Big 12 Basketball Update & Power Rankings

March 11th Big 12 Basketball update

Surprise, surprise! Kansas won another Big 12 championship. Make that five consecutive titles for the Jayhawks.

Led by senior guard Sherron Collins and forward Cole Aldrich, the Jayhawks showed the great tradition of their program by coming back from a national championship season, enduring heavy graduation losses and just going out and winning 14 of 16 conference games.

There were other solid stories in the conference. Oklahoma State resurged under first-year coach Travis Ford, Texas surprisingly slipped because it could never settle on a point guard and Baylor couldn’t handle the success of last year’s appearance in the NCAA tournament.

Let’s review what happened during the season and look forward to the tournament that starts Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

Player of the Year: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma, So. F. You were expecting somebody else? The likely national player of the year completely dominated the opposition by averaging 22 points and 14 rebounds per game. Even a concussion late in the season really didn’t slow him down. Griffin was a double double machine with 25 and set the conference single-season record for rebounds with 425.

Coach of the Year: Mike Anderson, Missouri. Kansas’ Bill Self deserved great consideration because of the complete overhaul of his roster. But Missouri basketball has been a shell of itself for the last five seasons. Add DeMarre Carroll, Anderson’s nephew, and the Tigers roared their way to a 25-6 record and 12-4 third-place finish in the Big 12. The Tigers also achieved several notables. First, they went 18-0 at home. Second, they defeated every conference opponent except Texas A&M. Third, the 12 wins are the most since they joined the Big 12. In short, Anderson has done what he was brought to Columbia to do.

Game of the Year: Missouri 62, Kansas 60. Feb. 9, Columbia. Down by as many as 14 at the half, the Tigers rallied. They went on an 11-2 run to close out the game including Zaire Taylor’s game-winning jumper with 1.3 seconds to play to lift the Tigers. Special consideration goes to Kansas State 85, Texas 81 OT. Kansas State’s Denis Clement scored a career-high 44 points and went 6-of-6 from 3-point range.

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Big 12 Tournament Preview

Most Intriguing quarterfinal matchup: No. 2 seed Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Oklahoma State. Now, this is assuming the Cowboys will beat No. 10 seed Iowa Seed in Wednesday’s first round. Should that happen, the Cowboys will be looking for some payback after watching their seven-game winning streak end in Norman last Saturday, 82-78. Give the Cowboys a legitimate chance to win this game.

Team with the most to gain: Oklahoma State. The Cowboys put themselves in the NCAA picture with their big winning streak. A loss to Iowa State in the first round would make their case shaky again, so they have to start their by taking care of the Cyclones. OSU senior point guard Byron Eaton needs to have a big tournament.

Team with the most to lose: Texas. The Longhorns are still in the NCAA tournament but if they can’t get into the semifinals on Friday, then their seeding could really be impacted. They are probably about No. 7 seed. But a slip could drop them to a No. 9 and put them in a tight matchup. Texas has dropped six of its last 11.

Difference maker in the tournament: Griffin could get the nod, but let’s look at Kansas senior guard Sherron Collins. He’s shooting 38 percent from 3-point range this year and scored at least 21 points in five of his last six games.

Who wins the tournament: Oklahoma. Playing the tournament in their backyard in Oklahoma City gives the Sooners an edge. Freshman guard Willie Warren is having a great season. Should the Sooners win, they could be in the conversation for a No. 1 seed, especially if either Pittsburgh, Connecticut or Louisville slip early in the Big East tournament.

Power Rankings

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

By Kevin Lonnquist
Big 12 Fans Correspondant

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