Big 12 Conference Notebook
by Zach Ewing
Welcome back to conference play, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. We’ve got a circus show on tap for you this year, if the first week is any indication.
What’s next, creepy music?
It wasn’t an alternate universe that descended on Big 12 country early this month; it was just more than a fair share of blink-and-look-again results. Still, the end result made it seem like the conference we’ve known the past few years was standing on its head: Nebraska and Missouri unbeaten and standing atop the conference and mighty Oklahoma winless? Kansas and Oklahoma State waffling in the middle?
Things returned somewhat to normalcy Saturday, but even that was a little strange. In conference games, four of the five home teams lost, with the only win a Texas Tech team that has looked downright bad at times this year. Saturday also saw Kansas State beating Kansas for the first time in 32 tries, Oklahoma surviving an ugly game at Texas A&M and Colorado knocking Mizzou off of its perch with a barrage of 3-pointers.
Here’s my list of the five strangest results of the conference season thus far. Just call ’em Zach’s “Twilight Zoners.”
1. Missouri 71, Oklahoma 69 in Norman (Jan. 10)
2. Kansas State 59, Kansas 55 in Lawrence (Jan. 14)
3. Nebraska 59, Oklahoma 58 in Lincoln (Jan. 7)
4. Missouri 69, Oklahoma State 61 in Columbia (Jan. 7)
5. Texas Tech 76, Iowa State 73 in Lubbock (Jan. 14)
And then there’s Texas
With all of this tipsy-topsy business going around, Big 12 fans might have to look to Austin to get their sea-legs.
Since losing two straight ugly games to Duke and Tennessee, the Texas Longhorns have performed as expected, reeling off an impressive six-game winning streak. Included are wins at then-No. 4 Memphis and at home against then-No. 3 Villanova, not to mention a blowout of Colorado and an amazingly easy win in Hilton Coliseum against Iowa State.
So, even with Oklahoma looking up at more teams in the standings than it’s used to and Nebraska finding itself in rarified air, we can at least bank on one thing: Texas is going to be very, very tough to beat.
Rushed out and rushed back in
Kansas’ super freshman Brandon Rush was suspended and then reinstated without anyone ever knowing about it, due to Rush’s initial application for last year’s NBA Draft. Without the freshman’s knowledge, an agent for another player arranged for Rush to participate in draft workouts, a violation of the NCAA’s amateurism rule. The NCAA suspended Rush on Thursday, after KU’s win at Colorado, but quickly reinstated him in time for the Jayhawks’ loss to Kansas State on Saturday after Kansas appealed the suspension. All of Rush’s other dealings with his dabbling in the draft were declared permissible. Kansas didn’t release any of this information until after Rush was reinstated, surely saving many Jayhawk fans some gray hair.
Baylor bears bothersome beginning
Meanwhile, in Waco, fans are finally starting to see some action. Baylor was stripped of its non-conference season by NCAA sanctions stemming from Carlton Dotson’s apparent murder of teammate Patrick Dennehy and the resulting fallout of coach Dave Bliss. Players and coaches who had nothing to do with that mess are finally getting out from under its shadow, as the Bears began their season with the start of conference play.
As fate would have it, though, Baylor was one of two teams not scheduled to play on the first Saturday in conference and so had to wait a few more days. It had been more than 300 days since the Bears last played when they took the court Wednesday at Texas Tech. They looked understandably out of sync in an 18-point loss and continued to take their lumps in a 66-48 drubbing from Oklahoma State in the Baylor home opener.
Big 12 Standings through games of Jan. 16
Team Big 12 Overall Texas 2-0 14-2 Nebraska 2-0 12-3 Missouri 3-1 10-5 Texas Tech 2-1 10-7 Oklahoma State 2-1 12-5 Oklahoma 1-2 10-4 Iowa State 1-2 11-5 Kansas State 1-2 10-4 Kansas 1-2 10-6 Colorado 1-2 11-3 Texas A&M 1-2 11-3 Baylor 0-2 0-2
Big 12 player of the week: Thomas Gardner, Missouri
Gardner played Sideshow Bob to Marshall Brown and his game-winning free throws in the Tigers’ upset of Oklahoma, but still poured in 21 points. Even after suffering a concussion during Thursday’s practice, he tied for the team lead again with 22 points in a close loss to Colorado. But the junior really earns this award with his 40-point explosion against rival Kansas. It shattered his previous career high of 30, and oh yeah: he hit the game-tying 3-pointer with five seconds left and the game-winning free throws in overtime.
Big 12 newcomer of the week: Torre Johnson, Oklahoma State
This junior-college transfer is carrying the Cowboys through what could have been a tough stretch. He dropped 26 points and 12 rebounds on Baylor on Saturday, keeping the Bears at bay with an arsenal of short jumpers and scored 12 points in a 79-76 win against Texas A&M, including the game’s last basket. Johnson shot 14-of-21 from the floor for the week.
Big 12 Team Capsules (all game times Central)
Baylor Bears (0-2 Big 12, 0-2 overall)
After two games, it’s pretty apparent that it will take a while for Baylor to get up to speed with the rest of the rugged Big 12. In a 79-61 win, Texas Tech took advantage of several Bear lapses on defense and in rebounding, shooting 51 percent from the floor and out-rebounding Baylor 45-26. Shooting has been horrific: the Bears were 23-of-60 against Tech and missed their first six shots Saturday against Oklahoma State in falling behind 10-0. Baylor finished the game 17-of-52 and lost 66-48, never closing the gap to less than six.
Point guard Aaron Bruce will be a star in this league before his career is over, but he’s going through a tough time as well. Bruce scored 20 against the Red Raiders, but missed his first seven shots Saturday and didn’t score until after halftime. He managed to finish with 11 points on 3-of-14 shooting. No other Bear has scored in double digits in both games, though Henry Dugat is averaging 9.5 points per game.
This week: at Colorado, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday; vs. Texas, 3 p.m. Saturday
Colorado Buffaloes (1-2, 11-3)
It was Richard Roby who scored 33 points and kept Colorado in the game, but Chris Copeland might have hit the shot that kept the Buffaloes’ season out of tailspin. After a bizarre traveling call against Missouri gave CU the ball with eight seconds to play in a tie game, the Tigers double-teamed the red-hot Roby, leaving Copeland momentarily open on the right wing. Kevin Young popped out to get a hand in Copeland’s face, but the senior still drained a 3-pointer to win the game 74-71. It was the last momentum shift in an entertaining game that had 16 ties and 14 lead changes and in which neither team led by more than six. It also kept Colorado out of the Big 12 cellar and gives them hope for a top-half finish. The story for Colorado was 3-pointers: including Copeland’s winner, the Buffs hit a season-high 13 of them. A good 3-point shooting team (37 percent entering the game) became a great one at 45 percent against the Tigers’ zone. If the Buffs can continue to shoot like that, they’ll make the NCAA Tournament without a question.
If they play like they did Wednesday against Kansas, however, they’ll be home for spring break. The Buffs shot just 37 percent from the floor against the Jayhawks and allowed their long-time nemeses to turn a close game in Boulder to a comfortable 75-63 win. Roby had 15 but was 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and Copeland scored 22, but CU was slaughtered on the boards, 50-28.
This week: vs. Baylor, 8:30 p.m. (7:30 mountain) Wednesday; at Oklahoma State, 3 p.m. (2 mountain) Saturday
Iowa State Cyclones (1-2, 11-5)
This was the year that Iowa State was finally supposed to turn the corner under Wayne Morgan and return to the days of Marcus Fizer and Elite Eights, but if the last week is any indication, there’s a lot of work to be done in Ames.
The Cyclones couldn’t get anything going against Texas in a 78-58 Big Monday loss that was supposed to highlight ISU’s homecourt advantage. That went by the board when Curtis Stinson shot just 3-of-10 for 7 points, terribly low for a guy averaging more than 18 per game coming in. To the junior’s credit, he realized he was having an off night and started to distribute the ball around. He had eight assists and four steals, but committed five turnovers. The undersized Cyclones also had a tough time rebounding against the Longhorns and allowed them to shoot 11-of-21 from 3-point land.
Now a loss to Texas, albeit a lopsided one at home, isn’t the worst thing that can happen to a team. But the same problems plagued the team Saturday when it dropped another decision to Texas Tech. Stinson scored 14, but shot 6-of-15 and made seven turnovers and Will Blalock’s 21 points were negated by the tag team of Martin Zeno and Jarrius Jackson, who combined for 45. Again, 3-point defense and rebounding were problems – the Red Raiders, not normally a 3-point shooting team, went 5-of-9 and outrebounded Iowa State 35-25. Still, ISU had chances to win the game in the final few seconds, but Rahshon Clark traveled and Stinson was called for a charge. Morgan’s teams have a habit of starting slow in Big 12 play and then rebounding; expect this team to do the same.
This week: at Nebraska, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; vs. Texas A&M, 12:45 p.m. Saturday
Kansas Jayhawks (1-2, 10-6)
Bill Self was understandably upset after his Jayhawks laid a big egg in the final minutes at Missouri. The biggest rivalry in the Big 12 North, probably in the whole conference, and one of the best in the country looked to be once again in KU’s hands when the Jayhawks led 72-63 at Mizzou Arena with less than two minutes to play. In fact, Kansas still led by seven with 39 seconds left. But the Tigers came roaring back, outscoring the Jayhawks 10-3 over the next few possessions. Kansas had one last chance to win in regulation, but senior Christian Moody missed two free throws with 0.4 seconds left and the game went into overtime, tied at 77. There, KU fought back from a four-point deficit, but turned the ball over down by two in the final seconds to lose 89-86. In a sea of shock and disappointment, one oasis was the play of Mario Chalmers, whose 22 points on 7-of-9 shooting made him Kansas’ go-to player for this week.
Self will probably have more than his share of gray hair by the end of the year. If the MU game weren’t bad enough in and of itself, it followed another heartstopper. A 14-0 run in the first half had Allen Fieldhouse rocking and ready for KU’s expected 32nd straight win over Kansas State, but the Wildcats went on a run of their own in the second half to cut a 12-point lead to one with about six minutes left. After K-State took its first lead on the second half, point guard Russell Robinson hit a three to tie the game at 50, but the Jayhawks scored only five more points and lost 59-55. The Jayhawks shot only 26 percent in the second half and 32 percent for the game, compared to K-State’s 57 percent after halftime. Mario Chalmers led KU with 20 points and Brandon Rush had 12, but committed five turnovers.
The Jayhawks started the week with an impressive 75-63 win at Colorado. A 20-9 run in the second half put the game out of reach, and KU got impressive play inside (Christian Moody had 17 points and 11 boards and the team out-rebounded Colorado nearly two to one) and outside (Rush and Chalmers combined for 28 points and 10 assists).
This week: vs. Nebraska, 3 p.m. Saturday
Kansas State Wildcats (1-2, 10-4)
Even if Kansas State loses every single game it plays from here on out and Jim Wooldridge loses his job, Wildcat fans would probably still look back on this season and smile. Beating your arch-rival and basketball power Kansas for the first time since 1994 will do that to a fan base. It was definitely an odd sight, watching purple-clad players jumping and whooping and celebrating a 59-55 win on the Allen Fieldhouse floor while the guys in crimson and blue sulked off the floor. After an awful first half, in which KSU scored only 18 points, and early second half, where they fell behind 43-31 seven minutes in, the Wildcats got busy. Junior Clent Stewart, who scored 15 points, nailed a 3-pointer to start a 13-2 run and later converted a three-point play during it. Then, with 4:55 remaining, junior Cartier Martin scored on a layup to give the Wildcats their first lead since early in the game. Four points from Stewart and Martin, who had 14, gave K-State a working margin, and a Dramane Diarra jumper and a free throw from Akeem Wright kept the Jayhawks at bay.
As wonderful as that win was for the folks in Manhattan, Wednesday’s 57-42 loss to Nebraska was probably just as pitiful. It was the lowest-scoring game in Bramlage Coliseum’s 18-year history. Long scoring droughts, the most painful at the beginning of the second half, hurt the Wildcats as they fell behind 52-32. A 10-2 run made it a 12-point game with 3:01 to go, but then they went into another funk and didn’t score again. Martin had 20 points, but no other Wildcat had more than 5. KSU shot 23 percent from the floor.
This week: vs. Texas A&M, 7 p.m. Wednesday; vs. Missouri, 7 p.m. Saturday
Missouri Tigers (3-1, 10-5)
There is no bigger surprise in the conference season thus far than the boys from Columbia. The same team that was embarrassed in St. Louis with an 82-50 loss to Illinois and with non-conference losses to Sam Houston State (at home!) and at Davidson is the only team with three Big 12 wins. The latest came in a Houdini-like 89-86 victory Monday night against Kansas. Fans started heading for the exits with two minutes to play, disappointed that their Tigers had dropped their 10th decision in 12 tries to dreaded KU. But things started turning around. Senior Kevin Young hit a couple of free throws, making the lead seven. Senior Jimmy McKinney hit a short jumper. Five. Superman junior Thomas Gardner with a 3-pointer. Four. Two more jumpers from McKinney, though he missed a free throw that could have tied it. One. And then, Gardner, fighting through traffic for his seventh 3-pointer of the night, tying the game with five seconds to go. A 10-3 run in the final 40 seconds. The Tigers took advantage of the momentum and won in overtime. Gardner’s night was heroic at the least. He was 7-of-14 from long range, 13-of-22 from the floor overall and 7-of-8 from the line. But he wasn’t alone, as McKinney added 19 points, Young had 14 to go with 9 rebounds and sophomore Marshall Brown added 12. That kind of effort will make MU a tough out for any team in the conference.
Of course, the Tigers might be 4-0 at this point. Chris Copeland hit the 3-point basket that gave Colorado a 74-71 victory at Mizzou Arena on Saturday, but Tiger fans are surely bemoaning their team’s missed opportunities before that. Missouri led the Buffaloes 65-60 with less than four minutes left and 71-68 with a minute to play; both leads evaporated thanks to Colorado threes. Still, the Tigers had the ball to inbound with nine seconds left and five on the shot clock. Jason Horton missed Marshall Brown, who was open under the basket, and instead passed to a cutting Thomas Gardner. Gardner slipped and was called for a travel near midcourt, even though it appeared he had begun to dribble as he slipped. Either way, Mizzou missed a chance to be 3-0 and atop the Big 12 by itself. Gardner scored 22 points despite suffering a concussion in a collision with Brown in practice, and Jimmy McKinney also had 22.
The Tigers sprung the upset of the Big 12 season thus far Tuesday when they went to Norman and beat Oklahoma 71-69. Brown, a sophomore, scored a career-high 21 points, capped by two of three free throws with a second remaining to give MU the win. On a broken play, McKinney grabbed a loose ball and dished to Brown in the corner, who badly missed a 3-pointer but drew contact from Taj Gray to get a chance for the winning free throws. After missing the first, he sank the final two and OU’s buzzer-beater bounced harmlessly off the backboard. Missouri also got 21 from Gardner, the Big 12’s leading scorer, and overcame a 17-7 Oklahoma edge on the offensive glass.
This week: at Kansas State, 7 p.m. Saturday
Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-0, 12-3)
After opening the season with a thrilling 59-58 upset of Oklahoma, the Huskers were the only Big 12 team to play just one game last week. They made the most of it, stifling Kansas State 57-42 on the road. Early in the second half, sharpshooting sophomore Joe McCray tumbled to the ground in a heap of pain. He didn’t return to the game, but the Huskers didn’t need him. They went on a 19-2 run to make a close game at halftime a blowout and played stifling defense, not allowing a K-State field goal for the first 9:47 of the second half. Aleks Maric had an amazing game, scoring 15 points and grabbing a whopping 17 rebounds.
Even though it’s old material, let’s quickly recap Nebraska’s stunner against Oklahoma. The Sooners led the game 58-53 with 23 seconds left when Charles Richardson hit a three to bring the Huskers within two. Wes Wilkinson then stole the ball at midcourt and passed to McCray, who hit the game-winner with 5.6 ticks on the clock. If the Huskers can continue to play defense and get inside-outside production from Maric and McCray, they’ll surprise a lot of Big 12 teams this year. McCray, by the way, is expected to play against Iowa State despite a bruised tailbone and head.
This week: vs. Iowa State, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; at Kansas, 3 p.m. Saturday
Oklahoma Sooners (1-2, 10-4)
Already snakebitten by Nebraska, Oklahoma got another dose of venom from Missouri on Tuesday. The Sooners dominated the inside game and got another chance on seemingly every miss, but couldn’t overcome big games from Thomas Gardner and Marshall Brown. OU led by a point at the half and scored the first six points of the second half, but the Tigers clawed back and kept it close, first taking the lead at 47-45. The Sooners went on a long 13-6 run to again lead by five, but it wasn’t enough. Taj Gray, who was called for the foul on Brown that eventually cost OU the game, had 19 points and 7 rebounds and Kevin Bookout added 9 and 8, but OU was just 3-of-16 from 3-point land.
Three points away from being 2-0 in conference play, the Sooners finally snuck out a close one in College Station on Saturday. Texas A&M led 42-40 and worked the shot clock to its buzzer before scoring again in the final minute of play, but Terrell Everett hit a quick 3, the Aggies missed the front end of a one-and-one and Everett struck again, hitting a 3-pointer with six seconds left to give Oklahoma the 45-44 win. Everett had 15 points, Gray 13 and Bookout had 11 rebounds in a badly needed victory.
This week: vs. Texas Tech, noon Saturday
Oklahoma State Cowboys (2-1, 12-5)
Eddie Sutton’s team avoided an 0-2 start to conference play with a 79-77 comeback win against Texas A&M on Wednesday. Cowboy freshman Terrel Harris had a strong first half, but Oklahoma State fell behind early in the second after a 15-4 Aggie run. Minutes later, with A&M leading 57-49, sophomore JamesOn Curry and junior-college transfers Mario Boggan and Torre Johnson led the Cowboys’ charge back. Curry gave OSU the lead at 70-69 on a free throw, and freshman Terrel Harris converted a three-point play with the game tied at 74 to give the Pokes the lead for good. Later, Johnson hit a bucket to make it 79-76 and A&M missed a couple of three-pointers in the closing seconds. Harris had 21 points, and Boggan, Johnson and Curry combined for 39 more.
Momentum, combined with a severely inexperienced Baylor squad, carried OSU to a 66-48 win in Waco later in the week. A 10-0 lead never shrunk to less than six as Johnson hit jumper after jumper to keep the Bears behind. He had 26 points and 12 rebounds to make up for Curry’s 1-for-7 effort and 21 turnovers. The Cowboys also forced 23 Baylor turnovers.
This week: vs. Colorado, 3 p.m. Saturday
Texas Longhorns (2-0, 14-2)
The Longhorns won their fifth straight game by double digits last Monday against Iowa State – and this one was particularly impressive. Texas fought a raucous Hilton Coliseum crowd to lead 34-29 at the break and then exploded in the second half, using a Kenton Paulino 3-pointer and four points from LaMarcus Aldridge to score nine straight and take a commanding 49-36 lead. Later, point guard Daniel Gibson hit two straight threes to put the game out of reach. A huge edge at the free-throw line, 11-of-21 3-point shooting and solid defense on the Cyclone guards proved to be a recipe for a blowout. Only six Longhorns saw more than three minutes of playing time, but four in double figures: Paulino with 20, thanks to 6-of-8 three-point shooting, led the team. Gibson had 19, Tucker 17 and Brad Buckman 10. Aldridge had 9 points and 10 rebounds.
The Longhorns needed that defense Saturday against the explosive Villanova Wildcats. Nova, then the country’s No. 3 team, came to Austin for a showdown with what had been the country’s No. 2 team for the season’s first month. The Wildcats were uncharacteristically cold from the field under Texas’ swarming D, as they shot just 7-of-30 for three points and only 27 percent overall. Aldridge, who scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, broke a 50-50 tie with a layup with 2:43 left and then hit two free throws with eight seconds to go to give the Longhorns a three-point lead. The teams each hit two more free throws and Nova’s last-second 3 wasn’t close. Paulino added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Longhorns, who are undisputably back in the national championship hunt after their two-game hiccup in December.
This week: vs. Texas Tech, 8 p.m. Tuesday; at Baylor, 3 p.m. Saturday
Texas A&M Aggies (1-2, 11-3)
Tough week in College Station, where the Aggies are lamenting a couple of narrow losses. Despite the very impressive efforts of guard Acie Law and center Joseph Jones, the Aggies fell 79-77 at Oklahoma State on Wednesday. Law scored a career-high 35 points and made 7 steals, while Jones had 27 and 7 rebounds. They had to carry the team, however, as the other eight Aggies combined for just 15 points. Even with that, however, it took a three-point play from Terrel Harris and a missed 3 and turnover in the closing seconds to keep Texas A&M from sending the game to overtime.
It was another game and another heartbreaker for Billy Gillispie’s team Saturday. This time, the Aggies led for most of the game at home against Oklahoma, but couldn’t muster enough offense down the stretch in losing 45-44. Marlon Pompey missed the front end of a one-and-one with 17 seconds left and Terrell Everett took advantage by burying a 3-pointer to give the Sooners the lead. A&M had one more chance, but Jones couldn’t get a short leaner over Kevin Bookout to drop at the buzzer. Production from both Law and Jones was way down, as they combined for 21 points instead of the 62 they had Wednesday. The Aggies did have a bright spot: Chris Walker gave them another legitimate long-range threat. He was 3-of-5 from 3-point range and had 10 points.
Expect a winning streak from Texas A&M here in the next two weeks. The schedule allows for it and the Aggies are playing well and eventually will get their breaks, especially if a third scoring threat can consistently emerge behind Law and Jones.
This week: at Kansas State, 7 p.m .Wednesday; at Iowa State, 12:30 p.m. Saturday
Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-1, 10-7)
After coming up short against Texas A&M on the road in their conference opener, the Red Raiders got a much-needed break. They were the team to open Baylor’s season, and took advantage of all of the Bears’ jitters in a 79-61 victory. Guard Martin Zeno has developed into a big-time scoring threat in Bob Knight’s offense to complement the expected production from Jarrius Jackson. Jackson had 22 points and Zeno 21 against the Bears, on combined 16-of-30 shooting. Dior Lowhorn had 11 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Raiders’ strong effort on the boards – four players had more than five rebounds and Tech held a 45-26 edge on the Bears. Baylor cut a big Texas Tech lead to eight midway through the second half, but the Red Raiders responded with a run a few minutes later to bump their lead back to 17.
Things were a bit tougher in United Spirit Arena on Saturday. As expected, Iowa State came to town and gave Tech a stiff challenge, but in the end, Jackson and Michael Prince helped the Raiders win 76-73. Jackson had 23 points, perhaps none as important as the eight he scored quickly in the second half to give TTU the lead. He converted a three-point play and then stole the ball from Will Blalock and streaked down the court for another layup and a 58-57 lead. ISU answered with a hoop, but Jackson hit a 3-pointer the next time down the floor to give the Red Raiders a two-point edge. He then hit four free throws for Texas Tech’s last points. On the other end, Prince drew a charge to seal the game. Zeno had 22 points.
This week: at Texas, 8 p.m. Tuesday; at Oklahoma, noon Saturday
Five games to watch this week
5. Texas A&M at Kansas State, 7 p.m. Wednesday – Aggies need to rebound from a tough loss, but Wildcats are flying high after beating Kansas.
4. Colorado at Oklahoma State, 3 p.m. Saturday – It’s too easy to say that Okie State will come out on top here, with how inconsistent the Cowboys have been. And Colorado is better than anyone realizes.
3. Texas A&M at Iowa State, 12:30 p.m. Saturday – Two teams that lost close games last weekend and want to prove they belong with the conference’s best. Also a huge game for divisional bragging rights.
2. Iowa State at Nebraska, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday – Our first chance to see if Nebraska’s 2-0 start is for real. Iowa State needs this one.
1. Texas Tech at Oklahoma, noon Saturday – Two high-profile teams that should end up in the tournament, and both with something to prove: Tech that it can put its bad non-conference season behind them and OU that it’s going to compete for a Big 12 title.
