presence following the injury of Laurence Bowers, but Flip Pressey and the Mizzou guards are making big man Ricardo Ratliffe look like an All-American. He’s already been putting up incredible numbers against the big frontlines of Kansas State and Baylor, so one can only imagine what he’ll do against an undersized Oklahoma State squad.

Kansas State at Texas Tech; Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPNU)
The Red Raiders have an offensive efficiency mark in the bottom 100 of D-I hoops, turn it over on more than a quarter of their possessions, and are one of the worst 15 teams in the nation when it comes to putting opponents on the foul line. That’s a recipe for disaster against a Kansas State team that bruises their way to the line and shuts down opponents with a stifling defense that forces miscues. Of course, United Spirit Arena is always good for an upset or two, and Tech has hit nearly 37% of their threes on the season. As many teams discover in conference play, oftentimes all it takes to get surprised on the road is for a team to heat up from long range. If the Wildcats can limit the perimeter damage, their physical advantages should be enough to avoid an unfortunate roadblock.

TEAM W L THIS WEEK NEXT WEEK Kansas 5 0 W vs. BU, 92-74; Sat at UT Mon vs. A&M; Sat at ISU Baylor 4 1 L at KU, 92-74; Sat vs. Mizzou Tue at OU; Sat vs. UT Missouri 4 1 W vs A&M, 70-51; Sat at BU Wed at OSU; Sat vs. Tech Iowa State 3 2 W vs. OSU, 71-68; Sat at Tech Tue at UT; Sat vs. KU Kansas State 2 3 W vs. UT, 84-80; Sat at OSU Wed at Tech; Sat vs. OU Oklahoma 2 3 W vs. Tech, 66-54; Sat at A&M Tue vs. BU; Sat at KSU Oklahoma State 2 3 L at ISU, 71-68; Sat vs. KSU Wed vs. Mizzou; Sat at A&M Texas 2 3 L at KSU, 84-80; Sat vs. KU Tue vs. ISU; Sat at BU Texas A&M 1 4 L at Mizzou, 70-51; Sat vs. OU Mon at KU; Sat vs. OSU Texas Tech 0 5 L at OU, 66-54; Sat vs. ISU Wed vs. KSU; Sat at Mizzou

Kansas State at Oklahoma State; Saturday, 12:30 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
The Wildcats survived their tough opening slate, finishing 1-2 against the league’s top three teams, but turned around and dropped a game in Norman last Saturday. After hanging on to beat Texas at home Wednesday night, Frank Martin and K-State now look to even their record as they travel to Gallagher-Iba Arena. Yesterday’s suspension of big man Jordan Henriquez means that it will be up to Thomas Gipson and Jamar Samuels to hold things down in the frontcourt. Fortunately for K-State, Oklahoma State doesn’t have much of a presence in the lane, so it will be hard for the Pokes to exploit the sudden loss of depth in the Wildcat frontcourt.

Missouri at Baylor; Saturday, 1:00 P.M. CT (ESPN)
Never in the history of the Big 12 has there been a meeting of two league members ranked in the top five nationally where one of the jerseys didn’t read “Kansas” or “Texas.” While that makes Saturday’s top-five showdown between Missouri and Baylor a historic event, the more immediate ramifications of the game resonate a little more loudly. In addition to staying close to Kansas in the standings, the winner also gets to add a big-time win to their tournament résumé, something that will be crucial to earning a favorable road through the NCAAs.

The two regional sites closest to the Big 12 footprint are in St. Louis and Atlanta. The committee tends to shy away from putting a 1-seed and 2-seed from the same conference in the same regional, so if the Big 12 champion earns a spot in St. Louis, the league’s second-best team could end up being shipped out to Atlanta or Phoenix. For Baylor, that might not be a big difference, but for a Tiger team that would practically be playing home games at the Edward Jones Dome, it’s an important thing to consider. Of course, Kentucky could earn that top seed line in St. Louis instead of Atlanta, once again proving why it’s ridiculous for me to even be writing about these scenarios on January 20th.

Kansas at Texas; Saturday, 3:00 P.M. CT (CBS)
A full preview of the Kansas/Texas game will be available in the wee hours of Friday night/Saturday morning.

Oklahoma at Texas A&M; Saturday, 3:00 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
The Aggies are one of the most disappointing teams in college basketball right now, and it’s tough to find a reason why. The team returned a big chunk of last year’s roster and was competitive in the 2KSports Classic back in November, even though star Khris Middleton was injured. Yet over the last three-plus weeks, the Aggies have developed an allergy to the basket that is shocking even for a program that typically plays tough, defense-first basketball. A&M has posted an offensive efficiency of more than 0.85 points per possession just once in league play, and that was against cellar-dwelling Texas Tech.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, has been on the other end of the spectrum. Predicted to be one of the two or three worst teams in the Big 12, Lon Kruger has the Sooners competitive again in his first year on the job. While they were blown out in their conference opener against Missouri, the Sooners hung with Kansas for most of the game on January 7th, and even pulled off an upset over Kansas State at Lloyd Noble last weekend. If OU is truly going to compete for the middle rungs of the league standings, they will have to win road games against those teams below them in the standings. A win at A&M tomorrow afternoon keeps them on the right track and levels their league record at 3-3. A loss simply drops them down to the part of the standings in which most pundits had predicted them to finish.

Iowa State at Texas Tech; Saturday, 4:00 P.M. CT (ESPN2)
The Cyclones have been another surprise team in league play, but they were unable to steal a big win against Missouri or Kansas last week. This week’s pair of games against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech were supposed to be easy wins to get the Cyclones back on track before a three-game gauntlet of Texas, Kansas, and Kansas State. Instead, it took a banked-in Scott Christopherson three-pointer at the buzzer for Iowa State to knock off the Cowboys at Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday night. No matter how good or bad Texas Tech is on any given year, they always seem to surprise a team or two at United Spirit Arena, so the Cyclones will have to avoid a letdown game in advance of their trip to the Erwin Center on Tuesday night.

TEAM W L LAST WEEK THIS WEEK Baylor 4 0 W at KSU, 75-73; W vs. OSU, 106-65 Mon at KU; Sat vs. Mizzou Kansas 4 0 W at Tech, 81-46; W vs. ISU, 82-73 Mon vs. BU; Sat at UT Missouri 3 1 W at ISU, 76-69; W vs. UT, 84-73 Mon vs A&M; Sat at BU Iowa State 2 2 L vs. Mizzou, 76-69; L at KU, 82-73 Wed vs. OSU; Sat at Tech Texas 2 2 W vs. A&M, 61-51; L at Mizzou, 84-73 Wed at KSU; Sat vs. KU Oklahoma State 2 2 W vs. OU, 72-65; L at BU, 106-65 Wed at ISU; Sat vs. KSU Oklahoma 1 3 L at OSU, 72-65; W vs. KSU, 82-73 Tue vs. Tech; Sat at A&M Kansas State 1 3 L vs. BU, 75-73; L at OU, 82-73 Wed vs. UT; Sat at OSU Texas A&M 1 3 L at UT, 61-51; W vs. Tech, 67-54 Mon at Mizzou; Sat vs. OU Texas Tech 0 4 L vs. KU, 81-46; L at A&M, 67-54 Tue at OU; Sat vs. ISU

The big picture

The league’s top three teams maintained order this week, as Baylor, Kansas, and Missouri pulled away from the pack and handed Iowa State its first two losses. We’ll likely get a little more clarity on the pecking order amongst the league’s elites, as Baylor tackles a tough week that includes a road trip to Lawrence and a home game against fellow top-ten team Missouri. Iowa State has a fairly easy draw this week, while Texas and Oklahoma State could easily both go 0-2. By this time next week, there could be a significant separation between the league’s top four and the middle of the Big 12 pack.

Mid-week games

Texas A&M at Mizzou; Monday, 4:30 P.M. CT (ESPN)

The Aggies have defeated the Tigers in their last eight meetings, a streak dating back to the 2004 season. Missouri actually chalked up two wins against A&M that year, as it was the famous “0-for-conference” season for Melvin Watkins and the Aggies. If there were ever a time for the Tigers to break the streak, this would seem to be it. Missouri is hitting on all cylinders and is currently ranked 9th in the nation, although on the heels of losses by Michigan State and Indiana, they will likely climb a few spots in today’s new batch of polls. The Aggies, meanwhile, have played their way to an inexplicable 1-3 start, with the lone win coming at home against the cellar-dwellers from Texas Tech. Stranger things have happened, but look for Frank Haith to earn his second-straight win over a school he once worked at.

Baylor at Kansas; Monday, 8:30 P.M. CT (ESPN)
The best game of the young conference season caps an awesome quadrupleheader on the Worldwide Leader tonight, as Baylor looks to continue its improbable undefeated run with a win at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. The Bears are coming off of an absolute thrashing of Oklahoma State on Saturday, where the team cracked the century mark and PJ3 posted a double-double in just 27 minutes with a 19/12 line. While the Bears were cruising, Kansas was tested at home by Iowa State, but extended their home win streak over the ‘Clones to seven games.

One interesting subplot to remember is that the last time these teams met in Lawrence, Scott Drew ticked off Jayhawk Nation by electing to coach his team up in the hallway rather than watch KU’s intro video. Kansas City sports radio was inundated with angry calls in the days following the game, presumably because Jayhawk fans felt that Kansas Basketball History 101 should be a part of the Baylor curriculum. It’s probably a safe bet that the Bears will stay on the sideline this time around, although you shouldn’t expect to see Quincy Acy or Pierre Jackson throwing shredded newspaper in the air when Mario’s Miracle goes down.

Texas Tech at Oklahoma; Tuesday, 7:00 P.M. CT (ESPN Full Court/ESPN3.com)
The Sooners played extremely well in non-conference under new coach Lon Kruger, but stumbled when hit with an opening pair of games against Missouri and Kansas. The Sooners finally notched their first league win in a home upset of K-State on Saturday, led by Andrew Fitzgerald, Romero Osby, and Steven Pledger, who all scored at least 18 points. The Sooners likely won’t need such heroics at home against Texas Tech in this one, but could still post the same kind of impressive numbers. If the Sooners can take care of business, they’ll create a little separation from the bottom of the league, with a chance to add even more space with a win at A&M on Saturday.

Texas at Kansas State; Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPN2)
A full preview of the Texas/K-State game will be available on Wednesday.

Oklahoma State at Iowa State; Wednesday, 8:00 P.M. CT (ESPNU)
The Cyclones performed admirably in their games against Missouri and Kansas last week, but came up just short in both of them. The losses indicate that Iowa State isn’t quite in that top tier of teams in the Big 12, but they do show that ISU will certainly be competitive. Fortunately, the schedule-makers had a bit of sympathy for the Cyclones, following up that tough pair of games with two very winnable ones against Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. The Cowboys did knock off the Sooners in a Bedlam match-up last Monday, but completely laid down when they traveled to Waco on Saturday afternoon. There’s no indication that a thin, reeling Oklahoma State is going to suddenly show up, especially on the road, so look for the Cyclones to keep themselves in the upper half of the league standings.