Big 12 Basketball Update & Power Rankings

February 19th Big 12 Basketball update

While we know Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin is the best big man in the conference (if not the country), the issue becomes who is the second best?

Griffin’s 43 points and 20 rebounds set personal records and broke the school record with his 22 nd double double for the season. He also became the third player in OU history to record a game with 40 points and 20 rebounds. Wayman Tisdale and Alvin Adams are the others.

But back to the issue. Missouri’s DeMarre Carroll, Kansas’ Cole Aldrich and Texas’ Damion James each have had very solid seasons.

For Carroll, the 6-8 power forward is averaging 17 points and has scored in double figures in all but three games. He’s also recorded three double doubles. Plus, he’s shooting 57 percent from the field. Sometimes, he plays out of control.

Aldrich, the 6-11 sophomore center is actually averaging a double double for the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He’s been held under double digits in rebounds in 11 games and has quietly recorded 14 double doubles this year. He just doesn’t get the attention that Griffin does. He’s also shooting 61 percent from the field.

The 6-7 James is close to a double double at 15 points and 9 rebounds per game. He is shooting 48 percent from the field, but he can step out and shoot the 3-pointer. He has 11 double doubles this year. James will also sometimes line up and take ill-advised jump shots.

Really, you couldn’t go wrong with either one. Put one next to Griffin, and it would be absolutely scary.

A-G-G-I-E-S

Texas A&M picked up its most significant win of the season on Big Monday when it handled Texas, 81-66, in College Station.

A loss and any hopes of going to the NCAA tournament were pretty much gone. Now, the Aggies are still not on the radar, but they have a manageable schedule for the rest of the conference season.

It’s manageable because they are in winnable games. They travel to Texas Tech and Nebraska, play host to Iowa State, travel to Colorado and play host to Missouri.

At 18-8 but 4-7 in conference play the opportunity to finish at .500 or above is there. But that probably won’t be enough. A&M is going to have to make a deep run the Big 12 tournament. And the Aggies don’t exactly have a good track record there.

They are going to need strong play from junior point guard Donald Sloan. With a near 2-to-1 assists/turnover ratio, Sloan has dished out 18 assists and committed only 8 turnovers in his last seven games.

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Notable

In its 10 losses, Colorado has lost five of them by five points or less…Kansas has the nation’s longest home court winning streak at 38...Kansas State leading scorer Denis Clemente was suspended for the Feb. 17 non-conference game against North Carolina Central because of his rough style of play against Kansas. The decision came from coach Frank Martin, not from the league offices. However, Martin consulted with the conference. It didn’t really matter. Kansas State won, 95-49. Clemente is averaging 14.8 points per game.

Power Rankings

1. Oklahoma
2. Kansas
3. Missouri
4. Kansas State
5. Nebraska
6. Texas
7. Oklahoma State
8. Texas A&M
9. Baylor
10. Texas Tech
11. Iowa St.
12. Colorado

By Kevin Lonnquist
Big 12 Fans Correspondant

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