Breaking down the Big XII Conference
By Andrew Lange
SportsMemo.com
With finals exams upon us, the college basketball card is light so I'll be providing conference breakdowns throughout the week.
Big XII - Bill Self was worried about KU's offense but the Jayhawks just ripped off 77 vs. Florida Atlantic, 70 in a 65-possession game vs. South Florida, 88 vs. Long Beach and 78 vs. Ohio State. Make no mistake, Kansas isn't go to score 75+ every night, but I think they'll have a much easier time scoring against the Big XII than what was originally projected after a few so-so performances in Maui. Don't get too high on Missouri -- the Tigers are once against coasting through the non-conference. But even with a host of talent, the Tigers always seem to underachieve when the heat gets turned up (see: 1-5 SU finish last year). Also note that their three solid non-conference wins were in reality nothing special with Notre Dame and Villanova way down and Cal not being able to play on the road. I like Baylor. I like them a lot. The only problem is they may have too much talent. That and they play dumb at times. Keep an eye out for BU’s three upcoming non-conference games against teams that are well coached and can take advantage of miscues: BYU, St. Mary's and West Virginia. The Bears are better than all three but anything less than a 2-1 mark would be a disappointment.
Not sure what to make of Texas just yet. They could have very easily beaten both Oregon State and NC State and be a perfect 9-0. Those losses however will probably help in the long run. This is a very young group as five of their top six players in terms of possessions used are freshmen. I'd feel a lot more comfortable betting on Kansas State if it weren't for Frank Martin. Discipline and getting the attention of your players is one thing. Acting like a crazed maniac is another. Don't think it doesn't wear on his kids no matter how thick-skinned they claim to be. There are teams I sorta don't trust, others I'd rather just avoid and then Oklahoma State. It boggles my mind that with such an offensive-minded coach, the Cowboys aren't more efficient. They won the other night at Missouri State not because they shot well (40% FGs, 27% 3-point) but because they made 31 free throws. If this team could shoot 45% from the floor for the season, they'd win 23+ games. Not going to happen based on what I have seem (43.2% currently).
With Billy Kennedy's health unfortunately in question and a soft non-conference schedule, the verdict is still out on Texas A&M. Like Oklahoma State, they obviously can't be trusted offensively considering their non-conference SOS ranked 342nd and they barely average a point per possession. I Googled "Texas A&M basketball" and got the following headline: "A&M wins despite going 0-for-17 from 3-point range". Not a good sign. Oklahoma has already shown it is willing to defend more this season. Kruger talked about this team playing up-tempo but what helped him succeed at UNLV was defense. Texas Tech is going to lose a lot of games but they'll also be priced as if they are going to lose a lot of games. Billy Gillispie is a good coach and eventually -- it may not happen until well into 2012 -- they'll buy in. I really believe this team is going to be a money earner as an underdog in Big XII play. Until Iowa State decides it is going to defend on a regular basis, I'm not sold. Their overall defensive stats last year were decent but in conference play, they got destroyed. More talent, more bodies this time around but they are already throwing up red flags by allowing just under a point per possession despite not playing much in terms of offensive firepower.