KANSAN.COM / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2010 / SPORTS / 5B
BIG 12 STOCK REPORT
Jayhawks still have tough conference opponents left
BYTIM DWYER
tdwyer@kansan.com
twitter.com/ukbasketball
KANSAS (23-1, 9-0): BUY
The Big 12 Stock Report takes into account several variables. The team's perception and remaining schedule are the biggest factors.
The Jayhawks can't sleepwalk through the rest of the conference season after their monster victory at Texas. Of the remaining seven games, four of them are easily loseable and a fifth, against Oklahoma, could slip away if Kansas loses its focus. Against Texas A&M next Monday and the season finale at
Missouri will be the toughest of the bunch, but the Jawhaws have a legitimate shot at running the
table in the Big 12 for the first time since the 2002 lawyers.
KANSAS STATE (19-4,
6-3): BUY
It's a good thing the Jayhawks have a three-game cushion, because the remaining schedule favors the Wildcats. They should be favored in every game except for the trip to Allen Fieldhouse in the second-to-last game of the regular season March 1. Unless the Jayhawks
stumble before then — possible, but hardly probable the Wildcats will be playing for nothing
more than tournament seeding, both conference and NCAA. Right now, it looks like they'll be a two-seed in both.
TEXAS A&M (17-6, 6-3):
BUIY
After starting 3-3 in conference, the Aggies have been impressive in their last three games. They
did what they should have done by defeating Texas Tech at home, but they stunned plenty of people when they ended Missouri's home
winning
streak at 32 on
Feb. 3, despite
missing 17
free throws.
"When we
miss 17 free
throws at
Missouri we don't panic," coach Mark Turgeon said to ESPN on Wednesday. "We've grown accustomed to ourselves. We're not great shooters, so we execute better."
MISSOURI (17-6, 5-3):
SELL
The Tigers are a solid team and Mike Anderson is an excellent coach, but their remaining schedule is just too brutal for them to stay in the hunt for second in the
Big 12. They're looking at potential losses at Baylor, at home to Texas, on the road at Kansas State, and home to Kansas. If the Tigers split those four and win the rest, they could have the resume of a three-seed for the NCAA tournament.
TEXAS (19-5, 5-4): SELL
This is why I'm not a stockbroker. Stockbrokers are good at calling trends before they happen. I thought Texas' swoon was temporary, even though the Longhorns' flaws were easily visible. I was wrong. Freshman forward Jordan Hamilton and freshman guard J'Covan Brown are all too willing to
jack up bad shots. The Longhorns' two best defenders, senior guard
BAYLOR (17-5, 4-4): BUY
Justin Mason and Junior guard Dogus Balgai, simply cannot score. Mess with Texas all you want. But you still can't mess with senior guard Damion James.
The Bears may be the best.500 in conference team in any conference in the country. They destroy the teams they're supposed to and stick around with the teams at the top of the conference. The one anomaly is their loss at Colorado, but as evidenced when Kansas
went to over-
here there,
the Coors
Events Center
is hardly the
cakewalk
it used to be.
The Bears
other three losses, though, are to the top three teams in the conference by an average of just five points.
TEXAS TECH (16-7, 4-5):
SELL
Against teams below them in conference, the Red Raiders are 4-0. Against teams above them in conference the Red Raiders are 0-5. Should that trend continue, Texas
Tech goes 2-5 the rest of the way. That seems about right, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the team lose at Colorado.
OKLAHOMA STATE (16-7,
4-5): SELL
It looks like Oklahoma State has been the beneficiary of the trap game this year. The Cowboys' best win — at Kansas State — came in between a couple of monumental games for the Wildcats, a victory against the then No. 1 Longhorns and an overtime loss to Kansas.
James Anderson is still one of the best players in the conference.
junior forward Marshall Moses are too stray to be relied on.
but senior guard Obi Muonelo and
OKLAHOMA (13-10, 4-5):
65L
SELL
In his last four games, freshman guard Tommy Mason Griffin has scored 38, 9, 24 and 9. The Sooners
have won, lost,
won and lost.
That's not a
coincidence.
It's not good
news for the
Sooners that
both of their
top scorers —
sophomore
guard Willie Warren leads the team with 16 points per game to Mason-Griffin's 13 — are incredibly inconsistent. The real low point for the Sooners was scoring 46 points in a loss to Nebraska. It is the Huskers' only conference victory.
IOWA STATE (13-10, 2-6):
SELL
The Cyclones have some all but impossible road trips looming. They've really imploded since junior guard Lucca Staiger left the team, losing five of their last six.
at the buzzer. The Cyclones haven't hit rock bottom yet, but they're getting close, Iowa State has games against the two teams that remain below it left, but they may not even win those with the way the team has been playing.
The Buffaloees demonstrated their toughness in taking top-
COLORADO (11-12, 2-7):
BUY
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tranked Kansas to overtime on Feb. 3 despite not having freshman guard
exas A&M head coach Mark Turgent necks the game against Baylor Saturday. A&M heat 78-71. The Hagies have won three straight games after starting 0-1 in the conference.
Alec Burks, their second-leading scorer. Colorado will lose at Kansas State, at Kansas and at Missouri, but it has a shot at stealing the other four games on their remaining schedule. A victory against Oklahoma next Wednesday would be a real boost for Colorado.
NEBRASKA (13-10, 1-7):
conference in points scored. They'll
SELL
The Huskers' stifling defense is a hassle for even the best offenses in the Big 12, but they are last in the
pick up more than one win the rest of the way.
Edited by Jesse Ranael