Big 12 Notes and News

chrisrushing@collegesportsmatchups.com

Monday morning, we had an article from the Dallas Morning News’ columnist Tim Cowlishaw detailing his reasons for going with the Big 12 as the nation’s top basketball conference. Since Cowlishaw also had a column last summer saying that 2009 would be the year the Big 12 finally would overtake the Southeastern Conference as the top dog in power conference football, you can take what he writes with a grain of salt.

However, with seven teams rated inside the top 36 in the latest RPI rankings, it is hard to argue completely with his logic. One of those teams, Kansas State, dropped a home game Saturday afternoon to 11th-seeded Iowa State to show the parity from top-to-bottom in the league. The victory was the first in 24 tries for the Cyclones against ranked opponents, finally breaking the barrier for ISU in close calls this year.

May that win be a warning sign for Iowa State’s opening round opponent Wednesday in Kansas City, No. 6-seeded Texas. The Longhorns got off to a 17-0 start and rose to No. 1 in the polls before finishing 4-8 the rest of the way to end 2009-10 in the middle of the pack of a stacked Big 12 deck. I don’t feel as though the ‘Horns are anywhere near missing out on dancing, but it won’t be a long stay in the NCAA Tournament unless UT finds its early season magic that led to wins over Michigan State, Pitt and North Carolina.

Baylor secured a first-round bye in the tournament and sits pretty in the eyes of the Selection Committee when the 65-team NCAA bracket is unveiled Sunday evening after downing Texas in the regular season finale Saturday afternoon. The Bears have responded well to all the challenges presented before them this season and before, and BU is one of college basketball’s best stories for the year. I know Tom Martin of Kansas State won Coach of the Year, but I’d be hard-pressed not to give the award to Scott Drew.

Kansas further separated itself from the rest of the pack with a couple of big wins against Kansas State in the Phog Allen Fieldhouse season finale and on the road at Missouri. When the Tigers jumped out to a good start, Kansas spurred a 16-0 run to close out the first half and put the game out of reach for all intents and purposes. The Jayhawks are beatable, but you had better use every chance they give you because a 16-0 run is always waiting around the corner if you don’t keep the pedal down.

This is easily a seven-bid conference for the NCAA Tournament, and an eighth team could get into the mix with a good showing in Kansas City. This is a big week for teams like Oklahoma State and Texas A&M as far as moving up the ladder in the Selection Committee’s eyes, and I don’t think you can count out Texas Tech should the Red Raiders get to Friday’s semi-final round (that is, of course, suggesting TTU beats Kansas in the quarterfinals).

It should be a lot of fun as always when these 12 get together on one floor to claim one automatic bid. Keep up with the goings on at CollegeSportsMatchups.com and also on Twitter (follow me @ChrisRushingCSM).

Below are a few of my own awards for the year that was in Big 12 hoops.

Coach of the Year: Scott Drew – I know I put this above, but it deserves to be said twice. Is there anyone else in America that has come so far in such little time as Baylor? No one would wish the hardships this program faced in the middle part of last decade on their own worst enemy, and BU has flourished under Drew’s leadership. This is just the beginning, I feel, of better things to come in Waco.

Biggest Upset: Kansas State over Texas, Jan. 18 – The Wildcat fans did not storm the court, but the players instead elected to jump in the stands and party with their supporters. Texas had just achieved its first No. 1 ranking in school history and was previously undefeated. This loss started a tailspin for the Longhorns but set in motion KSU’s No. 2-seed run for this week’s Big 12 tournament.

Team to watch: Iowa State – The Cyclones have been close many times this year, losing by single digits in seven league contests. In other words, ISU is a lot better than its 15-16 record would have you believe. I know close only counts in hand grenades and horseshoes, but no one made any excuses along the line in Ames as this team stuck together loss after loss. That’s a hard formula to beat if said team ever gets any momentum. As I said before, watch out Texas.

Biggest Disappointment: Texas – I hate putting the Longhorns here because it’s hard to be a disappointment when you start a season 17-0. However, when you only win four of your last 12 games after starting 17-0, it’s hard not to label you as an underachiever. UT has a roster filled with McDonald’s All-Americans and is capable of beating anyone. As the last six weeks have shown, though, it is fully capable of losing to anyone. That’s not a good combination to have heading into tournament play.

Got any of your own superlatives for the 2009-10 basketball season? Send them in an e-mail to chrisrushing@collegesportsmatchups.com or leave them in a comment on my Twitter (@ChrisRushingCSM).