THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8.,2011
FOOTBALL
PAGE 9
XII BIG 12 CONFERENCE
BIG 12 RANKINGS
The Kansan's conference reporter analyzes and ranks the 10 teams six games into the season
ETHAN PADWAY
epadway.com/kansan.com
twitter.com/UDK_B12fball
1. Oklahoma State 9-0, 6-0 (Last Week 1)
National Ranking: No. 2 AP
The Cowboys survived Kansas State last week in a game overshadowed by LSU-Alaabama, With the No. 2 ranking in the polls, the Cowboys have an inside track to the championship game.
2. Oklahoma 8-1, 5-1 (Last week 2)
National Ranking: No. 7 AP
Losing receiver Ryan Broyles for the season might make it difficult for Landry Jones and the Oklahoma offense to keep up with in-state rivals high flying offense.
3. Kansas State 7-2,4-2 (Last Week 3)
National Ranking: No.17 AP
The Wildcats fell to both schools from Oklahoma, like many other Big 12 schools this season. But they showed good resiliency hanging with the Cowboys for four quarters after being embarrassed for their first loss the week before.
National Ranking: No. 21 AP
4. Texas 6-2,3-2 (Last Week 4)
A week after shutting down the Jayhawks, the Longhorns continued to roll, stomping on the Red Raiders. With Missouri officially leaving for the SEC, the Longhorns get the first crack at giving the Tigers a farewell party.
5. Texas A&M 5-4,3-3 (Last Week 5)
The Aggies wanted to leave the Big 12 with the conference title, that dream has officially been shattered. Now the Aggies are left scrambling to try and make a reputable bowl game.
Quarterback Robert Griffin III rediscovered his touch against Missouri last week. A win against the Jayhawks this week will make the Bears bowl eligible.
6. Baylor 5-3,2-3 (Last Week 9)
7. Iowa State 5-4,2-4 (Last Week 7)
The Cyclones defeated the Jayhawks, but it wasn't pretty. Now they have to face the Big 12's top three teams to close out the season, and they'll need to win at least one to make it to a bowl game.
8. Missouri 4-5,2-4 (Last Week 6)
The Tigers announced they were officially heading to the SEC this week. Every team they face the rest of the season will try to send them out of the conference without a bowl appearance.
7. Texas Tech 5-4,
2-4 (Last Week 8)
Since upsetting Oklahoma on the road, the Red Raiders have not been competitive in either of their last two games. Next they get second-ranked Oklahoma State at home. That's not a good thing for a team that's hurting.
10. Kansas 2-7,0-7 (Last Week 10)
The Jayhawks had the lead against the Cyclones for the first time since the first quarter against Oklahoma State on Oct. 8. It wasn't enough, and the Jayhawks are still looking for their first Big 12 win.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Players battle it out for minutes on the court
RYAN MCCARTHY
rmccarthy@kansan.com
Early on in the season, nothing is set in stone. Players are just starting to develop their chemistry so they can be successful later in the year.
Now with two exhibition games under their belts, the Kansas women's basketball team hopes they've begun shaping up a deep rotation. But at this point everyone is fighting for minutes.
"It doesn't matter if you play five or six minutes or you play 15 or 20 minutes," coach Bonnie Henrickson said. "We're going to grade you on how you played."
In their first game against Emporia State, 11 Kansas players saw at least 11 minutes.
On Sunday against Pittsburgh State it was a similar trend, with 10 players grabbing 11 minutes or more.
Henrickson thinks the spreadof playing time is partially due to winning by a large margin.
"We can spread the minutes out here (at an exhibition game), but I really didn't spread them out until we were up 20," Henrickson said.
One of this year's top contributors is freshman forward Bunny Williams. In both early games, Williams has been a constant presence around the rim.
"Bunny has done the best job of that," Henrickson said. "She boxes out and gets on the floor. She has embraced, 'If these older kids around me are pretty good, how can I create my own little niche?' She will post as hard as anybody."
This year the team recruited five quality players that have all seen action early on.
"We are playing with a lot more talent," senior forward Aishah Sutherland said. "The difference is
Incorporating this combination of new players can be a challenge. Junior guard Monica Engleman knows the depth of the team will make it difficult.
"We've got certain people in, you just got to know how to mix things and find some type of chemistry" Engleman said.
the talent is a lot better so we need to compete"
"I think it's important especially when we get into league play and stuff," she said. "You can't just rely on your starters, you have to be able to go to the bench and the bench needs to come in and play some solid minutes."
Along with the chemistry, Engleman knows this part of the season is for development before games in the Big 12.
Edited by Ben Chipman
A Powerful and Unique Look at an American Classic
Reserved seat tickets are on sale in the KU ticket offices: University Theatre, 864-3982; Lied Center, 864-ARTS, and online at www.kutheatre.com. Tickets are $18 for the public, $17 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff, and $10 for all students. All major credit cards are accepted. The University Theatre is partially funded by the KU Student Senate Activity Fee. The University Theatre's 2011-12 season is sponsored by the KU Credit Union.
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