Big 12 Notebook
Joshua Parrott, Big 12 & C-USA Columnist
WACO, Texas – At first, Perry Jones III admitted to being surprised when Baylor teammate Pierre Jackson threw an alley-oop pass in his direction from midcourt early on Monday against Texas A&M.
Fortunately for everyone involved, Jones’ instincts quickly took over. The Big 12 preseason player of the year converted Jackson’s lob into a vicious dunk for the No. 4 Bears to fuel an early spurt that eventually led to a 61-52 win at the Ferrell Center.
“That’s the first time he’s ever thrown me an alley-oop that far,” said Jones, who finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. “You’ve got to be ready for anything when he’s on the floor.”
Similar awareness has been needed this season for Baylor’s opponents.
With all but one main contributor coming back, the Bears (14-0) entered the season ranked despite a sluggish finish to the 2010-11 campaign. Baylor has surpassed preseason expectations with its best start, highest ranking and longest winning streak in school history.
Coming into this week there were four undefeated teams left in the country, and Baylor was one of them. (Fellow Big 12 member Missouri is in that group, too.)
Here’s a look at some of the surprises and disappointments so far this season in the Big 12:
Surprises
***Missouri (14-0) has played even better than expected so far for first-year coach Frank Haith. One of the biggest reasons for success has been the play of senior G Marcus Denmon. So far Denmon (18.7 ppg, 45% from 3) has performed like a National Player of the Year candidate.
***Kansas F Thomas Robinson – like Denmon
– is playing like a contender for National Player of the Year
honors as a first-year starter. The junior is averaging 17.5 points
and 12.3 rebounds despite battling constant attention from opposing
defenses.
***Oklahoma (10-3) is close to surpassing last season’s win total of 13 under first-year Sooners coach Lon Kruger. Junior G Steven Pledger (18.2 ppg) has nearly doubled his scoring from last season. OU got blown out Tuesday by Missouri, 87-49, to open Big 12 play but has a team that could make some noise in the league. (Kruger photo credit: Ty Russell/OU Athletics Communications)
***Texas Tech (7-6) is rebuilding with new coach Billy Gillispie, but freshman F Jordan Tolbert has already emerged as one of the top youngsters in the country. Tolbert leads all Big 12 freshmen in scoring (15.4 ppg) and field goal percentage (.652) and is second in rebounding (6.1 rpg).
***Other than a double-overtime December loss to West Virginia and Wednesday’s 67-49 loss to Kansas, Kansas State (11-2) has shown some promise even after losing G Jacob Pullen. The Wildcats have played better than many expected thanks to coach Frank Martin getting balance scoring and solid contributions off the bench.
Disappointments
***Texas A&M (9-4) entered the season in the top 25, but it’s been a tough start for the preseason Big 12 co-favorites. In October the school announced that first-year coach Billy Kennedy had early-stage Parkinson’s disease, and he left the team for a month to undergo treatment. Preseason all-conference G/F Khris Middleton is back from injury, but the Aggies lost to Rice on Dec. 22 and are without blue-chip freshman G Jamal Branch (transfer) and reserve F Kourtney Roberson (ankle).
***This has been a rough season for Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford. The Cowboys (7-6) are tied with Texas Tech for the most losses in the league. G Reger Dowell and G Fred Gulley recently transferred. To make things worse freshman F Le’Bryan Nash (11.7 ppg, 36% FG) has been inconsistent, and junior G/F J.P. Olukemi (knee injury) is out for the season.
***Iowa State (11-3) won its first league opener in five years with Wednesday’s 77-71 win over Texas and hasn’t lost since Dec. 3 to No. 15 Michigan. But the Cyclones fell to Drake and Northern Iowa in non-conference play and barely survived against Mississippi Valley State. Second-year coach Fred Hoiberg needs some consistency to build off the win over Texas and improve on last season’s 3-13 record in the Big 12.
***Texas coach Rick Barnes expected some growing pains after losing five starters from last season, and the Longhorns (9-4) have played well at times while playing six freshmen. Junior G J’Covan Brown (19.3 ppg) has provided a scoring punch, but freshman G Myck Kabongo (9.9 ppg, 5.5 apg, 43% FG) has been up and down. The Longhorns are young but shouldn’t have lost to Oregon State in November or Wednesday to an Iowa State squad not expected to finish in the top half of the Big 12.
***Kansas G Tyshawn Taylor (15.3 ppg, 5.2 apg) is one of the league’s top players, but the senior is also averaging 3.8 turnovers. Baylor G Pierre Jackson has been a spark plug off the bench but is averaging 3.7 turnovers. The Jayhawks and Bears need Taylor and Jackson to be more careful with the ball in conference play.
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Required Reading
***Kansas beat rival Kansas State for the 43rd time in the past 46 meetings behind a couple of in-state natives.
***Iowa State pulled a major shocker at home over Texas for the program’s first win in the series since 2005.
***Oklahoma fell to Missouri after getting controlled inside in the Big 12 opener for both teams.
***Oklahoma State finally caught a break and beat an inexperienced Texas Tech team in conference play.
What I Knew …
The Big 12 player of the year race was going to be competitive. Baylor F Perry Jones III was the preseason pick but sat out the season’s first five games to complete a six-game suspension for accepting improper benefits prior to enrolling in college. While Jones was out, Kansas F Thomas Robinson and Missouri G Marcus Denmon became the frontrunners for Big 12 player of the year. Robinson would be my choice right now.
What I Should Have Known …
We could be in for a wild season in the Big 12. Iowa State already
provided a taste by knocking off Texas earlier this week. Kansas,
Baylor and Missouri appear to be a step above the rest of the
league, but those teams better be ready whenever they go on the
road. Oklahoma and Kansas State, for example, lack star power but
play together and with effort and will surprise some teams in
conference play.
Stat of the Week
83-1: The record for Kansas in Allen Fieldhouse in its last 84 games. The Jayhawks have one home loss since 2007 – a 74-63 defeat to Texas on Jan. 22, 2011.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Who’s Hot: Kansas F Thomas Robinson is the reigning Big 12 Player of the Week after averaging 19.5 points and 14 rebounds in wins over Howard and North Dakota. The junior had 30 points and 21 rebounds against North Dakota. He added 15 points and 14 rebounds in Wednesday’s win vs. Kansas State … Texas Tech F Jordan Tolbert is the reigning Big 12 Rookie of the Week as the freshman averaged 19 points and shot 78.9 percent from the floor in wins against Cal State Bakersfield and Southeastern Louisiana. Tolbert tied a career-high with 27 points vs. Cal State Bakersfield … Baylor G Pierre Jackson and Missouri G Phil Pressey are two of 20 finalists for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award. Jackson, a junior, is averaging 11.6 points and 4.4 assists. Pressey, a sophomore, leads the Big 12 in assists (6.1 apg), assist-turnover ratio (2.93) and steals (2.14 spg) … Oklahoma State senior G Keiton Page has topped the 20-point mark in three straight games, scoring 27 against SMU, 21 on Virginia Tech and 23 vs. Texas Tech … After both being held to single digits in a Dec. 22 win over Illinois, Missouri G Marcus Denmon and G Kim English are averaging 19.5 points in recent wins over Old Dominion and Oklahoma … Baylor F Perry Jones III had his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds in Monday’s win over Texas A&M … Texas A&M G Elston Turner has scored 19 points (Arkansas Tech) and 21 (Baylor) in his last two games after being limited to six in a Dec. 22 loss to Rice.
Who’s Not: Since scoring a career-high 23 points in a Dec. 11 win over North Florida, Kansas State F Thomas Gipson has failed to reach double digits in the past six games. The freshman is averaging 4.5 points during that stretch, including a scoreless effort in 16 minutes Wednesday against Kansas … Oklahoma G Steven Pledger was held to 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting in Tuesday’s loss to Missouri. The junior was averaging more than 18 points this season … Texas A&M G/F Khris Middleton had 14 points on 4-of-17 shooting in Monday’s loss to Baylor. The junior is shooting 18.8 percent from 3 (3-of-16) in his last three games … Oklahoma State F Le’Bryan Nash has scored four points in each of his last two games. The freshman has made just three of 16 shots attempts in those contests … Texas G Myck Kabongo has more turnovers (12) than assists (10) in the past three games … Baylor G Brady Heslip went scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting against Texas A&M, ending a streak of five straight games in double digits … Kansas G Tyshawn Taylor had eight turnovers along with three assists in Wednesday’s win over Kansas State.
Games to Watch
Missouri (14-0) at Kansas State (11-2), Saturday: The Tigers stayed undefeated by recently beating Oklahoma and now goes on the road to play a Wildcat team that lost to Kansas on Wednesday.
Kansas (11-3) at Oklahoma (10-3), Saturday: The Jayhawks still should be considered the favorites in the Big 12 race, while OU is hoping to forget a loss to Missouri in its Big 12 opener.
Iowa State (11-3) at Texas A&M (9-4), Saturday: Texas A&M, eager to shake off a conference-opening loss at Baylor, faces an Iowa State squad that’s won six straight after beating Texas.
Parrott’s Take
Baylor and Missouri are still undefeated, but the Big 12 still belongs to Kansas until someone else beats the Jayhawks. Kansas has won the conference title each of the past seven years. While winning the league again this season will be a challenge given the Jayhawks lack of depth, the pieces are there to make it happen with F Thomas Robinson and G Tyshawn Taylor leading the way.
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