STF Conference Reports: The Big 12

Whew. I think I have roughly two weeks worth of action to catch up on here. I can't really blame it on work, school, or family, though I certainly paid attention to each of those aspects of my life this past week. No, I really think the primary culprit in my failure to update is this nefarious multi-symptom flu that has tried very diligently to expel my lung tissue from my thorax over the past week and a half. It's on the wane, so let's talk B12 hoops.

Team of the Week: Texas. Any time you can take down Kansas it's a good week. The Longhorns needed OT to beat a weak Iowa State squad, and in general seem to be a bit shakier than expected, but the Jayhawk downing was big. Next step is to repeat that success in the conference tourney, where Kansas usually has their number, but this year the mini-dance is in Kansas City.

Team with the Worst Week: Baylor. The mega-OT game at Texas A&M seems to have been a catalyst, but not the kind we expected. From that point on, the Aggies can't lose, and the Bears have only beat a Texas Tech team that was in disarray. The farther they fall down the conference standings, the tougher it will be for Baylor to get a good seed in the conference tourney, and, dare we even speak of it at this time: the NCAA dance.

Coach of the Week: I'm starting with a clean slate with the Knight family. I've watched Pat Knight give a few interviews, and he has been relatively humble, open, and gracious. For a guy in this situation, with that father, that's a good start. Until the first chair flies, he's alright with me. Congrats on win #1, Pat.

Player of the Week: Let's just temporarily rename this as the Michael Beasley award. Even when his team loses, his individual game is so dominant, I just can't see my way clear to dethrone him just because I want to spread the wealth around. He's the best, period. 35/13 vs. Nebraska, 23/13 with three blocks vs. Oklahoma State, 22/15 with 11 on the defensive end, even in a loss to Texas Tech. He's superb.

Blogger extraordinaire 100% Injury Rate has done an excellent job of measuring Beasley vs. Durant's 2007 stats at Fan IQ.

Games to Watch:

Texas at Baylor - Saturday
Oklahoma at Texas Tech - Saturday
Texas A&M at Texas - Monday
Baylor at Oklahoma - Tuesday