Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

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

BAYLOR-COLORADO PREVIEW: Bears prep for Big 12 battle with Buffalos, shoot for second consecutive conference victory

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

WACO, Texas – Baylor (18-8, 6-6 Big 12) swings through Colorado (10-16, 2-10) on Wednesday, Feb. 27 for a Big 12 match-up, pitting the Bears against the Buffalos in Boulder’s Coors Events Center.

The game, which is slated to tip off at 8:30 p.m. CT and will be televised live on FSN Rocky Mountain, will air on FSN Southwest in Texas.

Head Coach Scott Drew’s Bears are fresh off a 92-86 victory over the slumping Kansas State Wildcats, losers of three straight contests after Monday’s loss to the Longhorns, and aim to plow ahead in conference standings on Wednesday at Colorado.

As of Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. CT, Baylor and three other conference teams held onto a four-way tie for fourth place – with the Bears joining Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Texas Tech with .500 records in the tightly contested Big 12.

Unfortunately for Baylor Bears fans, the BU men’s basketball team is 0-5 in Boulder since the Big 12’s inception.

However, Drew and company have been prone to beginning, as well as breaking, long-standing school and conference streaks – and in the team’s last meeting, on Jan. 30, 2007 in Waco, the Bears prevailed 97-83 at the Ferrell Center.

With Baylor’s postseason hopes and dreams on the line, the young and talented Bears shoot for another Big 12 victory on Wednesday evening against the Colorado Buffalos.

Check back on Wednesday, Feb. 27 after the game’s conclusion, for post game quotes, notes, analysis 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

Baylor ends skid, knocks off Kansas State at rowdy Ferrell Center

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

WACO, Texas – The Baylor Bears men’s basketball team is back on track.

And Head Coach Scott Drew couldn’t be happier about his young team’s terrific turnaround.

After dropping four straight conference contests, Baylor (18-8, 6-6) used a solid second half surge in a 92-86 come-from-behind victory over Kansas State (18-8, 8-4) on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Ferrell Center.

“After the last two press conferences, this one’s a lot more enjoyable for our coaching staff and players,” Drew said. “I’m very proud of the team effort. We did a great job in the second half holding them to 37 percent [shooting], and then us only missing two free throws and shooting a high percentage at 58 percent, where we really moved the ball and took high-percentage shots. Much needed win; it feels great.”

Saturday’s win comes at a good time for the Big 12’s Bears, pulling BU into a four-way tie for fourth place after both Kansas and Texas A&M fell on a college hardwood day filled with upsets.

“I really felt that down the stretch, everybody made big plays,” Drew said. “I was also very pleased because I know how tough the last couple of games have been, not only on our players, but also on our fans, and it was great to see them be rewarded after a couple of sleepless nights as well.”

Curtis Jerrells led the way for Baylor, netting 24 points and dishing out seven assists in the Bears six-point win over the No. 24 Wildcats.

“I can assure you, I stepped up to the free throw line for the first time, and I saw OU players and OU fans, and I kind of couldn’t put it past me,” Jerrells said. “Kool [LaceDarius Dunn] here, he kind of got into me when I was shooting those last ones. I told him he kind of ticked me off, but he did what he had to do to make me mad and to make me not miss, so that was a good job.

“My teammates did a good job of picking me up, [along with] my family, my friends and coach. I really wanted to blame myself for it, but those guys picked me up and put me over the hump.”

Four of Jerrells’ teammates also hit double figures in scoring, with Kevin Rogers (18 points and 10 rebounds), LaceDarius Dunn (16 points, seven rebounds and two steals), Tweety Carter (12 points and three assists) and Aaron Bruce (11 points) all chipping in as Baylor ended a four-game Big 12 skid.

“We still have a couple of games left, so I don’t want to talk too soon and say something out of line,” Rogers said. “We just came out and played as a team today and did some things that we weren’t doing in those last two games, and fortunately we came out with a victory.”

Baylor fell behind early before a hot shooting streak briefly put the Bears on top, but shortly thereafter BU lost some momentum as the Kansas State Wildcats took a 44-38 lead into halftime.

“That’s the reason that we did what we did in the offseason; for the last five minutes of games, to try to close those things out because we lost so many close ones last year,” Rogers said. “In a game like this, that offseason work really paid off.”

The second half was all Baylor, as the Bears battled back from a short-lived deficit and regained control of a must-win game against a very talented Wildcats basketball team – as Kansas State’s Michael Beasley set a new conference record with 44 points to go along with 13 rebounds.

“I don’t know if there’s a better two-man performance that I’ve seen personally than what Beasley and [Bill] Walker put on, but the big thing that I look at is our bench,” Drew said. “Our bench had 32 points and their bench had five, so again it was a great team effort.

“The other thing is that I thought we did a very good job on the boards considering that they’re so good on the boards. Kevin [Rogers] had 10, LaceDarius [Dunn] had seven, and I think we did a very good job limiting them to not as many boards as they normally get.”

Kansas State’s Walker added 31 points for the Wildcats – as he and teammate Beasley contributed to a majority of the KSU scoring.

“All week coach’s been talking about playing as a team, and when we went into halftime, those two guys were beating us by themselves,” Jerrells said. “It takes a team, and you see that we had five guys in double figures, and we just outplayed them as a team tonight.”

The Bears next challenge comes on Wednesday, Feb. 27, as Baylor travels to Colorado to face the Buffalos in an effort to gain ground in the race for a postseason birth.

“Every game is big in the Big 12,” Drew said. “Every game matters, and we’re just going to focus one at a time.”

Baylor’s match-up with Colorado on Wednesday is slated to tip off at 8:30 p.m. and will be televised live (locally) on FSN Southwest.

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

KANSAS STATE-BAYLOR PREVIEW: Bears return home to battle Wildcats in Saturday showdown

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

WACO, Texas – In about 24 hours, the Baylor Bears (17-8 overall, 5-6 Big 12) will be fighting for their postseason life when they face the Kansas State Wildcats (18-7, 8-3) on Saturday, Feb. 23 at the Ferrell Center.

After dropping four straight conference contests, the Bears hope to end that skid on Saturday evening in Waco when they battle the Wildcats – a team coming off a surprising loss at Nebraska and currently sitting in third place in the highly competitive Big 12.

Saturday’s showdown between Baylor and Kansas State is slated to tip off at 7 p.m. CST, with the game scheduled to be broadcast live on FSN Southwest for local Texas viewers.

“We have been in a couple of close games this year; I am very proud of the effort of our team,” Baylor Head Coach Scott Drew said following Tuesday’s tough one-point OT loss to Oklahoma on the road. “We have had two heartbreakers and a lot of teams could fold from here on out.

“I think we are going to get on a roll; I am really proud of our team. I think we are going to bond from this and I think we are going to grow from this.”

For Baylor Bear fans, this weekend’s match-up on the Ferrell Center hardwood could make or break their NCAA postseason dreams.

With the Bears currently tied with the Texas Tech Red Raiders for sixth place, Saturday’s game against the Wildcats is a must-win if Baylor expects to make a push for a March Madness tournament seed.

The good news for the BU basketball team is that they are returning home, where they hold a 10-3 mark, and Kansas State has lost three straight road games.

Check back tomorrow for post game quotes, notes, stats and more from Saturday night’s Big 12 match-up between the Bears and Wildcats…

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