Big 12 Basketball Update & Power Rankings

February 26th Big 12 Basketball update

A lot can change in a week. And for Oklahoma, it’s been nothing short of a nightmare. The Sooners (25-3) lost more times this week (twice) than they had through the first two-thirds of the season.

Pre-season player of the year Blake Griffin missed the second half of the Texas game and did not play against Kansas – both losses – because of a concussion he suffered against Texas on Feb. 21.

Griffin’s status for Saturday’s game at Texas Tech is really unknown at this point. But the Sooners will also be without junior forward Juan Pattillo, who was suspended for the game because of a violation of team rules.

Without Griffin, the Sooners are really vulnerable in the low block. They do not have an enforcer who can establish a presence. That makes the Sooners much more perimeter oriented.

In college basketball, one player can change the dynamics of a team. Without Griffin, OU is really hurting.

Texas may be back

It was one rough stretch for the Longhorns (19-8) but things appear to be returning to normal since coach Rick Barnes established Dogus Balbay as the team’s point guard two weeks ago.

The move did two things. It shifted A.J. Abrams to shooting guard and moved Damion James to the power forward. That’s making the difference as the Longhorns have won four of their last five and probably need one more win to secure an at-large NCAA tournament berth. They finish the season Saturday at Oklahoma State and then have Baylor and Kansas.

Abrams is hot as he has scored at least 20 points in four of his last five games, while James has four consecutive double doubles.

Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk

If anyone had to tell Kansas coach Bill Self that his program would be leading the Big 12 after suffering heavy graduation losses from last year’s national championship team, he would have smirked and followed with a “yeah, right.’’

But this season reveals the value of how good of a coach Self is. With only Sherron Collins returning, he has blended the roster with Tyshawn Taylor, Marcus Morris and Brady Morningstar.

Those and others have the Jayhawks (22-5) in position to clinch their sixth consecutive conference championship. KU gets Missouri in the Allen Fieldhouse Sunday.

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Briefly…

Texas forward Gary Johnson (sprained ankle) is questionable for Saturday’s game at Oklahoma State. He did not play against Texas Tech….Texas Tech coach Pat Knight returns from his one-game suspension Saturday against Oklahoma. Knight was suspended because of his comments after the Feb. 21 loss to Texas A&M…Oklahoma State’s four-game winning streak may not be surprising. The Cowboys have defeated second division teams in Texas Tech, Iowa State, Baylor and Colorado. A win over Texas Saturday could get them back into the NCAA tournament discussion.

Power Rankings

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

By Kevin Lonnquist
Big 12 Fans Correspondant

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