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14 BIG 12
KANSAS STATE WILDCATS
North division dominating conference
By Grant Guggisberg Kansas State Collegian — Friday, Feb. 12
MANHATTAN — We're now officially halfway through the Big 12 Conference season, and many of the predictions about the league have come true.
Yes, the Big 12 is easily one of the top two conferences in the nation, and yes. Kansas is on track to win the league for the sixth season in a row.
However, some things have not gone as predicted. What was thought to be a balanced league, with two teams from the North and two teams from the South tabbed as the top four teams, has not panned out. Texas, which all along has been thought to challenge Kansas for the league title, has lost five of its last seven games. Oklahoma, picked to finish ahead of K-State at third, has dropped to a three-way tie for seventh in the league. Instead, the top of the league standings are totally dominated by the North, with Kansas, K-State and Missouri claiming
spots at the top.
To put it frankly, the South division is a mess right now. The most consistent team has been Texas A&M. Yes, the same Aggie squad that got thwomped by K-State 88-65 earlier in the season. With Texas and Baylor struggling lately, the opportunity for a consistent, fundamentally sound basketball team like Texas A&M to move up in the standings and secure an invite to the NCAA tournament.
Another surprise team in this league is the Missouri Tigers. Unranked and tied for second in the standings, the Tigers have made the most of a favorable schedule, beating K-State in the conference opener and winning games they are supposed to win against teams picked to finish near the bottom of the standings. Can they pull out some big wins and find themselves in the tourney? Anything is possible, and we'll know a lot more about this team after they play their next two games against Baylor and Texas.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Colorado forward Trey Beckley, right, and Alec Burks guard Kansas State forward Wally Judge in first half action during their game in Manhattan. The Wildcats won 68-51.
MISSOURTIGERS
Stats don't tell full story on Tiller's performance
By Harry Plumer Associated Press — Tuesday, Feb. 2
COLUMBIA, Mo. — J.T. Tiller may be struggling on the stat sheet, but he's doing fine as far as Missouri coach, Mike Anderson is concerned.
Tiller has seen his field goal percentage, steals and assists decline from last season, while his turnovers have risen by nearly half. But Anderson says the numbers can't measure the intangibles.
"Obviously people look at the turnovers and shooting percentages and all that, but you just can't measure heart and that's how I see this kid," Anderson said. "Of course it's not the greatest season that he envisioned having, but he's impactful on this basketball team. Sometimes you don't look at the stats, and from a coach's standpoint I certainly don't."
Tiller is still a standout defender — he
was the Big 12 defensive player of the year last season.
Meanwhile, other guards such as senior Zaire Taylor and sophomores Marcus Denmon and Kim English have filled the scoring void.
If Tiller is slightly off his game overall, Taylor isn't. He leads Missouri in minutes and is second in the Big 12 in steals. And like Tiller, he has shown leadership skills that teammates take note of.
English and Denmon are the only two guards to average double figures in scoring. Freshman guard Michael Dixon, has provided a spark off the bench and is second among guards in field goal percentage.
"Sometimes he is just an extension of the coach out there on the court," Denmon said of Taylor. "Zaire does a lot of small things that people don't really give him credit for."
OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Sooners fall to Cowboys as road woes continue
By Clark Foy
Oklahoma Daily — Saturday, Feb. 13
NORMAN, Okla. — The Sooners fell on the road again against Oklahoma State, 97-76, in Stillwater on Saturday.
The loss brings Oklahoma down to 13-11, 4-6 in conference play for the season.
While freshmen Andrew Fitzgerald and Steven Pledger made the lineup after not playing against Texas Tech, Oklahoma was still short-handed.
Freshman forward Tiny Gallon missed the game while serving a suspension, while sophomore guard Willie Warren missed yet another game with a virus.
Oklahoma managed to stay with the Cowboys for most of first half, but Oklahoma State would end the half with two runs of 10-0 and 7-0 to take a 48-38 lead over the Sooners.
The Cowboys managed to not only
outscore the Sooners, but also dominated the Sooners across the board.
The Sooners did not get a second half rebound until six minutes into the half. Oklahoma State out-rebounded the Sooners 34-26 in the blowout. The Cowboys also had a stellar defensive performance putting up eight steals, five blocks and forcing 14 Sooner turnovers.
Freshman guard Tommy Mason-Griffin led Oklahoma with 30 points on 10-23 shooting while junior guard Cade Davis and senior guard Tony Crocker added 19 and 16 points, respectively.
Four of Oklahoma State's starters put up double-digits in Saturday's contest, with guards James Anderson and Keiton Page leading the pack with a combined 56 points.
The loss marks Oklahoma's seventh straight loss on the road. The Sooners' last road win came on Dec. 12 when they went on Utah to beat Utah 78-73 in overtime.
THE WAVE FEBRUARY 17,2010
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN