Big 12 Conference Notebook
by Zach Ewing
Three great games
You know it’s time for conference play when one conference has three hotly-contested, down-to-the-wire games in the span of two days like the Big 12 did last weekend. Let’s start with a non-conference tilt between Kansas, one of the country’s four remaining unbeaten teams, and fellow top-ten team Kentucky.
The Jayhawks, playing without All-American forward Wayne Simien, showed true grit and a championship attitude by still gunning down the Wildcats 65-59 on Sunday in Lexington, Ky. It was Kansas’ first win in Lexington in eight tries. KU held the lead for most of the second half but Kentucky had kept the game close and was within 58-56 with less than a minute to play. Kansas had the ball with the shot clock winding down as point guard Aaron Miles dribbled to the left side of the perimeter. He lost his footing with three seconds left on the shot clock, but as he was falling, he threw the ball backwards over his head to teammate Michael Lee, who drained a three from the left wing as the shot clock expired and the game clock wound down to 29 seconds. Kentucky answered with a three of its own to cut the lead to 61-59 with 20 seconds to play, but Miles and J.R. Giddens each hit two free throws down the stretch to seal the big win. Kansas survived its first road game of the season in one of the country’s toughest places to play and finishes non-league play undefeated.
The day before, two league games provided plenty of drama. In a key early-conference season match-up, Missouri defended its home court with a strange 62-59 victory against Iowa State. The Tigers shot 54 percent in the first half to lead 33-24 at the break and extended the lead to 13 early in the second. But a 25-2 Iowa State run, aided by soft defense and errant passes from Mizzou, made a 41-29 ISU deficit a 57-45 lead with less than five minutes to play. MU went more than 12 minutes without hitting a field goal during this stretch, and it looked like the Tigers had choked away their conference opener. But MU responded. Freshman point guard Jason Horton hit a three-pointer to spark a 13-0 run, capped when another freshman, Marshall Brown, made a steal and a lay-up to put MU back on top 58-57 with just more than a minute remaining. Curtis Stinson briefly put ISU ahead 59-58, but Jimmy McKinney made a spinning shot in the lane while being fouled on the next possession. He missed the free throw, but Stinson turned the ball over and then John Neal missed a three-pointer at the buzzer to complete the Tigers’ comeback – after the Cyclones’ comeback.
Finally, Saturday night in Lincoln, Kansas State made a comeback of its own, only to fall 95-85 to host Nebraska in double overtime. The Huskers led by as many as 12 early in the second half, but KSU came back to take a two-point lead in the waning seconds. Just like in a win against Tennessee last week, NU’s Marcus Neal was fouled as he shot a three-pointer with seconds remaining. This time, however, he hit only two of the three free throws and sent the game to overtime tied at 69. K-State’s Lance Harris nailed a three-pointer to tie the game 80-80 with nine seconds left in the first extra period, but then Nebraska finally ran away with the game in the second OT. Two three-pointers from Wes Wilkinson and Neal started an 11-1 Nebraska run to end the game. Whew. I think I’m ready for next week.
Non-conference supremacy
Kansas’ win over Kentucky capped a week in which the Big 12 lost only one non-conference game, a 72-59 loss by Iowa State to Xavier on Monday. The conference finished the week 8-1 in non-conference games. Heading into Oklahoma’s showdown with Connecticut on Monday, the Big 12 is 106-27 in non-conference games, a .797 winning percentage.
Rough play punished
In one of those non-conference victories and yet another close game, Texas beat Memphis 74-67 at home Thursday night. The game featured aggressive, physical play by both teams, which culminated midway through the second half. The Longhorns’ center, Jason Klotz, and Memphis’ Simplice Njoya got tangled up in a screen. After the play had ended, Klotz sucker-punched Njoya in the stomach. The referees didn’t see the incident and Njoya was able to finish the game, but afterwards, Texas suspended Klotz for the team’s Saturday game against Baylor, won by the Longhorns 79-60.
Even rougher play
In a scary off-the-court incident in Manhattan, Kan., two K-State freshmen were victims of an armed assault and robbery. Clent Stewart and Curtis Allen were on their way home from dinner in a hotel parking lot adjacent to the KSU campus when a suspect with a gun approached them. The suspect hit Stewart in the back of the neck, knocking him down, and pointed the gun at Allen, who ran for help. The suspect then took Stewart’s wallet and flew the scene. Stewart had $25 and some bank cards taken, but wasn’t hurt and declined medical attention.
Legends face off
When Oklahoma State came back to beat Texas Tech 76-66 on Saturday in Lubbock, Texas, it wasn’t just the Cowboys beating the Red Raiders. It was Eddie Sutton over Bobby Knight. With the win, Sutton climbed to within one of his own former coach, Henry Iba, on the all-time coaching wins list. Knight stayed at 840 wins, bested only by Dean Smith’s 879.
Big 12 Conference player of the week
Kevin Bookout, Oklahoma – The powerful forward, finally healthy for the Big 12 season, is showing how good he can play. Bookout led OU’s 85-55 domination of Colorado on Saturday, scoring 27 points and pulling down 11 rebounds. We’ll see if he can continue that against Charlie Villanueva and Josh Boone of Connecticut.
Big 12 Conference Rookie of the week
Jason Horton, Missouri – Another freshman guard, Daniel Gibson of Texas, had more gaudy statistics this week, but Horton made bigger shots. He scored a career-high 12 points in a 64-51 win against American on Tuesday, and then matched it with 12 against Iowa State on Saturday. He hit a three-pointer to break MU’s 12 ½-minute drought and then had a steal and a three-point play later in the Tigers’ game-turning 13-0 run.
Around the Big 12
Baylor Bears (7-4 overall, 0-1 Big 12)
With a 77-59 victory against Chicago State on Tuesday, Baylor won its fifth straight game. That’s the Bears’ longest streak in three seasons. Chicago State made an 8-0 run just after halftime to pull within 35-30 and eventually sliced a big Bear lead to one at 48-47 with less than 10 minutes to play, but Baylor was too much. The Bears responded with a 12-3 run, with Tommy Swanson scoring seven points in that stretch. He had a double-double, with 19 points and 12 rebounds, to go with 15 points from Aaron Bruce and 13 points and five assists from Tim Bush.
In their conference opener at Texas, Baylor hung tough for a little while, but couldn’t compete down the stretch. It was just a 45-37 Texas lead at the half, and Baylor was still within nine eight minutes into the second when Texas freshman LaMarcus Aldridge scored five straight points to make it a 63-49 game. Two minutes later, point guard Bruce fouled out, forcing already short-handed Scott Drew to coach without him. Texas ran away with a 79-60 win. Bush led the Bears with 20 points while Swanson added 14.
This week: Thursday vs. Savannah State, Saturday vs. Oklahoma
Colorado Buffaloes (8-4, 0-1)
Chris Copeland came home to Richmond, Va., last Tuesday and scored 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting to lead his Colorado Buffaloes to a 75-69 win against the host Richmond Spiders. After Richmond had cut a six-point halftime CU lead to one, the Buffs responded by scoring the next seven points. The Spiders again fought back, getting within four at 60-56 when Copeland drained a three-pointer to keep them at bay. Richard Roby added 18 points and nine rebounds and Jayson Obazuaye had 16 points as CU shot 56 percent from the floor in rebounding from an ugly 32-point loss at Utah in its previous game. Afterwards, Copeland said the Buffaloes’ mission was to show the country that they weren’t a bad team after the Utah loss.
The doubters will be back in full force after Colorado was blasted by Oklahoma in the teams’ Big 12 Conference opener by an 85-55 score. OU jumped to a 15-2 lead and never looked back. With no one to control the paint, CU allowed lay-up after lay-up, was out-rebounded 48-35 and shot just 38 percent from the field. In fact, according to the Associated Press, 30 of Oklahoma’s 44 first-half points came on shots within five feet of the basket. Roby, who scored 12 points, was the only Buffalo in double figures.
This week: Wednesday vs. Nebraska, Saturday vs. Kansas
Iowa State Cyclones (8-4, 0-1)
The Cyclones were the only Big 12 team to lose two games this week, and it comes as no surprise since both of Iowa State’s games were on the road. After losing to Xavier on Monday and to Missouri on Saturday, the Cyclones are 0-4 on the road this season and 8-0 at home. Monday, Xavier didn’t trail after making an 11-2 run to go up 20-10. ISU got back to within 33-29 at halftime, but the Musketeers started the second stanza on a 17-5 run. The Cyclones couldn’t get closer than seven points the rest of the way. ISU shot just 33 percent from the floor, and that’s reflected in the stats of their top two scorers. Guard Curtis Stinson scored 18 points and had five assists but shot just 6-of-16 from the floor, and center Jared Homan had 10 points and six rebounds but was only 3-of-13 shooting.
Saturday’s game with Missouri was a huge one for two teams hoping to break into the top four or five of the conference standings, and what could have been a season-turning comeback turned into a nightmare choke job for the Cyclones. Down 39-26, ISU’s zone defense and Curtis Stinson’s freewheeling offense led Iowa State to score 31 of the game’s next 37 points and take a 57-45 lead. But ISU allowed a 17-2 Missouri run to end the game and has now lost 26 straight Big 12 road games. Stinson had 22 points, five rebounds and three assists in the loss, and guard Will Blalock added 12 points, five assists and four steals. The Cyclones struggled in the paint, though. Homan had an bad day, and reserve forward Reggie George was suspended for the game for violating team policy.
The loss looms even bigger because of Iowa State’s next two games. The Cyclones need an upset or they will be 0-3 in the Big 12 at this time next week.
This week: Wednesday vs. Kansas, Saturday at Oklahoma State
Kansas Jayhawks (11-0, 1-0)
Bill Self’s team has continued to walk thin ice without leading scorer and rebounder Wayne Simien, but so far that ice hasn’t broke. Wednesday, KU beat Texas A&M 65-60 in the first Big 12 conference game of the year. The Jayhawks survived despite having only two players, Aaron Miles (15 points) and Michael Lee (10) in double figures in scoring. The normally high-powered J.R. Giddens was 0-of-7 from the floor and did not score, and an equally offensive player, Keith Langford, shot only four times and scored nine points. But freshman Alex Galindo broke a 58-all tie with a three-pointer with 40 seconds to play, and then after Acie Law brought A&M back within one, Christian Moody and Aaron Miles each made two free throws to seal the win.
The odds were stacked against Kansas on Sunday at Kentucky, where the Jayhawks had never won and were still playing without Simien. As if that weren’t enough, Moody, a walk-on who had been carrying the team in the second half, went out with a rolled ankle, freshman C.J. Giles fouled out and Langford got hit in the face during a loose-ball scramble and had to come out. But KU found a way to win, thanks to Miles’ miraculous assist to Lee for a key three-pointer. Moody, Giles, and fellow seldom productive freshmen Alex Galindo and Sasha Kaun combined for 33 points and 19 rebounds, soaking up the statistics lost with Simien’s absence. In addition, Langford had 10 points and seven rebounds in the 65-59 win.
Kansas State Wildcats (10-2, 0-1)
K-State won a Pyrrhic victory against Division II Central Missouri State on Monday. The game was easy. The Wildcats took a 34-31 halftime lead and went on a big second-half run to win 80-58 as Fred Peete scored 25 points and freshman Justin Williams had 10 points and 10 rebounds. But with seven minutes remaining and KSU ahead by 13, Jeremiah Massey, K-State’s best player, went out with an ankle injury after scoring 20 points. He didn’t return.
Massey did come back in Saturday’s 95-85, double overtime loss at Nebraska and scored 12 points, but he was able to play only 25 of a possible 50 minutes, which might have cost Kansas State the close game. After trailing 36-26 at halftime, the Wildcats fought back and eventually took the lead at 63-62 on a Marques Hayden basket with 3:32 remaining. The lead was 69-67 when K-State crumbled. First, Peete missed two free throws with seven seconds left, and then the Wildcats fouled Marcus Neal as he was shooting a three with 1.3 seconds left. Neal missed the first free throw but made the next two, sending the game into overtime. Lance Harris’ three kept KSU in it at the end of the first OT, but Nebraska was too much in the second extra period. Cartier Martin was impressive in the loss, scoring 23 points with seven rebounds.
This week: Wednesday vs. Texas Tech, Saturday vs. Missouri
Missouri Tigers (9-5, 1-0)
A disturbing trend is emerging in Columbia, even as the Tigers have won three straight games and five of their last six. Last Thursday, Mizzou survived a 14-minute stretch without a field goal to upset Gonzaga. Then, on Tuesday, MU endured another long stretch, this time nearly six minutes, without a field goal, to beat American 64-51. The Tigers took control of the game with a 16-2 run to end the first half ahead 33-21, but let the Eagles back within six thanks to the drought. The Tigers won despite only five points from leading scorer Linas Kleiza and 34 percent shooting. Jason Conley had his second straight double-double with 12 points and 10 boards, Thomas Gardner had 14 points, and freshman Jason Horton added a career-high 12.
The drought problem reached a new high Saturday, as a 12 1/2-minute field goal-less stretch turned a 41-29 lead into a 57-45 deficit. MU survived again, thanks to a 13-point run and four points from Jimmy McKinney in the game’s last half-minute. Conley scored 13, Kleiza had 12 and nine rebounds and Horton added 12 more points.
The streaks didn’t stop the Tigers from beating Gonzaga, American and Iowa State at home. But they will keep Missouri from winning in tough environments or against teams playing good offense. Hello, first road game of the year at Oklahoma State.
This week: Tuesday at Oklahoma State, Saturday at Kansas State
Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-4, 1-0)
Marcus Neal had just four points in Nebraska’s home game against Kansas State on Saturday, and the Huskers trailed 69-67 with less than ten seconds to go. He finished the game with 19 points in a wild 95-85 double overtime win. First, Neal repeated his magic act from the week before in a win against Tennessee, drawing a three-shot foul in the waning seconds. This time, he hit just two of the three shots, though, tying the game instead of winning it. But Neal made up for it by scoring 13 points in the two overtimes, including a three-pointer that effectively put the game out of reach at 91-85. Wes Wilkinson added 22 points and John Turek had 17 for the Huskers, who shot 58 percent in the two extra periods. After missing all eight of its three-pointers in the second half, Nebraska connected on 4-of-6 in extra time.
This week: Wednesday at Colorado, Saturday vs. Texas
Oklahoma Sooners (11-2, 1-0)
Think Kelvin Sampson wants a repeat of last year, when his Sooners, came into conference play with double digits in wins and a lot of confidence, but then finished seventh in the Big 12 and failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament? Think again. Sampson’s squad obliterated Colorado in the paint Saturday en route to an 85-55 win at home. Kevin Bookout, a forward who also doesn’t want a repeat of his injury plagued 2004, led the charge, scoring 27 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Taj Gray added 19 and 11 as OU out-rebounded the Buffaloes 48-35. During the game-opening 15-2 run, Oklahoma scored 12 points on lay-ups. The only bad news of the game came late in the second half when Johnnie Gilbert partially tore a tendon in his left foot fighting for a rebound. He is listed as day-to-day.
Bookout, Gray and company will play in a terrific match-up against Connecticut on Monday. With both teams boasting strong front lines, the game may come down to perimeter play. I’ll give the edge to Drew Lavender and Oklahoma over UCONN, which still misses the departed Taliek Brown.
This week: Monday vs. Connecticut, Saturday at Baylor
Oklahoma State Cowboys (11-1, 1-0)
Playing in its first game since a 78-75 loss to Gonzaga, Oklahoma State rebounded by pounding Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 86-61 last Monday. There was a hangover from the loss and the layover at the beginning of the game, however. Corpus Christi led the Cowboys by seven points ten minutes into the game and still held a lead with six minutes left in the half when OSU point guard John Lucas took over. He scored 11 points in the next few minutes before halftime to give the Cowboys a 34-31 edge at the break. Then Oklahoma State started the second half on a 13-0 run, with eight of the points coming from Joey Graham, to take control of the game. The team shot 34-of-52 from the field, or 65 percent. Lucas had 21 points and Graham finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and four assists.
Eddie Sutton got within one of his coach and mentor, Henry Iba, for seventh on the all-time wins list with another comeback victory, this time 76-66 at Texas Tech. Trailing 47-42 nearly halfway through the second half, the Cowboys went on an 18-6 run to lead 60-53 with 8:24 left. The Red Raiders cut the lead to 68-66 with 2:50 to play, but OSU scored the last eight points of the game from that point to hold on for the win, the only one gained by the road team in the first six Big 12 games. OSU did this despite committing 23 turnovers because it held the 38-22 rebounding edge and got double figures in points from four players: Graham, who had 25 points and 12 rebounds; Lucas, whose 20 points included six three-pointers; Ivan McFarlin with 14, and Stephen Graham with 13.
This week: Tuesday vs. Missouri, Saturday vs. Iowa State
Texas Longhorns (12-2, 1-0)
A hard-fought first half left Texas and Memphis tied at 36 at halftime Thursday in Austin. The Longhorns opened up the second half hot, and went ahead 47-39. They maintained control behind P.J. Tucker and Daniel Gibson until Memphis made a run to tie the game at 63, but the Tigers would make no more field goals. Tucker helped to seal the game when, with Texas leading 69-67 and 42 seconds left, he stole the ball from Darius Washington and made a leaping, one-handed dunk on the other end. Texas held on for the 74-67 win and Tucker finished with 18 points while the freshman point guard Gibson had 17. Brad Buckman and Jason Klotz combined for 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting inside, not to mention one after-the-whistle punch.
With Klotz suspended for Sunday’s game with Baylor, Texas bombed away from the outside in a 79-60 victory. The Longhorns made 11 three-pointers, nine of them coming from Gibson and Kenton Paulino. All five of Paulino’s field goals were threes, and he finished with 17 points. Gibson had 18, while another freshman, LaMarcus Aldridge, made up for Klotz’s absence with 16 points and 11 rebounds. UT had a whopping 38-17 edge on the glass and scored 23 second-chance points, but the Bears still managed to keep things relatively close. The lead was just nine fairly late in the game when Paulino nailed back-to-back threes to make the lead 73-58.
This week: Wednesday at Texas A&M, Saturday at Nebraska
Texas A&M Aggies (10-1, 0-1)
Last Wednesday, after Billy Gillispie and his Aggies lost 65-60 to No. 2 Kansas and Bill Self, a man for whom Gillispie used to be an assistant, the Texas A&M players were disappointed, quoted as saying they didn’t believe in moral victories. But for a team that was 0-16 in Big 12 play last year and was 17-point underdogs in the game despite coming in 10-0, this was a moral victory if there ever was one. Antoine Wright tied the game at 58 with a jump shot with just under a minute remaining, but KU had the answer. An improbable three-pointer from freshman Alex Galindo put the Jayhawks back on top. Acie Law, who finished with 14 points and seven rebounds, cut the lead to 61-60 with a driving shot in the lane, but A&M missed on a three-pointer on its next possession and couldn’t score again. Wright had 14 points and freshman Joseph Jones showed he’s ready for Big 12 play with 16 points and seven rebounds.
The loss continued an ugly conference losing streak for the Aggies, but showed the league they won’t go down without a fight. On the other hand, things don’t get any easier for Texas A&M and its losing streak, at least this week.
This week: Wednesday vs. Texas, Saturday at Texas Tech
Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-4, 0-1)
Coach Bob Knight won his 840th career game Tuesday with an 88-68 victory against Northern Colorado in Texas Tech’s final tune-up before conference games. The Red Raiders blew open a 37-31 game with a 10-0 run to start the second half and continued to show that they have multiple scoring threats. Jarrius Jackson had 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go with five assists, Devonne Giles had 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting and Martin Zeno had 15 and Ronald Ross 14 on a combined 12-of-18 effort. Little-known Drew Coffman didn’t score any points, but he dished out 11 assists in a great offensive game for Tech.
The momentum from that victory carried over into the first half of the Raiders’ game with Oklahoma State on Saturday. Texas Tech had a 36-29 halftime lead and still clung to a five-point lead eight minutes later, but couldn’t stop the OSU onslaught. An 18-6 run gave the Cowboys a seven-point lead. Tech answered minutes later with a 9-3 run of its own to cut the lead to 68-66 with 2:50 remaining, but the Red Raiders wouldn’t score another point. Ross had 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting while Giles added 20 and Jackson had 16. The Raider defense forced 23 Oklahoma State turnovers but allowed the Cowboys to shoot 51 percent and win the game by 10.
This week: Wednesday at Kansas State, Saturday vs. Texas A&M
Five games to watch this week
5. Texas at Texas A&M, Wednesday: Don’t count the Aggies out in this one. They played with Kansas until the last minute and could have a homecourt trap waiting for the Longhorns, who have had some trouble with out-manned teams this year.
4. Missouri at Oklahoma State, Tuesday: This is Missouri’s first game of the year outside its own state, and it couldn’t have come at a much tougher place to play. MU’s only chance is its defense, which must hold the Cowboys under 70 for a chance at the upset.
3. Texas A&M at Texas Tech, Saturday: When was the last time you saw A&M on this list twice? The Red Raiders had better be ready, because the Aggies will make this a close game.
2. Kansas at Iowa State, Wednesday: ISU missed a chance at a big win at Missouri last week, and could make up for it by upsetting the Jayhawks. Kansas has already won against Georgia Tech and at Kentucky without Wayne Simien, but the Cyclones are tough at home: they went 7-1 in Ames in the Big 12 last year, including a win against KU.
1. Connecticut at Oklahoma, Monday: One more chance for the Big 12, and more important, Oklahoma, to make a non-conference statement. The Sooners don’t yet have a marquee win, and this would definitely qualify. Look out for the Kevin Bookout and Taj Gray versus Josh Boone and Charlie Villanueva match-up inside.
