Big 12 Conference Notebook
by Zach Ewing
A new Big 12 power
The Big 12’s South division has been long dominant in football, especially this past season. Now those six teams in Oklahoma and Texas are trying to make it the same way this basketball season. Obviously, No. 2 Kansas’ presence in the North will prevent that from completely happening. But, as Iowa State, Colorado, Kansas State and Missouri all struggle at the start of conference play, it’s hard to help noticing that Texas A&M has emerged as a possible new power in the South.
The Aggies announced their presence with a shocking 74-63 win against Texas in College Station last Wednesday. And before any nay-sayers out there pass the upset off as a fluke, recall these facts: A&M, albeit against a weak schedule, hasn’t lost at home all season; the Aggies were tied with Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse with less than a minute to play before falling 65-60; and Billy Gillispie has the No. 1 team in the country in field goal percentage defense, including holding the Longhorns to 32 percent Wednesday. That defense means more upsets are on the way, and could mean that Texas A&M is on its way to being a Big 12 power.
But there is a concern. Point guard Acie Law led the Aggies with 24 points and six assists on 10-of-13 shooting in the upset against Texas, but then he was non-existent in Saturday’s 70-56 loss to Texas Tech. Gillispie pulled Law two minutes into the game, apparently upset with the way he was playing. He didn’t return until there was about 14 minutes left in the game and never became a factor, finishing with no points and one assist. Without him, the Aggies couldn’t put together much offense and shot just 40 percent. After the game, Gillispie said Law wasn’t hurt and that he didn’t want to discuss why the junior played only 16 minutes.
If Law can keep his head (and more important, his body) in the game, then A&M can start realistically thinking about qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. If not, then maybe the South won’t take over Big 12 basketball.
Getting their horses back
The one Big 12 title contender in the North is probably the favorite for the championship, Kansas. The Jayhawks, who beat Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Texas A&M without all-world forward Wayne Simien, got the big guy back this week for their wins against Iowa State and Colorado. He had 13 points and nine rebounds in an unexpected appearance against the Cyclones, and then got back to form with 23 points and 17 rebounds against the Buffaloes.
Keith Langford, the Jayhawks’ other big star, was questionable for the ISU game after suffering a concussion against Kentucky. He also played and played well, going for 18 points, six rebounds and five assists. KU, undefeated even without Simien, might get downright scary to face now.
Eddie’s milestone
Oklahoma State’s two victories this week helped keep the Cowboys one of only two undefeated teams in the Big 12, but they were even more significant than that. Tuesday’s 78-68 win versus Missouri gave coach Eddie Sutton his 767th career victory, tying him for seventh all-time with Henry Iba, his mentor and former coach.
Then, with Saturday’s 83-73 win against Iowa State, Sutton passed Iba. In a post-game ceremony and celebration, OSU announced that the court at Gallagher-Iba Arena would be named Eddie Sutton Court. It was a special moment for the man who will now have his name on the court in the arena that is named for the coach he passed.
Oklahoma gets one last scalp
It was the perfect vengeance on ESPN’s Big Monday. Last year, Oklahoma lost 86-59 to Connecticut, bursting the Sooners’ perfect record, their top-10 ranking and eventually their NCAA Tournament hopes. But this year, a barely-ranked OU team took control of the Huskies early and raced to a 77-65 win. Taj Gray and Terrell Everett, two of the nation’s best junior-college transfers, made the difference. Gray had 23 points and 10 rebounds, and Everett was close to a triple-double with 10 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists.
Big 12 Conference Player of the Week
Joey Graham, Oklahoma State
Graham single-handedly held-off an upset-minded Missouri team with 27 points and nine rebounds and shot 13-of-13 from the free-throw line. Then, in a similar game against Iowa State, Graham had 20 points and seven rebounds. This guy has gone from being a role player to being the Cowboys’ number-one scoring option, replacing Tony Allen.
Big 12 Conference Rookie of the Week
Joe McCray, Nebraska
The freshman beats out transfer Taj Gray of Oklahoma and freshman Joseph Jones from Texas A&M this week because of his two 21-point outings. He hit a huge three to finish off Colorado on the road in the Huskers’ first game of the week, and then got 21 with 11 rebounds in a close loss to Texas.
Around the Big 12
Baylor Bears (8-5 overall, 0-2 Big 12)
In their last non-conference game of the season, the Bears picked perhaps the most hapless opponent they could: Savannah State. Baylor beat up the winless Hornets 86-50, and in doing so, matched their win total from last year here in mid-January. Baylor started the game 1-of-13 from the field and led just 7-6 until a 13-3 run gave it control for good. All five BU starters scored in double figures, led by Patrick Fields, who finished with 17 points and seven rebounds.
Scott Drew almost turned the biggest upset of his young career in Baylor’s next game, a 65-61 loss to Oklahoma in Waco. Drew’s team whittled a 12-point second-half deficit to one at 57-56 with 2:39 remaining. With the score 58-57, OU point guard Drew Lavender nailed a huge three, but Tim Bush, who finished with 11 points and eight rebounds, answered for Baylor to make it 62-61. Then, down by two with 11 seconds left, BU guard Aaron Bruce drove down the baseline and attempted to tie the game with a reverse lay-up. Instead, it bounced off the iron and Bruce and Kevin Bookout tied up the rebound. The possession arrow pointed to OU, and the Sooners iced the game from the free-throw line. Bruce finished with 21 points and four assists, but it wasn’t enough for Baylor. His team did show, however, that it won’t be an easy win for anyone in the league.
This week: Wednesday vs. Colorado, Saturday at Oklahoma State
Colorado Buffaloes (8-6, 0-3)
This could be a pretty ugly season in Boulder if things don’t turn around. Luckily for the Buffaloes, the effort seems to be turned around. In a 68-61 loss to Nebraska last Wednesday, CU fell behind by 17 early in the second half only to trim the deficit to four with less than two minutes to go. But when the Huskers’ Joe McCray nailed a three-pointer on the next possession, CU couldn’t complete the comeback at home. The Buffs shot just 34 percent from the field and wasted 22 points and 14 rebounds from Chris Copeland and 20 points from Richard Roby.
The poor shooting continued in the Buffs’ Saturday loss to Kansas. CU started the game 8-of-34 but stayed within 13 of the powerful Jayhawks by dominating the offensive glass. For the game, Colorado shot 30 percent but used a scrappy second-half effort to get within one point at 47-46. Copeland shot an air-ball on the next possession and Keith Langford answered with a three-point play. KU went on to win 76-61. For CU, Copeland finished with another double-double, 22 points and 11 rebounds, Roby had 14 and Glean Eddy had 12 rebounds, leading the charge on the glass. But a loss is still a loss, and if Colorado can’t win at Baylor on Wednesday, it will be hard to find one in the rest of Big 12 play.
This week: Wednesday at Baylor, Saturday at Iowa State
Iowa State Cyclones (8-6, 0-3)
The Cyclones are probably the best 0-3 team in the history of the Big 12. A close loss at Missouri was followed by hard-fought losses to the conference’s best teams, Kansas and Oklahoma State. Wednesday, KU handed ISU a rare loss in Hilton Coliseum by the score of 71-66. Point guard Curtis Stinson started the night shooting 1-of-13 but led a second-half 10-0 run to give Iowa State a 54-52 lead. Keith Langford, the newly-returned Wayne Simien helped KU back to a 60-54 lead and the Jayhawks held on down the stretch. ISU had one chance to tie, but missed a three-pointer with the score 69-66. After the horrid start, Stinson finished with 18 points and six rebounds, to go with 17 points from Will Blalock and 10 with 11 rebounds from center Jared Homan.
A second-half stretch just after halftime was the difference in the Cyclones’ 83-73 loss at Oklahoma State on Saturday. The score was 30-28 OSU at halftime, but Oklahoma State came out smoking in the second and took a 56-42 lead. The run, which contained several three-point plays, finally got the best of coach Wayne Morgan. He started arguing with the referees about a charging call and was given two technical fouls and ejected. The resulting free throws gave the Cowboys a 19-point lead. Iowa State came back, though, and got within 75-70 on a Blalock three late in the game, but it would get no closer. Stinson had a solid game, scoring 20 points with six rebounds and six assists. Blalock had 15 points and Homan had 13 with seven rebounds.
This week: Saturday vs. Colorado
Kansas Jayhawks (13-0, 3-0)
Wayne Simien returned to the court last Wednesday in a 71-66 win against Iowa State and he scored 13 points and had nine rebounds, but it was the return of Keith Langford, who was listed as questionable for the game with a concussion that really helped out the Jayhawks. Langford had 18 points, six rebounds and five assists on 7-of-11 shooting. He and Simien also held off ISU when it looked like “Hilton Magic” was going to upset the Jayhawks for the second straight year. With the Cyclones leading 54-52 after a 10-0 run, Langford and Simien each scored, Simien stole a ball and dished to Michael Lee for a lay-up and then Langford tipped in a Simien miss for another score. All of a sudden, the score was 60-54. J.R. Giddens also broke out of a season-long slump, hitting his first three three-pointers and finishing with 13 points.
Kansas had to hold off another upset-minded team on the road on Saturday. An early second-half run got Colorado within one point, but Langford hit a nearly impossible jumper while being fouled to keep the Buffaloes at bay. He hit a three-pointer the next time down the court and Aaron Miles added a three the next time. The score was 54-46, and KU ran away with the 76-61 victory. Simien was dominant with 23 points and 17 rebounds while Langford had 14 points and seven rebounds.
This week: Wednesday vs. Nebraska, Saturday at Villanova
Kansas State Wildcats (11-3, 1-2)
After losing a double overtime thriller to Nebraska two weeks ago, K-State lost another heartbreaker last Wednesday, this time at home to Texas Tech. The Wildcats led the game throughout but with the game tied at 73 and less than a minute to play, Tech’s Jarrius Jackson nailed a three-pointer. Cartier Martin answered for the Wildcats with a long three with 33 seconds to go, but Curtis Marshall got the last laugh, hitting another three with two seconds on the clock to win the game 79-76. Despite the loss, it was apparent that Kansas State was playing well. The Wildcats shot 58 percent from the floor and 69 percent (13-of-19) from three-point range and had 23 assists on their 28 field goals. Five K-State players scored in double figures, led by Jeremiah Massey and Fred Peete, who each had 15.
The good play finally translated into an easy win Saturday, when the Tigers of Missouri came into Manhattan and left licking their wounds from a 74-54 K-State beat-down. The Wildcats got out to leads of 10-2 and 21-6 and never led by less than eight points the rest of the way. MU used a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 10 in the second half, but KSU answered with a 13-0 run of its own. Martin had 18 points and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Massey added 17 and K-State enjoyed a wide scoring advantage at the free-throw line. Kansas State was 25-of-34 while Mizzou was just 7-of-15.
This week: Saturday at Texas A&M
Missouri Tigers (9-7, 1-2)
Two losses this week for Missouri — one acceptable and one not. On Tuesday, the Tigers came back from an early 10-point deficit behind Linas Kleiza to cut the lead to 36-34 at halftime. Mizzou even took a few leads in the second half, but were unable to contain Joey Graham and the Cowboys in the end. After freshman Marshall Brown made a short shot to make it 52-51 MU, Stephen Graham hit two free throws and OSU never trailed again. MU cut the lead to one point three more times, but a 6-0 Oklahoma State run made it 69-61 and finally put the game away. Kleiza finished with 24 points and six boards, including 13-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line. But he was the only Tiger in double figures.
The non-acceptable loss came at the hands of Kansas State on Saturday. The Tigers looked unmotivated and were never mentally in the game, something that can’t happen for a team that doesn’t shoot well and relies on defense. The Tigers seemed content to shoot three-pointers instead of driving to the hoop and started out 1-of-13 from behind the arc as they fell behind early. Kleiza had 14 points and eight rebounds and Kevin Young had a career-high 10 points and seven boards, as did Jason Conley, but it didn’t matter. A 20-point deficit was cut to 56-46 by a 12-2 Tiger run, but the Wildcats wouldn’t stand for a third heartbreaking loss. The Tigers were a very good 16-of-29 from inside the arc, but were 5-of-26 from behind it and lost badly, 74-54.
This week: Wednesday vs. Texas Tech, Saturday vs. Nebraska
Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-5, 2-1)
A freshman may hold the key to Nebraska’s success this season, and his name is Joe McCray. The sharpshooter scored 11 of NU’s first 13 points in a 68-61 win against Colorado on Wednesday, and finished with 21 points. He also hit the three-pointer that put the game away with 1:34 to play, putting the Huskers ahead 61-54. He finished with 21 points, while Jason Dourisseau had 11 and Aleks Maric had eight to go with 11 rebounds. The Huskers led 37-22 at the half and were able to hold off the Buffs.
Nebraska got off to another fast start at home Saturday versus Texas, but was unable to hold it. McCray had a big hand in the Huskers’ 11-0 start, but Texas eventually took the lead back and the game went into the locker room tied. After taking their last lead at 47-46 with 6:23 to play, the Huskers went the next five minutes without a field goal as Texas took control and eventually won the game 63-53. Don’t blame McCray, though. He had 21 points and 11 rebounds and shot 5-of-6 from three-point range in the first half. He missed all six threes in the second, however, and the Huskers’ 31 percent shooting finally caught up with them. John Turek had 13 points and eight rebounds and Marcus Neal had 12 points, but he shot just 4-of-17.
This week: Wednesday at Kansas, Saturday at Missouri
Oklahoma Sooners (13-2, 2-0)
A healthy Kevin Bookout and the additions of Taj Gray and Terrell Everett and a Connecticut team minus Emeka Okafor, Ben Gordon and Taliek Brown gave Oklahoma the recipe for some non-conference revenge with a 77-65 win Monday night. Gray had 23 points and 10 rebounds, Bookout had 11 and seven, Everett had 10 points, seven rebounds and seven assists and a well-executed transition game gave OU control of the game early. A 10-2 UConn run in the second half trimmed the Sooner lead to 51-48 with 12 and a half minutes to play, but the Huskies could get no closer. Oklahoma finally put the game away with offensive rebounds. First, Gray had a put back to make the score 68-61, and then Bookout did the same to make it 72-61. Can you say huge non-conference win?
Had the Sooners played that same way against Baylor, they might have doubled the Bears’ score. But since Baylor had some fight in it and Oklahoma had a bit of a hangover from the UConn win, it was a close game instead. OU made a 12-4 run to make the score 45-33 in the second half, but Baylor shaved the lead to one point with under three minutes left. Drew Lavender hit a big three with 45 seconds left, and after Kevin Bookout tied up Aaron Bruce in the closing seconds, Lavender hit two free throws to seal the 65-61 win. Lavender finished with 20 points while Bookout had 19 points and 10 rebounds. OU hasn’t lost to Baylor since 1977.
This week: Tuesday at Texas A&M, Saturday vs. Texas
Oklahoma State Cowboys (13-1, 3-0)
Eddie Sutton’s big week overshadowed what was actually a big week for his team. Sutton passed Henry Iba with wins number 767 and768, but more importantly, Oklahoma State held off Missouri and Iowa State to go to 3-0 in Big 12 play with a showdown with Texas on Monday. Wednesday, in a 78-68 win versus Missouri, Joey Graham had 27 points and nine boards and hit all 13 of his free-throw attempts. As a team, the Cowboys shot 26-of-29 from the line and made a big run late in the game to win with a working margin. John Lucas had 18 points and Stephen Graham had 13, including two free throws to give OSU the lead for good at 53-52.
Sutton passed Iba on Saturday with Okie State’s third straight 10-point win, 83-73 over Iowa State. When ISU came back from a 19-point deficit to make the score 75-70, the Cowboys held off the Cyclones thanks to a huge three from Ivan McFarlin that made the score 82-73. McFarlin finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Joey Graham had 20 points and seven boards. Lucas added 17 more points to go with seven assists. It was the Cowboys’ 24th straight win at home.
This week: Monday at Texas, Saturday vs. Baylor
Texas Longhorns (13-3, 2-1)
In the Big 12’s shocker of the week, Texas shot just 32 percent in a 74-63 loss to Texas A&M in College Station on Wednesday. P.J. Tucker had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Longhorns to go with 12 points and eight rebounds from LaMarcus Aldridge, but the Aggies surprisingly took control of the game from the outset. Texas tried to cut down the Aggies’ big lead behind Tucker, but couldn’t get it closer than 10 points. Freshman point guard Daniel Gibson was 1-of-11 from the field and scored only three points, and center Jason Klotz was only 1-of-9 with four points. Texas shot just 7-of-33 as a team in the first half.
It looked like Nebraska was going to make it two upset losses for Texas in a row, but the Longhorns won the game down the stretch. Trailing 47-46 with just more than six minutes to go, Gibson started a scoring spree to put the game in UT’s corner. He scored on a lay-in, hit two free throws and a jumper before Kenny Taylor drained a three to make it 55-49 with just 2:32 left. Gibson finished with 12 points, all scored in the last 15 minutes of the game. Fellow freshman Aldridge had 10 points and eight rebounds, but left the game in the second half with an undisclosed injury.
This week: Monday vs. Oklahoma State, Saturday at Oklahoma
Texas A&M Aggies (11-2, 1-2)
A&M’s 74-63 upset of Texas last Wednesday came in front of a school-record 12,811 crowd and was the Aggies’ first win against a top-10 team since 1982. Acie Law led the charge with 24 points and six assists on 10-of-13 shooting, including a three-pointer that made the score 63-50 with 3:39 left and virtually clinched the court-storming upset. Freshman Joseph Jones had 13 points and 11 rebounds to counteract an off-day for Antoine Wright, who scored just nine points.
Wright was back in action in Saturday’s game against Texas Tech, but the rest of the Aggies, especially Law, were not. Wright’s 18 points and 12 rebounds, along with another double-double from Jones (11 points and rebounds) weren’t enough in a 70-56 loss to the Red Raiders. But Law was benched two minutes into the game and didn’t return until six minutes into the second half. Without him, the offense struggled and he was ineffective when he came back in. He finished with no points on just one shot in 16 minutes of play. For the game, the normally accurate Aggies shot just 40 percent. They did manage to cut a big Tech lead to 46-41 with 9:52 left, but the Red Raiders’ 14-4 run answered the threat and put the game away.
This week is huge for A&M, which can go one of two directions now: back to the road of upsets and surprising games, or down the road of poor offense and controversial benchings.
This week: Tuesday vs. Oklahoma, Saturday vs. Kansas State
Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-4, 2-1)
Curtis Marshall’s three-pointer with two seconds to play gave Texas Tech a 79-76 road win at Kansas State and it saved Bobby Knight’s squad from starting conference play 0-2. K-State led most of the way, but Tech took its first lead in 20 minutes with 10:07 left. There were then seven lead changes in the last 10 minutes until Marshall’s three won it. In what is getting to become a broken record, there were five players in double figures for the Red Raiders, starting with Ronald Ross’ 18 points and seven assists. Martin Zeno, Marshall and Jarrius Jackson all had at least 15 points also.
There weren’t five players in double digits against Texas A&M on Saturday, but Ross took care of the offense himself. He shot 11-of-15 from the field and scored 27 points to go with eight boards. Zeno, a freshman also had 18 points, eight rebounds and four assists. But it was little-heard-from Darryl Dora, who finished with 11 points, who had the most important ones. During Tech’s deciding 14-4 run that made the score 60-45 with 5:19 left, Dora had six crucial points.
This week: Wednesday at Missouri
Five Games to Watch This Week
5. Colorado at Iowa State, Saturday: This doesn’t seem like it should even be a close game, but if it’s close down the stretch, ISU could get tight. The Cyclones can’t afford a 0-4 start in conference play, and that’s what they’ll be staring at with a loss here.
4. Texas Tech at Missouri, Wednesday: It’s early, but this could be considered a bona fide bubble game. The winner will be a step ahead of the loser for any possible NCAA Tournament berths.
3. Kansas State at Texas A&M, Saturday: Which one of these teams is for real? Similar to the last game, the winner can start dreaming of the Big Dance. The loser is in for yet another long season.
2. Texas at Oklahoma, Saturday: Texas would love to get some revenge for its football team’s loss in the Red River Shootout, but if OU plays like it did against UConn last week, it will be tough for the Longhorns.
1. Oklahoma State at Texas, Monday: Another Big Monday match-up brings us a battle for Southern supremacy (although OU may have something to say about that too). If Texas is without the injured LaMarcus Aldridge, it could be the first of two losses this week. Talk about a tough week.
