16 AROUND THE BIG 12
The week ahead
Compiled by Tim Dwyer
The Jayhawks look to find their footing after taking their first loss in conference play at the hands of Oklahoma State. It's senior night in Allen Fieldhouse, with the winningest player in Kansas history, Sherron Collins, taking his final curtain in the historic arena against in-state rival
and No. 5-ranked Kansas State. When asked if he was going to cry at senior night, Collins answered succinctly; "Waterfalls."The Wildcats will provide a big challenge for the Jayhawks. Point guard Jacob Pullen and Kansas State took Kansas to overtime the first time these teams met in Manhattan.
THIS WEEK'S BIG 12 SCHEDULE
Kansas State vs. Kansas Lawrence, 7 p.m. Wednesday
Oklahoma State vs. Texas A&M College Station, Texas, 8 p.m. Wednesday
Kansas vs. Missouri Columbia, Mo., 1 pm. Saturday
Texas Tech vs. Colorado Boulder, Colo., 2 p.m. Saturday
Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma Norman, Okla., 11 a.m., Saturday
Nebraska vs. Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla., 12:30 p.m., Saturday
Texas vs. Baylor
Waco, Texas, 3 p.m. Saturday
Iowa State vs. Kansas State Manhattan, 5 p.m. Saturday
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Big 12 Players of the Week
Big 12 Player of the Week James Anderson, Oklahoma State G
Anderson was unstoppable Saturday as he found the basket in a variety of ways to lead Oklahoma State to a big upset of the No. 1-ranked Jayhawks. He shot 9-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-6 from long range, for 27 points to go along with eight rebounds. It was a completely dominant performance, and likely locked up the Big 12 Player of the Year award for Anderson.
Pilgrim has been brilliant at times for Oklahoma State, but has never been very consistent. Last week, he missed the Cowboys' 69-59 loss at Texas, then rebounded to have a monster game in their upset of Kansas, who had been unbeaten in conference play. Pilgrim hit 8-of-8 shots and both free throws against a usually dominant defensive frontcourt. He finished with 18 points and six rebounds.
Big 12 Newcomer of the Week Matt Pilgrim, Oklahoma State F
Big 12 Team of the Week Oklahoma State
The Cowboys needed to win just one of a brutal stretch of three games — at Texas, against Kansas at home, and at Texas A&M — to essentially lock themselves in as an NCAA Tournament team. After falling at Texas on Wednesday, they pulled off the upset of top-ranked Kansas in their next game, all but clinching what should be a seventh berth in the NCAA Tournament for the Big 12 Conference.
Quick Hitters
- If Kansas loses out and Kansas State wins out, the two teams would tie at 13-3 in conference with losses to Missouri, Oklahoma State and each other.
- Texas guard JCovan Brown was injured in the Longhorns' loss to Texas A&M. Brown is the third Texas point guard to suffer an injury this year, and is listed as day-to-day.
- With Kansas' 13-game win streak broken, the longest streak in the Big 12 is Kansas State's seven-gamer. Next is Baylor, which has won two straight games.
- Texas continued its slide, splitting games against Oklahoma State and Texas A&M and falling out of the rankings for the first time this year.
- Oklahoma State's victory on Saturday stopped the Jayhawks' bid to be the second team to go undefeated in Big 12 history.
THE WAVE MARCH 3,2010
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN