4B the university daily kansan
big 12 basketball
monday, april 5, 2004
men's basketball
Lackluster seasons for Big 12 teams
By Mike Norris
mnorris@kansan.com
kansan Sportswriter
The Big 12 Conference as a whole was disappointing, getting only four invites to the Big Dance, but three of the teams survived to the Sweet 16, and one to the Final Four. As one of the top conferences in the nation, next season should be no different. Here's a look at how the conference's teams fared this season.
Oklahoma St. (14-2 Big 12, 31-3) — The Cowboys finished one of its best seasons in school history with a loss to Georgia Tech Saturday. East Rutherford region MVP John Lucas carried the team to a Big 12 Conference regular season championship, Big 12 Tournament championship and the Final Four. The Cowboys lose senior guard Tony Allen and forward Ivan McFarlin next year.
Texas (12-4, 25-8) — Texas ended its season with a Sweet 16 loss to Xavier.
Possibly the deepest team in the country early in the season, the Longhorns finished the season 4-4 in their last eight games. The disappointing end finished the career of four seniors, including firstteam All-Big 12 player Brandon Mouton. Look for freshman P.J. Tucker to put up monster numbers next season. He will get help from three McDonald' high school All-Americans next year.
Colorado (10-6, 18-11) — The poster team for underachieving, the Buffaloes were hot down the stretch, but it wasn't enough for the NCAA selection committee. A first round loss in the Big 12 Tournament was followed by a first round NIT loss at Oregon. Junior center David Harrison had impressive
numbers during the season (17 p.p.g., 8.8 rebs), but lost his temper far too many times this season. The Buffs lose three senior starters and possibly Harrison to the NBA draft. It could be a long season for coach Ricardo Patton next y.ar.
Texas Tech (9-7, 23-11) — Coach Bobby Knight again turned in a good season for a team that was nothing before he arrived. Senior forward Andre Emmett, the conference's leading scorer, nearly single handedly defeated St. Joseph's in its Tech second round NCAA Tournament loss. Emmett, who is predicted to go in the second round of the NBA draft, is the only significant loss. Freshman guard Jarrius Jackson showed signs of being a pretty good player in the future, but Tech doesn't have much else.
Missouri (9-7, 16-14) — A first round NIT loss, 0-3 against Kansas, a loss in the last game in the Hearnes Center and swirling allegations of NCAA violations
— not quite the season the Big 12 coaches had in mind when they picked the Tigers to win the Big 12 regular season title.
Missouri loses second team all- Big 12 players Arthur Johnson, and Rickey Paulding, as well as Travon Bryant. Missouri will need solid performances from Jimmy McKinney and transfer Jason Conley to have any hope next year. Those NCAA violations probably won't just be swept under the rug, either.
Oklahoma (8-8, 20-11) — The three-time defending Big 12 Tournament champs started out 10-0. A 40-point loss to Connecticut started the Sooners downfall, and a 20-win season wasn't enough to make the NCAA Tournament. A
second round loss to Michigan in the NIT wasn't what this team had in mind, but next year could be a good one for OU. Freshman point guard Drew Lavendar has a huge upside, and they will have sophomore forward Kevin Bookout back next year after missing most of the season with an injury. They lose leading scorer Jason Detrick to graduation.
Iowa St. (7-9, 20-13) — The Cyclones were a model of consistency all season — win at home, lose on the road. ISU went 16-1 at home during the regular season and 1-10 away from Ames, Iowa.
First-year coach Wayne Morgan took a team with no expectations to the NIT final four. Led by senior guard Jake Sullivan, and Big 12 freshman of the year Curtis Stinson, the Cyclones picked up victories against Xavier, Kansas and Texas this year. Sullivan and forward Jackson Vroman, who led the conference in rebounding, won't be back next season. Look for Stinson to have a big year and junior forward Jared Homan showed signs of being a good, physical presence inside.
Morgan may have a team that can chalk-up some quality victories next season.
Kansas St. (7-9, 14-14) — The Wildcats improved some this season, but were hampered by injuries. Freshman standout Cartier Martin missed a big chunk of the season, putting a damper on a highly anticipated freshman campaign. Although the Wildcats finished the season on a high note, defeating the Longorns at home, they once again failed to beat Kansas, extending their losing streak to 21 games against their in-state rival.
Nebraska (6-10, 18-13) — Nebraska defeated Missouri, Kansas, Texas Tech and Arizona St, but also lost to K-State twice and Creighton.
look for him to have a breakout season, if not, look for K-State at the bottom of the standings again.
Forward Brian Conklin led the conference in three-point shooting at .568 percent. The "Huskers were led by senior forward Andrew Drevo and Kansas City native Nate Johnson, who averaged 14 points and 4.5 rebounds-per-game, but all three are lost to graduation next season. Look for juniors John Turek and Corey Muhleisen to be leaders next year. The 2004-05 season might be a long one.
Baylor (3-13, 8-21) — The Bears exceeded everyone's expectations with three conference victories. After an off-season that included the murder of a player and three key transfers, expectations weren't high.
If Martin is healthy next year.
Senior forward Terrance Thomas finished seventh in the Big 12 in scoring at 15.9 points-per-game. Losing John Lucas and Lawrence Roberts to transfers hurt the Bears too much to have a successful season, but Drew held together the pieces. Nonetheless, don't expect much from Baylor next year.
Texas A & M (0-16, 7-21) — The record says it all: zero conference victories and a coach that resigned before the start of the Big 12 Tournament.
It was a season full of disapointment for the Aggies. Their best victory was on the road against Louisiana-Monroe. Next season won't be much different. Look for the Aggies to finish at the bottom, with maybe one or two conference victories.
women's basketball
Kansas State, Texas Big 12's top teams
Edited by Nikki Nugent
By Jonathan Kealing
jkealing@kansan.com
Kansas sportswriter
This was a banner season for the Big 12 women's basketball conference.
Baylor (26-9, 10-6 Big 12)—Baylor ended its season in fifth place in the Big 12 and ranked No. 15 in the last regular season AP poll.
The loss came in the final 0.2 second of the game when officials went to the monitor to determine if a foul had occurred before time ran out.
The conference tied its all-time high by sending nine teams to post-season play, seven of which went to the NCAA Tournament.
Baylor returns 78% of its scoring next year, and loses two seniors.
In the NCAA Tournament, Baylor was seeded fourth and advanced to the Sweet 16, losing to No.2 seed Tennessee.
Colorado(22-8,11-5Big12)—Colorado's regular season ended with the Buffaloes in third place. They were No. 17 in the last AP poll.
Senior Tera Bjorklund is a finalist for WBCA All-American. Colorado is losing its three top scorers and the only three players who started all of the Buffalo's games.
Iowa State (18-15, 7-9 Big 12) Iowa State has traditionally been a leader in women's basketball in the Big 12. This year, the Cyclones concluded their season ranked ninth in the Big 12.
Colorado received a six seed in the NCAA tournament, where it was beaten by No. 11 seed UC-Santa Barbara.
Iowa State received a bid to the WNIT and went all the way to the semifinals before losing to University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Iowa State and Kansas met twice this season, with the Cyclones winning both games. Their combined margin of victory was 37 points.
The Cyclones will lose senior guard Erica Junod. Junod played in and started 30 games, and was the team's fifth leading scorer.
Kansas State (25-6, 14-2 Big 12) Kansas State concluded the regular season in second place in the Big 12. The Wildcats were also ranked No. 8 in the last regular season AP poll.
Kansas State was a No.2 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats beat Valparaiso but lost to Minnesota in the second round.
K-State had two finalists for the Kodak/WBCA All-American award. They were senior Nicole Ohlide and junior Kendra Wecker, both from Kansas.
The Wildcats lose three seniors, including Ohlde. The three seniors accounted for about 28 percent of the team's scoring. Ohlde and senior Amy Dutmer both were starters for K-State for most of the season.
Missouri (17-13.7-9 Big 12)—Missouri continued a string of postseason appearances with a trip to the NCAA Tournament, as a No. 11 seed. They finished the regular season ranked No. 7 in the Big 12.
Missouri lost its only Tournament game to six-seed Stanford.
SEE WRAP-UP ON PAGE 6B