Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

BAYLOR BASEBALL UPDATE: Bears slide into six-seed, defeat Nebraska in round one action

By Denton Ramsey, Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – For a season that began on a high note, then quickly turned sour, the Baylor Bears baseball team (32-24) – along with skipper Steve Smith – have got to be happy with Wednesday’s 10-4 round one victory over Nebraska (39-13-1).

BU went back to their roots on Wednesday evening in Oklahoma City – beginning with pitching perfection on the mound and ending with offensive outbursts at the plate.

“For us it all started on the mound, and Shawn [Tolleson] gave us a really good performance,” Smith said following the Bears round one victory. “[Tolleson had] very good command, kept his fastball down and didn’t make very many mistakes at all. He gave up a two strike hit and followed it up with a walk or a hit batter, and they were able to create some offense there and get a couple of runs on the board. He pitched really well, and that was as important for us as anything.”

Baylor’s offense was also awakened from a prolonged slumber, as the Bears faired well at the plate – scoring 10 runs on nine hits.

“The guys just did a great job at the plate,” Smith said. “Nebraska threw a bunch of really good arms at us, and while we didn’t get a ton of hits – you’re not usually going to get a ton of hits against those kinds of arms – we did get some free bases, and we got some timely hits.

“The big hit in the game was when they chose to take a gamble and play the infield in with the bases loaded, and that’s a gamble. Shaver’s [Hansen] bounding ball gets over the first baseman and cleared the bases, and then they had to play again after that and [Adam] Hornung got one to go through on the right side. Those two balls weren’t well struck. They were just situations where we put the ball in play and got the benefit out of it.”

BU third baseman Shaver Hansen led the way for the Bears on Wednesday, going 3-for-4 at the plate with four runs batted in (RBI).

“We really wanted to go up there and be aggressive and to be ready to jump on that first pitch fastball if they were throwing it,” Hansen said. “The lefty [Dan] Jennings that threw today, we saw him in relief during the Big 12 games that we had during the year, and he had a pretty good slider, so being able to attack his fastball was important for us. We all went out there with a do or die attitude and we got it done.”

According to the skipper, relaxation and confidence – along with superb mound work –helped propel the Bears in Wednesday’s tourney opener.

“Our guys were relaxed and took good at bats,” Smith said. “It looked like a pretty confident, pretty mature group of guys. Ben [Booker] says we did, but we didn’t play a flawless game because he didn’t get the bunt down. But, the next couple of times up he got a base hit to load the bases before Shaver did what he did, and then he absolutely scolded that ball of the right field fence after they had answered.

“They were back in the game; they’ve still got outs to play with. That was as big as anything. We got off to a good start, they responded, and then we responded. We didn’t shut it down; we played the game all the way from start to finish.”

Freshman Shawn Tolleson picked up with W for the Bears, going 6.1 solid innings – yielding four runs on five hits while walking three and striking out two.

“Early in the game I was able to get good command of my pitches,” Tolleson said. “I was getting my fastball down in the zone. They were hitting a lot of ground balls and infield pop ups. Later in the game I struggled a bit with control, but luckily I was able to get a few outs.”

Despite going 1-2 in their final season road woes in a pair of setbacks against Texas Tech, the Bears locked up the six-seed in the conference tournament with a blowout victory over the Red Raiders in the middle game of the three-game series.

And despite starting the season hot before taking a turn for the worse, Baylor’s baseball team compiled an impressive 31-24 regular season record while bouncing back in Big 12 play after a rough start – ending the year with an 11-16 mark in conference contests.

“After our last game at [Texas] Tech, we knew that we had to come out and bring our ‘A’ game to win this thing and do what we want to do,” Baylor junior left fielder Ben Booker said following the Bears victory. “This is a new start for us. We need to play every game like we did today. This was the ‘A’ team that we brought today, and most of the year we really haven’t brought that. Everyone knows now what we are expected to do, so we just need to bring that game out again [on Friday].

“We have to [win] or we are not going to play anymore. We have been telling each other that for the last three weeks, but it hasn’t really clicked. I don’t really know what the problems have been, but today on the field you could tell it was a different team. We drew walks, we situational hit, we pitched well and there were no flaws in the game today, so that is what we need to do [on Friday].”

Baylor enjoyed a day off on Thursday before returning to the diamond on Friday, May 23 in a round two match-up with Oklahoma State. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT at Oklahoma City’s Bricktown Ballpark.

“I’m sure it will be the same as it was last night – it is intense,” Hansen said. “We are gunning for everybody because we know we can win; we think we can win. We are happy that we won, but we know that we have another good to team to face, and another good team after that. We have to take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time. It is pretty intense because we need to play our best ball and we know it.”

The Bears continue Big 12 Tourney play on Saturday, with Baylor scheduled to face Kansas State at 7:30 p.m. prior to Sunday’s Big 12 Championship.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

BIG 12 MEN’S BASKETBALL UPDATE (March 7): Weekend Match-Ups, Latest Standings…

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – It certainly looks like the Big 12 title will go down to the wire.

With just two more days remaining in conference play, and a two-way tie for first and a three-way tie for fourth up for grabs, this weekend’s match-up will likely determine who will walk away with the Big 12 regular season crown.

All 12 teams have just one game left on the schedule – with eight teams ending regular season play on Saturday and the final four completing Big 12 competition on Sunday.

After the weekend showdowns, conference records will seed all 12 teams for the upcoming Big 12 Tournament, slated to run March 13-16 in Kansas City.

In addition to conference tourney placement being on the line, many of the Big 12 teams are also fighting for an opportunity to earn an NCAA Tournament berth – with Texas A&M, Baylor and Oklahoma all using this weekend’s match-ups as last minute resume builders for the NCAA Selection Committee…

Big 12 Standings (03.07.2008)

                                    Big 12              Overall

Kansas                         12-3                 27-3

Texas                           12-3                 25-5

Kansas State                9-6                   19-10

Texas A&M                 8-7                   22-8

Baylor                          8-7                   20-9

Oklahoma                    8-7                   20-10

Oklahoma State            7-8                   16-13

Texas Tech                   7-8                   16-13

Nebraska                     6-9                   17-11

Missouri                       6-9                   16-14

Iowa State                    4-11                 14-16

Colorado                      3-12                 11-18

Saturday, Sunday Showdowns

This weekend will feature all Big 12 teams in action as the conference concludes regular season play on Sunday, March 9.

The four games slated for Saturday, March 8 are as follows (with television coverage and tipoff times): Baylor at Texas Tech, ESPN Plus, 12:30 p.m. CT; Missouri at Oklahoma, ABC, 2:30 p.m. CT; Kansas State at Iowa State, ESPN Plus, 3 p.m. CT; and Kansas at Texas A&M, CBS, 3 p.m. CT.

Sunday, March 9, will mark the conclusion of Big 12 regular season action as two conference games hit the hardwood (with television coverage and tipoff times): Colorado at Nebraska, no television coverage scheduled, 2 p.m. CT; followed by Oklahoma State at Texas, ESPN, 3 p.m. CT.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

No. 11 Baylor baseball team splits two-game series with Louisiana Tech

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – With the Bears leading the Bulldogs 6-4 heading into the ninth inning on Tuesday, March 4 at Baylor Ballpark, it was almost assumed that the BU baseball team would be improving to 8-0.

Unfortunately for the Baylor Bears (8-1), the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (7-4) rallied – scoring five runs in the top of the frame to snap BU’s impressive undefeated start, walking away with a 9-6 victory.

“They got the timely hit in the ninth inning, and that’s the name of the game,” Baylor Head Coach Steve Smith said. “I don’t think that either one of us played the game particularly well.  I imagine that ball was fair by inches (Louisiana Tech’s go-ahead double in the ninth inning), and that sometimes will be the difference in a game.”

After falling behind 1-0 after the top half of the first inning, the Bears crossed home plate four times in the bottom of the first to take a three-run lead into the second inning.

“They helped us; we got a couple of hits in the first inning, but we weren’t driving the ball,” Smith said. “I don’t know if we even had an extra-base hit in this game [all eight hits were singles], but I give their guy credit. Their guy [Alan Knotts] kind of gathered himself and really pitched well. Then they gave us a left-handed look [with Landon Braud] and he did a nice job, and then the [Bulldogs] closer [Aaron Lorio] has obviously got plenty of ammunition at the end.”

With Baylor’s Tim Matthews pitching the first 3.2 innings of work, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits, Craig Fritsch entered the picture for the Bears – pitching four innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just two hits and striking out four.

“[Craig] Fritsch was every bit the equal of anybody that threw tonight, and we needed it,” Smith said. “We weren’t scoring and they weren’t scoring.”

With the Bears and Bulldogs deadlocked at 4-4 midway through the seventh inning, Baylor tacked on a run in the bottom of the seventh – with home base being stolen by Beamer Weems to break the tie – and added another in the eighth to take a 6-4 lead heading into the top of the ninth inning.

“It was just a timing play and we timed it perfectly,” Weems said. “We caught them off-guard and it worked. It was actually cool [to steal home], but it would’ve been a lot better if we would’ve won.”

Despite the two-run cushion, the Bulldogs scored five times in the ninth before holding the Bears scoreless in the bottom of the frame to end Baylor’s superb start to the season.

“They take some hacks, but they were not any different than what we expected,” Smith said in regards to Louisiana Tech’s offense. “They’ll be a good offensive club.”

Things began on shaky ground when Baylor closer Nick Cassavechia led off the ninth inning with a walk – and before anyone knew it, Louisiana Tech had scratched across five runs to take a 9-6 lead.

“The biggest thing about being a closer is coming out and throwing strikes, and especially with a righty up there,” Cassavechia said. “Coming out and walking the first guy is how you dig yourself into holes.

“I still don’t feel like my slider is there yet, but that’s no excuse. I have other pitches and I do other things besides throw a slider. It’s not on, but it’s a long season and I’ll have plenty more chances to bounce back.”

The Bears did just that the following day, holding on in another wild finish – this time resulting in a 7-6 Baylor victory.

“We’re just playing games and trying to find ways to win them,” Smith said. “We’re having to find ways to win right now because we’re not doing the job on the mound, in terms of throwing strikes, and we’re really not swinging the bats with a whole lot of authority up and down the lineup. For the most part our defense has been very good. We’ve got way better arms than what we have shown in terms of throwing strikes.”

Baylor, just as they had the night before, had a four-run inning against the Bulldogs, breaking out of a 1-1 tie and taking a 5-1 lead heading into the third inning.

After an off night at the plate, Aaron Miller reestablished his dominance – crushing his fourth homer of the season against the Bulldogs on Wednesday evening in Waco.

“The difference you can feel between two days is crazy,” Miller said. “Yesterday I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, and today was just one of those days when I felt good and felt dialed-in. He gave me a pitch that I could handle, and I took care of it.”

With the Bears holding a 7-4 lead through eight innings of play, Baylor turned to Erik Forestiere – who had just worked a scoreless eighth – to finish things off.

“There’s a little bit of uncertainty at the end of the game with who’s going to do what and when,” Smith said. “There is no dialing-up three strikeouts. I would’ve been just fine with [Erik] Forestiere finishing the game. He should have; [Mace] Thurman should have. That didn’t happen, so we moved on to the next guy.”

Unfortunately, Forestiere allowed Louisiana Tech to score twice before being replaced by Miller – who worked to two batters before handing things over to BU closer Cassavechia.

“Nick’s [Cassavechia] not Nick right now, and I don’t think that’s a secret, but he’s still pretty good,” Smith said. “He’s got big-time heart, he’s got big-time guts and composure, and I would not have put him out there if I didn’t think that he was the guy to get the job done. I’ve seen him win some games in some pretty unbelievable situations that were much more unbelievable than tonight.”

Cassavechia did a great job bouncing back after a shaky outing the day before, facing four batters and allowing no runs on one hit to preserve the Baylor victory while garnering his fourth save of the season.

“No matter who is on the mound it’s not really too calm when it’s the top of the ninth and the bases are loaded with a couple of outs,” Miller said. “There’s not really anybody else that we’d rather have out there than Nick [Cassavechia]. Nick’s proven himself day in and day out.”

With the split of the two-game series with Louisiana Tech, Baylor improves to 8-1 on the season and will return to the diamond – this time on the road – for a three-game series with Mississippi State beginning Friday, March 7 at 4 p.m. and concluding on Sunday, March 9 at 1:30 p.m.

After the stop in Mississippi, Baylor hits the road for Tulsa for a two-game series with Oral Roberts on March 11-12, with both games slated to begin at 3 p.m.

Baylor returns home to host Oklahoma State in a three-game weekend series as Big 12 action begins on Friday, March 14 at 6:30 p.m.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

BIG 12 MEN’S BASKETBALL UPDATE (March 4, 2008): Latest news, notes and standings on the hoops hardwood…

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – Keep shuffling the Big 12 standings; this year’s conference champion likely won’t be crowned until Sunday’s season finale.

Kansas, the newest leader in Big 12 men’s basketball, picked up a lopsided lights-out 109-51 victory over Texas Tech in ESPN’s Big Monday, March 3 match-up – moving the Jayhawks into first place in conference standings, a mere half-game lead over the Texas Longhorns.

Both the Horns and Wildcats put their upper-echelon records on the line on Tuesday night, March 4 in Big 12 hoops action, with Texas hosting Nebraska and Kansas State hosting Colorado.

The Wildcats aim to end a four-game skid on Tuesday evening at home, a game slated to be televised on ESPN Plus at 8 p.m. CT, while the Longhorns aim to bounce back after a disappointing loss at Texas Tech.

On Wednesday, March 5 the Big 12 boasts a triple-header of conference showdowns, as the trio of games are scheduled to be televised on ESPN’s family of channels – with two games tipping off at 7 p.m. CT on ESPN Plus (Iowa State at Missouri and Oklahoma at Oklahoma State) followed by a much anticipated match-up featuring Texas A&M at Baylor beginning at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2.

After Wednesday’s games, every Big 12 team will have only one regular season contest remaining on their calendars – with eight teams ending their 2008 conference campaign on Saturday and the final four waiting until Sunday’s final buzzer to figure out where they stand come season’s end.

Here’s a quick look at those final six showdowns, beginning with the four slated for Saturday, March 8 (including television schedule and tip off times): Baylor at Texas Tech, 12:30 p.m. CT on ESPN Plus; Missouri at Oklahoma, 2:30 p.m. CT on ABC; Kansas State at Iowa State, 3 p.m. CT on ESPN Plus; and Kansas at Texas A&M, 3 p.m. CT on CBS.

Sunday, March 9 will mark the final day of the regular season in Big 12 basketball – as the conference concludes with a hardwood double-header (including television schedule and tip off times): Colorado at Nebraska, 2 p.m. CT (no television coverage), followed by Oklahoma State at Texas, 3 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Check back on Friday, March 7 for the latest news, notes and standings from the Big 12 as conference hoops action heats up through the final week of the regular season…

Current Big 12 Men’s Basketball Standings (03.04.08)

                                    Big 12              Overall             Ranking (ESPN)

Kansas                         12-3                 27-3                 6

Texas                           11-3                 24-5                 9

Baylor                          8-6                   20-8                 –

Kansas State                8-6                   18-10               –

Texas A&M                 7-7                   21-8                 –

Oklahoma                    7-7                   19-10               –

Oklahoma State            7-7                   16-12               –

Texas Tech                   7-8                   16-13               –

Nebraska                     6-8                   17-10               –

Missouri                       5-9                   15-14               –

Iowa State                    4-10                 14-15               –

Colorado                      3-11                 11-17               –

Conference Standings Scenarios

As the season has worn on, it’s been proven time and time again that the Big 12 is a very competitive conference when it comes to men’s basketball.

And it appears as though the top teams in the standings will be a toss-up ‘til Sunday’s season finale.

There are all sorts of scenarios as far as who ends up where, but the truth is that no one will really have the final answer until Sunday’s final buzzer.

One thing is crystal clear in the conference: Kansas and Texas are the leaders, followed by a Baylor team that’s heating up, a Kansas State team that’s slumping and a trio of teams (Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) at .500 in Big 12 play.

Big 12 Weekly Honors

Baylor’s Kevin Rogers and Kansas’ Brandon Rush were recently named the Big 12 players of the week (March 3).

Rogers, a junior forward on the BU basketball team, averaged 18 points and 12 rebounds in the Bears’ back-to-back conference victories this past week and has now garnered 12 double-doubles this season.

Rush, meanwhile, helped propel the Jayhawks into a tie for first in conference standings – averaging 18 points, four rebounds and three assists in a pair of Kansas wins.

Kansas State’s Michael Beasley once again took home rookie of the week honors in the Big 12, his sixth straight week to win the award – averaging 35 points and 13 boards in two conference contests, both losses for the Wildcats.

In addition, Beasley’s 10^th conference award (two player honors, eight rookie honors) ties a Big 12 record by matching former Texas star Kevin Durant’s 10 combined honors for the 2006-07 season (four player awards and six rookie awards).

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

BIG 12 MEN’S BASKETBALL UPDATE (March 1, 2008): Conference Standings, Weekend Contests…

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – With weekend match-ups on the horizon, the Big 12 Conference has a lone leader in men’s basketball standings in the Texas Longhorns (24-4, 11-2 Big 12).

However, things could change come Saturday night’s hardwood finale as Kansas (25-3, 10-3) is a mere game back of first place, Kansas State (18-9, 8-5) holds down third, while Baylor (19-8, 7-6) and Texas A&M (21-7, 7-6) aim to breakout of a deadlock for fourth.

Right behind the Bears and Aggies are four conference teams tied for sixth place, with Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech sandwiched in between the elite and cellar teams of the Big 12 with 6-7 marks.

Texas is currently on an eight-game winning streak, with Oklahoma State (won four), Nebraska (won three) and Baylor (won two) also putting streaks on the line in Saturday’s hardwood action; Colorado (lost four) and Kansas State (lost three), meanwhile, hope to end conference skids.

The regular season officials ends on Sunday, March 9, before the Big 12 Tourney tips off in preparation for March Madness postseason invites and the Big Dance…

Big 12 Standings (02.29.2008)

                                    Big 12              Overall

Texas                           11-2                 24-4

Kansas                         10-3                 25-3

Kansas State                8-5                   18-9

Texas A&M                 7-6                   21-7

Baylor                          7-6                   19-8

Nebraska                     6-7                   17-9

Oklahoma                    6-7                   18-10

Oklahoma State            6-7                   15-12

Texas Tech                   6-7                   15-12

Missouri                       5-8                   15-13

Iowa State                    4-9                   14-14

Colorado                      2-11                 10-17

Saturday Showdowns

On Saturday, March 1, the Big 12 Conference features six showdowns as the final week of the season looms just around the corner.

Those games, including television coverage and scheduled tipoff times (Central Standard Time), are as follows: Nebraska at Oklahoma State, ESPN Plus (check local listings), 12:30 p.m.; Texas A&M at Oklahoma, ESPN, 1 p.m.; Missouri at Baylor, ESPN Plus (KWTX and “The CW” in Waco), 3 p.m.; Texas at Texas Tech, CBS, 3 p.m.; Iowa State at Colorado, ESPN Classic, 4 p.m.; Kansas State at Kansas, ESPN, 8 p.m.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

MISSOURI-BAYLOR PREVIEW: Bears, Tigers set to claw it out on the hardwood Saturday afternoon in Waco

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – Baylor (19-8, 7-6 Big 12) hits the Ferrell Center hardwood on Saturday afternoon, March 1 with back-to-back victories in their rearview mirror, battling Big 12 rival Missouri (15-13, 5-8) in a game slated to tipoff at 3 p.m. CT.

Saturday afternoon’s match-up between the Bears and Tigers is scheduled to be broadcast live on ESPN Plus (KWTX and “The CW” in Waco, Temple and Bryan areas), with Fred White and Bob Sundvold calling the action.

Scott Drew’s Bears are coming off a 68-57 victory over Colorado on Wednesday evening, Feb. 27 in Boulder – the team’s first win in the Rocky Mountains since the Big 12’s inception – and aim for win number 20 of the season on Saturday.

Missouri, meanwhile, fell at home to Oklahoma State in a two-point thriller, 75-73 on Tuesday night, Feb. 26.

After the MU-BU showdown on Saturday afternoon, Baylor has two games remaining in conference play – a rematch with Texas A&M, this time at home, and a road trip to Lubbock to face Texas Tech in the regular season finale.

On Wednesday, March 5, the Aggies will travel to Waco for a battle with the Bears at the Ferrell Center and is slated to tipoff at 8 p.m. CT on ESPN2; also, the epic five-overtime Baylor victory at Reed Arena will finally be broadcast on national television when ESPN Classic airs the marathon game at 5 p.m. prior to the start of the rematch.

The BU men’s basketball team concludes Big 12 play on Saturday, March 8 at Texas Tech – where the Bears aim to finish strong before the annual conference tournament, March 13-16 in Kansas City, in hopes of a postseason invite to the NCAA Tourney.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

BAYLOR 68, COLORADO 57: Bears prevail over Buffalos, garner second straight Big 12 victory

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – On a cool evening in Boulder, Colorado, the Bears clawed to an 11-point 68-57 victory over the Buffalos in Big 12 action on Wednesday, Feb. 27 at the Coors Events Center.

For the Baylor Bears men’s basketball coaching staff, that means its time to break out the razor as an ongoing winning tradition lives on, after BU Head Coach Scott Drew and company – including Matthew Driscoll, who was the first to be initiated after forward Kevin Rogers and center Mamadou Diene shaved the assistant coach’s head after last weekend’s must-win over Kansas State – began the ritual as a way to motivate the team.

“We lost a lot of games in a row,” Drew said. “So for motivation, with each win, we shave a head; tonight it was Coach [Jerome] Tang’s turn. We played great defensively, taking away the back door shots and taking away the three-point shots.”

With the win, Baylor (19-8, 7-6 Big 12) moves into a two-way tie for fourth place with Texas A&M (21-7, 7-6) – as the Aggies picked up a 98-54 blowout victory over Texas Tech at Reed Arena, dropping the Red Raiders into a four-way tie for sixth place – while Colorado (10-17, 2-11) remains in the conference cellar.

“This was a huge win tonight – every win in the Big 12 is a huge win,” Drew said. “It starts with experienced players and teams. We’ve been on the losing end of the floor; we just needed more experience and more maturity.”

Rogers had a breakout game in Boulder, leading the BU men’s hardwood team with 24 points and 11 rebounds – going 8-for-9 from the charity stripe en route to his 11^th double-double of the season.

“If it takes a double-double for us to win every night, that’s what I’ll do,” Rogers told the Waco Tribune Herald. “With the guards we have, people key on them and I was able to make some shots. I always try to play with confidence and good things happen.”

Guard Henry Dugat also played a significant role in Wednesday’s BU victory over CU, netting 21 points – starting and staying hot from long range on 5-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc and hitting every free throw attempted (6-for-6) – while pulling down five rebounds and dishing out an assist.

“We did a good job of controlling the tempo,” Dugat said in a FSN television interview following the Bears 11-point win. “We control our own destiny, and we can go as far as we want to go.”

Colorado, despite any and all efforts to remain in the game – including holding Baylor’s Curtis Jerrells to just five points and four assists – was led in scoring by guard Richard Roby with 17 points.

“I thought we did a good job on their [Baylor’s] leading scorer, Curtis Jerrells, but [Henry] Dugat and [Kevin] Rogers hurt us,” Colorado Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik said. “With a team like that, it is hard to keep everyone down.”

After taking a 34-22 lead into the break on hot first-half shooting, the Bears somewhat cooled down – shooting 36 percent in the second half after hitting 50 percent though the first 20 minutes of play – before cruising to their second consecutive Big 12 victory while breaking the .500 barrier in conference play.

“This game meant a lot to us,” Drew said in a radio interview after Baylor’s 68-57 victory at Colorado. “Our guards did a real good job of getting the ball to Kevin Rogers, and Henry Dugat had a hot hand tonight. We also played great defense and did a good job of getting to the line and making free throws.”

The latest Big 12 standings (Thursday, Feb. 28) have Baylor and Texas A&M holding a two-way tie for fourth (7-6) – with Texas (11-2), Kansas (10-3) and Kansas State (8-5) leading the pack – while a sandwich of teams (Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech) sit in a four-way tie for sixth (6-7).

With a mere three games remaining in the regular season – as well as three head shavings tentatively scheduled for the coaching staff – the Baylor basketball team aims to finish the season strong in high hopes of receiving a postseason invite to the NCAA Tourney.

“We haven’t looked too far ahead,” Drew said. “We always look to the next game.”

For the Bears, that next game is a match-up with Missouri on Saturday, March 1 at the Ferrell Center – with tipoff slated for 3 p.m. CT in Waco and scheduled to be televised on ESPN Plus.

After Saturday’s showdown, Baylor’s final two Big 12 games of the regular season are at home against Texas A&M on Wednesday, March 5 at 8 p.m. CT, and on the road against Texas Tech on Saturday, March 8 at 12:45 p.m. CT.

For the latest Baylor basketball news, scores and standings, check back on Saturday evening, March 1 after the Bears and Tigers face off at the Ferrell Center, for postgame quotes, notes, stats and more…

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

BIG 12 MEN’S BASKETBALL UPDATE (Feb. 25, 2008): Horns, Wildcats tip off tonight at Kansas State

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – There’s been quite a shuffle in the Big 12 in just a week’s worth of men’s basketball games.

After facing a possible three-way tie for first place after Saturday’s showdowns in conference play, there are now three distinct positions for first through third place – while the Big 12 now boasts a four-way tie for fourth.

With big upsets in weekend contests – including a Kansas loss to Oklahoma State, a Texas A&M loss to Nebraska, and a must-win Baylor victory over Kansas State, the Wildcats second straight conference loss – two teams, Texas A&M and Kansas State, dropped out of top-25 polls.

The Texas Longhorns now sit alone as the Big 12 leader at 10-2 and Kansas, meanwhile, holds a secure spot in second at 9-3 while Kansas State rounds out the top three with an 8-4 conference record.

Tonight’s Big 12 match-up, scheduled to be televised on ESPN beginning at 8 p.m. CT as part of Big Monday, pits Texas on the road at Kansas State – as the Longhorns aim to increase their lead in conference standings.

On Tuesday, Feb. 26, Oklahoma State travels to Missouri for an 8 p.m. hardwood battle slated to be televised on ESPNU.

Eight teams shoot for higher positions in the conference when facing off against Big 12 opponents on Wednesday, Feb. 27, beginning with an ESPN-televised contest as Kansas travels to Iowa State for a 6 p.m. CT tip off.

At 7 p.m., two conference match-ups – Oklahoma at Nebraska (not televised) and Texas Tech at Texas A&M (ESPN+) – will give fans and coaches alike a better understanding of where teams sit in conference standings.

Baylor, sitting amongst a pack of teams in a four-way tie for fourth place, heads to Colorado for a game slated to be televised locally on FSN Southwest at 7:30 p.m. CT to close out a full-slate of Big 12 games on Wednesday.

After a three-day break from NCAA men’s basketball action, all 12 teams return to the hardwood on Saturday, March 1 – Nebraska at Oklahoma State (12:30 p.m., ESPN+), Texas A&M at Oklahoma (1 p.m., ESPN), Missouri at Baylor (3 p.m., ESPN+), Texas at Texas Tech (3 p.m., CBS), Iowa State at Colorado (4 p.m., ESPN Classic) and Kansas State at Kansas (8 p.m., ESPN).

Current Big 12 Men’s Basketball Standings (02.25.08)

                                    Big 12              Overall             National Ranking (ESPN)

Texas                           10-2                 23-4                 5

Kansas                         9-3                   24-3                 7

Kansas State                8-4                   18-8                 –

Texas A&M                 6-6                   20-7                 –

Baylor                          6-6                   18-8                 –

Oklahoma                    6-6                   18-9                 –

Texas Tech                   6-6                   15-11               –

Nebraska                     5-7                   16-9                 –

Missouri                       5-7                   15-12               –

Oklahoma State            5-7                   14-12               –

Iowa State                    4-8                   14-13               –

Colorado                      2-10                 10-16               –

Conference Standings Scenarios

Regardless of Monday’s outcome, the worst case scenario for the Horns would be a half-game lead over Kansas (if Texas falls to Kansas State) in Big 12 standings.

Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s conference contests, meanwhile, will have major impacts on area standings as the results from the college hardwood pour in late Wednesday evening – and based on Big 12 positioning alone the conference standings may not change much, although there will likely be a two-way tie for fourth place come Thursday morning.

Weekly Notes: Big 12 Hoops

Eleven of the 12 conference teams have an overall record of .500 or better, tied with the highly touted Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) for the highest percentage of teams of any conference.

In addition, the Big 12 has six teams with 18 wins or more – with only the Big East (seven teams) boasting a higher number of squads with 18-plus victories.

The conference also leads the nation in victories and winning percentage against 2008 nationally-ranked non-district opponents.

Seven teams also sit amongst the top-65 according to RPI ratings – a major factor in deciding NCAA tournament teams – including Texas (5), Kansas (8), Oklahoma (24), Kansas State (31), Baylor (39), Texas A&M (54) and Texas Tech (63).

Big 12 Weekly Awards

On Monday, Feb. 25, the Big 12 Conference announced the weekly award winners in NCAA men’s basketball action – with Texas and Kansas State both receiving the honors for individual achievements.

This week’s player of the week was awarded to Longhorns sophomore guard D.J. Augustin, who averaged 23.0 points and 6.0 assists in Texas’ two conference victories this past week.

Rookie of the week honors for the week of Feb. 25 once again went to Kansas State’s NBA-bound Michael Beasley – where despite his Wildcats two-game losing streak this past week, the freshman-phenom scored a league-record 44 points in a loss to Baylor (while shooting a picture perfect 15-of-15 from the charity stripe and pulling down 13 rebounds).

Beasley’s rookie of the week honor was also the fifth consecutive time for Kansas State’s young star to garner the award, and the ninth overall for the freshman forward this season – one shy of the Big 12 record for combined honors set by former Texas star Kevin Durant (four player honors and six rookie honors) one year ago.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

BIG 12 MEN’S BASKETBALL: Latest Standings, Weekend Match-Ups…

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – As of Friday, Feb. 22, 2008, the Big 12 Conference has a two-way tie for first place, with both the highly touted Kansas Jayhawks (24-2 Overall, 9-2 Big 12) and the Lone Star leading Texas Longhorns (22-4, 9-2) sitting at the top.

Nipping at their heels is Kansas State (18-7, 8-3), coming off a surprising loss on the road against Nebraska (15-9, 4-7) – currently in the lower echelon of Big 12 play.

Right behind K-State, the Aggies of Texas A&M (20-6, 6-5) and the Oklahoma Sooners (18-8, 6-5) are tied for fourth place in a conference expected to get five – and maybe even six – teams into the NCAA Tournament.

Baylor (17-8, 5-6) and Texas Tech (14-11, 5-6) are in a two-way tie for sixth place in conference play with only a handful of games remaining.

Big 12 Standings (02.22.2008)

                                    Big 12              Overall

Kansas                         9-2                   24-2

Texas                           9-2                   22-4

Kansas State                8-3                   18-7

Texas A&M                 6-5                   20-6

Oklahoma                    6-5                   18-8

Baylor                          5-6                   17-8

Texas Tech                   5-6                   14-11

Nebraska                     4-7                   15-9

Iowa State                    4-7                   14-12

Missouri                       4-7                   14-12

Oklahoma State            4-7                   13-12

Colorado                      2-9                   10-15

Saturday Showdowns

On Saturday, Feb. 23, the conference features six showdowns in Big 12 play as the final weeks of the season loom around the corner.

Those games, including television coverage and games times (all times Central), are as follows:

Iowa State at Texas Tech, ESPN+ (check local listings), 12:30 p.m.

Oklahoma at Texas, ABC, 2:30 p.m.

Kansas at Oklahoma State, CBS, 3 p.m.

Nebraska at Texas A&M, ESPN+ (check local listings), 3 p.m.

Colorado at Missouri, no television coverage, 7 p.m.

Kansas State at Baylor, FSN Southwest (locally), 7 p.m.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

Bears tip off against Sooners tonight at OU, seek to end three-game slide

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Basketball Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Bears Correspondent

WACO, Texas – Tonight at 7 p.m. CT, the Baylor Bears (17-7 overall, 5-5 Big 12) shoot to end a three-game losing streak in conference play when they tip off against the Oklahoma Sooners (17-8, 5-5).

The Big 12 showdown will be broadcast live on ESPN Plus (The “CW” in Waco, Temple and Bryan), with Bob Carpenter and Paul Splittorff calling the action from the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Okla.

According to BU big man Kevin Rogers, despite the Bears recent three-game slide, the Baylor men’s basketball team’s confidence is still up.

“It [our confidence] is definitely still up,” Rogers said. “We can’t let a couple of games get us down because there’s still plenty of season left to go. We can only take things from [the Texas] game and learn from them and hope we get better before we play Oklahoma.”

Baylor dropped their last conference match-up, a home game at the Ferrell Center against the University of Texas, in a five-point heartbreaker after battling back in the game’s final seconds.

“From a coach’s standpoint, we did a great job coming back,” Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew said. “I was proud of the team’s effort to give ourselves a chance to get a win down the stretch. I credit Texas for making big plays.

“I told the guys in shoot-around that this program’s back to a point now where you have ESPN, you have the largest crowd in the school’s history, and you’ve got a chance to beat a top-10 program.”

Drew is exactly right.

Since Drew’s arrival in Waco nearly five years ago, the Baylor basketball program has gone from zero to hero – hanging with some of the best teams in the nation this season while finally beginning to get the recognition they deserve after taking a program from the ashes and creating an NCAA Tourney-bound team.

“This has been a tough week, and you’ve got to be above .500 in the league to normally get to the NCAA [Tournament],” Drew said. “We’re going to get five or six teams in, and our goal is to be in the top half so that we’re in that position.

“I don’t think we played well at Oklahoma State, but I think we played better [against Texas]. Over the last two years we’ve finished very strong, and I look for us to get on a roll pretty shortly here.”

Beginning tonight in Norman, the Bears’ hoops team will hopefully heed the words of their head coach as they face an OU team riding a two-game winning streak after defeating Texas Tech, 66-64, on Saturday (Feb. 16) in Lubbock.

A win tonight would push Baylor into a two-way tie for fourth place after Texas A&M was blown out last night (Feb. 18) in Austin, falling by 27 points to the Longhorns on ESPN Big Monday.

In just a few short hours, we’ll have a little better idea of who’s who in the Big 12 Conference… although a majority of our questions (postseason births, etc.) will still have to wait until March’s madness to be answered.

Check back tonight after the BU-OU match-up for post game quotes, notes, stats and more…

Game Notes

In addition to hopes and prayers of ending a three-game slide in the Big 12, the Bears also aim to end a 27-game losing streak against the Sooners – dating back to a 75-69 win at OU on Dec. 6, 1977.

On a happier note for Bears fans, Baylor’s 5-5 conference start matches its best ever in Big 12 play after opening the 1997-98 season (my freshman year at BU) with a 5-5 mark.

Also, Baylor’s 17 wins this year surpasses last season’s win total and is the most since Drew inherited the program (additionally, its the most wins since 2000-01, when the Bears won 19 games and received a postseason birth in the NIT tournament).

In conference play, Baylor leads the Big 12 in scoring (81.4 points per game), free throw shooting (78.1 percent) and three-pointers (8.0 threes per game).

With three more wins, Drew (53 victories with the Bears) will move into seventh place on Baylor’s career coaching victories list; also, if BU guard Curtis Jerrells (1,051 career points) can put up 11 or more points tonight on the road, he will move him into 15^th place on Baylor’s career scoring list.

Aaron Bruce could also join the Bears’ top-10 milestones list as well – with Bruce (309 assists) needing just five more assists to move into fourth place on Baylor’s career assists list and needing just 66 more points to move into sixth place on BU’s all-time scoring leaders (Bruce currently has 1,294 career points).

In addition, Bruce (129 threes) is just three three-pointers shy of moving into sixth place in the Big 12’s career three-pointers in conference games list, while freshman LaceDarius Dunn (56 threes) is just three three-pointer shy of moving into second place on Baylor’s freshman three-pointers list (Tweety Carter is currently third with 57 in 2007 and John Lucas III is second with 59 in 2002).

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com