STF Conference Reports: Big XII 12/12/2007

I may have waited too long to write this one. I wrote the first B12 report on the final day of November, and felt it would be redundant to do another one on Dec 5th. So now a lot of stuff has happened, making my choices of awardees harder. But that's why they pay me the big bucks.

The Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series was the big story of the week, and it was pretty much a wash. Oklahoma lost to USC and Kansas won at the Galen Center. Kansas State lost a nail-biter to Oregon in OT. Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Iowa State Surprised. Colorado didn't. Texas Tech didn't play in the series at all. Isn't that just so Bob Knight?

At Kansas, former starter Sasha Kaun came off the bench to score 15 points in as many minutes. So wait, does that mean he proved he should start, or that he's better in a limited role? I can never figure that out. The Red Raiders lost to the freaking Centenary Gentlemen, and still didn't get my vote for worst team of the week. But it was close. So let's do this.

Team of the Week

Gotta go with Texas again. Knocking off UCLA in their own building is about as big-time as it gets. DJ Augustin is a reliable scorer and he gets the ball to his teammates, with 7 apg. The Longhorns are definitely a more balanced team this year, with all five starters averaging double figures. The worst thing I can say about them is that there's a severe drop-off after that. But a short bench is working for them right now, so what do I know?

Player of the Week

I'm going for the changeup here. I'm picking Nebraska's Aleks Maric. I admire his consistency. He's playing on a middle-of-the-pack Big 12 team, but he's hanging tough. Here's what he's done since the last B12 report: 14/8 vs Arizona State, 17/13 at W. Kentucky, and 19/8 in a win over Rutgers. The Sydney, Australia, native charged up his already excellent rebounding totals in the only game the Huskers lost this week. That's what I call senior leadership. If he can get his team on the same page, they could surprise.

Worst Week

Oklahoma. The Centenary loss by Tech gave them a run for their money, but at least that was on the road. The Sooners let Stephen F. Austin beat them in the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman. Back in my day, Billy Tubbs' forehead would have split open, bathing the court in a deadly and sulpherous demon light before such an event could occur. OU let a guy named Gerald Fonzie score 10 points. The guy had just put up a goose-egg at home vs. the Southern Jaguars.

Fonzie!!! Yikes.

Games to Watch

Oklahoma State at #9 Pitt - noon Saturday, ESPN
#17 Oregon at Nebraska - 2pm Saturday, regional TV
Arkansas at Oklahoma - 3pm Saturday, ESPN2
Ohio at #3 Kansas - 5pm Saturday, ESPN2

Lots of chances for underdogs to prove their merit and make a statement this week. We'll look at how it pans out next Wednesday.

STF Conference Report: The Big 12

Now that all of the college hoops world has a few games under their belts, and some leagues are even starting in-conference play, STF is ready to gear up the Conference reports. I'm Extra P., and I'll be reporting on the Big 12 and the MVC this season. Starting next week, you'll have the distinct pleasure of reading reports on other conferences from our distinguished panel of NCAA hoops experts. Let's get things started.

The Big 12 is what we figured it would be. Four championship-caliber teams have risen to the top, a handful of teams look at-large worthy, and the rest have significant holes that could doom them to sit home during the post-season.

Among the top teams, I'm even going to make a further distinction. Kansas and Texas are battling for the league crown and the auto-bid. Kansas State is one rung down, as they showed last night, losing to Oregon due to mental mistakes. An incredible collection of talent wears the purple, but they'll need to climb a steep learning curve before they can play top-quality team basketball. They remind me of Texas a year ago - best freshman in the game, but no team concept.

Am I being unfair putting Texas A&M in the almost-there category? Probably. The Aggies are 7-0, and have the P-NIT title in the books already. If Ohio State had lived up to their billing in subsequent games, I'd probably be more excited. Honestly, A&M is a reflection of new coach Mark Turgeon - they're steady, not particularly flashy, and they'll probably stun us all (OK, I mean me) with how good they can be. For now, they're flying slightly below the radar, simply because of the amazing talent and experience of the top two schools.

The Lone Star state also provides us with the surprising season of the Baylor Bears. They've won on the road and at home, and are 5-0 coming into tonight's game against the #6 Washington State Cougars. The kids from Waco should take heart from the fact that WSU recently made the same leap they are working on, and are now a top-ten regular.

OK, I've been a bit wordy because this is the first of the season. Let's get down to business:

Team of the Week - Texas. For proving that they can win, and win big, without Kevin Durant. They're averaging 99 points per game this week, blasting the mighty (#7 Tennessee) and the lowly (Texas Southern) alike.

Player of the Week - Michael Beasley. 13 and 10 in a win over Rider, 24 and 12 in a loss to #17 Oregon. We may have to give this award to him every week. He can score from all over the floor and even though he's 6'9", his rebounds are more about smarts and finesse than they are about brute strength.

Team With The Worst Week - Iowa State. The Cyclones didn't even crack 50 against a middle-of-the-pack Northern Iowa team out of the MVC, losing 61-48. It's going to be a long winter in Ames.

Games To Watch - #9 Texas A&M at Arizona 12/2, #4 Kansas at #24 USC 12/2, #8 Texas at #1 UCLA 12/2, #6 Washington State at Baylor 11/30. This Pac-10/Big 12 Hardwood Series is pretty sweet.

Huge out-of-conference week for the Big 12. I'll let you know which games are on TV when I post Hoopweekend around 5pm today.

Near Columbia this Weekend? Get an early look at Mizzou.

Here's a bizarre turn of events. The Missouri hoops program is attempting to build off of the popularity of the skyrocketing football program in order to generate some early interest. The Mizzou Arena will be open to the public this Saturday at 4pm, just prior to the Nebraska @ Missouri football game. Back in my day, this would have been the other way around.

In addition to this weekend's open gym, the Missouri basketball will be hosting Mizzou Madness on Friday, Oct. 12 at 9 p.m. Held following the annual Rock Bridge-Hickman high school football game at Faurot Field, Mizzou Madness is free to the general public, but the University of Missouri Department of Athletics is teaming up with the Central Missouri Food Bank and asks fans to donate one canned (food) item per person upon entry. Collection bins will be available at the gates.

[Missouri Athletics]

Since the official Midnight Madness isn't until next Friday, there will probably be precious little opportunity to assess the team itself, but I believe it is always worthwhile to check out the nooks and crannies of the building itself when the chance provides.

Count me also amongst those who believe that Mike Anderson will succeed in turning this team around. This will be a good chance for Tiger fans to show some early support for that mission.

Skip Class and Still Lose: You, Too Can Be an Iowa State Cyclone

Unless you dig wrestling, it must be really tough to be an Iowa State Cyclones fan these days. The Cyclones hoop program has been in serious decline since Larry Eustachy decided to hit a keg party in Columbia, Missouri, seeing their win totals decline steadily since the 2003-2004 season, which was their last with 20 W's.

Last season they dipped below .500, winning fifteen, losing sixteen, and going 6-10 in the Big 12. That's bad basketball in a premier conference, coming from a team that used to challenge Kansas for the North crown on a perennial basis.

And now comes the news that ISU isn't graduating anyone, either. The Dallas News reports that Ames is by far the worst place to send your student-athlete if you want him to either win or graduate. It's worst in hoops, where ISU graduated only 17 freshmen who entered school between 1997 and 2000. The next lowest number in the Big 12 was Texas' 33, and the highest was a surprising Oklahoma State, with 73.

Obviously, graduation rates are controversial - they don't include transfers, for instance. But seventeen? I mean... that's just bad.

STF Conference Preview: The Big XII

STF CONFERENCE PREVIEW: BIG XII



LAST SEASON RECAP: Last year’s NCAA entrants were Kansas, who made it to the Elite Eight, and three of the four Texas teams. That’s a very low four teams in for the Big 12. Okie State and Kansas State won a grand total of one game combined in the NIT.

TEAM TO BEAT: Kansas, Siempre Kansas.

SECOND TIER: Big dogs went to the NBA from Texas and A&M, but the cupboard remains stocked for both. And there’s still Texas Tech and Oklahoma in the south as well. The only north team that might make noise is Missouri, though many favor Kansas State and the remaining Huggins recruits.

SLEEPER: Colorado. Jeff Bzdelik is exactly what they need – he uses defensive intensity to turn teams around fast, and he’s done it at the Nuggets and Air Force before getting this opportunity.

OVERRATED: Texas Tech. Bobby Knight is still a marquee name, but the combination of his temper, his competition for recruits, and the visual appeal of Lubbock will keep Tech perennially middle-of-the-pack. Which is infinitely better than their former position of league doormat, but still...

WORST TEAM: Poor, sad Baylor. They may never fully recover from the depressing Dave Bliss era, which nearly destroyed a program that has never had much success in the first place.

STF PREDICTION: Kansas will romp again – getting Brandon Rush back unexpectedly put them right back on course and gave the Jayhawks the experienced leader that they will need to harness all of the jaw-dropping young talent Bill Self has assembled. The three aforementioned Texas teams will probably be tourney-bound again, and Oklahoma and Missouri could find their stride as well. Six in the tournament? It’s happened before in the Big XII.

1. Kansas
2. Texas
3. Missouri
4. Texas A&M
5. Oklahoma
6. Texas Tech
7. Kansas State
8. Colorado
9. Oklahoma State
10. Iowa State
11. Nebraska
12. Baylor