Big 12 Basketball Update & Power Rankings

December 14th Big 12 Basketball update

When future Big 12/Pac 10 Hardwood Series are played, the two conferences can take a tip from the ACC/Big 10 Challenge:

Get the games all scheduled over a two-day span and not a weekend. The problem this series encountered is that several games were played on Saturday and Sunday nights when most people were not watching basketball.

The ACC and Big 10 got it right when they played their games on a Tuesday and Wednesday (one game was played on a Monday) and played their games on ESPN. The Big and Pac 10 had their games split over Fox Sports Net and ESPN, and a couple of games were not nationally televised. Now, the issue for the Pac 10 is that it is contractually to Fox Sports Net so that was unavoidable.

However, the series does have great potential because the two conferences sent teams to the 2008 Final Four, national champion Kansas and national semifinalist UCLA.

The Big 12 won the series, 6-4, as Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor Missouri, Texas A&M and Iowa St. all won their matchups. Kansas St., Colorado, Nebraska and Oklahoma St. lost.

All home teams held serve except for Baylor, which won at Washington St.

Cowboys dismiss star

Starting forward Ibrahima Thomas has been dismissed from Oklahoma St.’s team, the school announced last week.

Coach Travis Ford and Thomas, a sophomore, spoke about what Thomas could and could not bring to the program. In the end, the result was coach Travis Ford and Thomas would part way.

Thomas did not play in the 83-65 loss to Washington. In his first seven games, he averaged 8.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.

> Check out the great Big 12 sports gear includingOklahoma Sooners hats & gear, Texas Longhorns apparel and more online through Big 12 Fans!

Missouri’s breakthrough?

Mike Anderson’s first two seasons at Missouri have summoned marginal results. The Tigers went 18-11 in 2006-07 and 16-16 in 2007-2008. Missouri did not go to the postseason.

But perhaps Anderson has something moving in a better direction this year. Before Saturday’s game against Murray St., the Tigers jumped off to a 7-1 start. But the talk of their season centered on their impressive 93-66 victory over California. They also have an 83-72 win over USC, which was ranked 20 th at the time of the Nov. 23 meeting.

The Tiger frontcourt has gotten off to a great start. DeMarre Carroll, who transferred from Vanderbilt, is putting himself in Big 12 spotlight as he is averaging 18.6. Leo Lyons is averaging 17.9 points.

As strong as the Big 12 is, should the Tigers split their conference record and win a game in the Big 12 tournament, they would be in the NCAA tournament conversation. But an appearance in the NIT would definitely be a step in the right direction.

Notable

Oklahoma freshman point guard Willie Warren, who is from Fort Worth, Texas, has started his career quickly averaging 14 points and 2.7 assists per game…it was a tough week for Iowa State against in-state rivals. On Dec. 9, the Cyclones lost at home to Drake, 66-63, and then were blown out at Iowa, 73-57.

Kevin Lonnquist’s Big 12 Power Rankings

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

By Kevin Lonnquist
Big 12 Fans Correspondant

Find more Big 12 football articles online through Big12-fans.com and check out our entire archive of Big 12 sports articles!