Big 12 Notebook: Ahead of schedule
Joshua Parrott, Big 12 Columnist
In the minutes following a 79-74 loss to Oklahoma last Saturday, Houston coach James Dickey found first-year Sooners coach Lon Kruger in the hallway to say hello before speaking to the media.
OU had just completed a furious second-half comeback to win the first game of the All-College Classic in Oklahoma City under its new coach.
“I think it was a great hire,” Dickey said of Kruger, who left UNLV last spring to take the job in Norman. “I think that he’s proven that he’s a terrific coach, a quality gentleman, a great basketball mind. He’s won everywhere he’s been.”
To the surprise of many, Kruger is already winning with the Sooners (9-1).
Last week, Joe Lunardi’s ESPN Bracketology projections included OU as a No. 11 seed for the NCAA tournament. While it’s still early, that’s a sign of the huge improvement already made by a program that needed a jumpstart after the firing of Jeff Capel following back-to-back losing seasons.
Any skepticism for success this season had nothing to do with Kruger’s ability to coach. He previously won at Texas-Pan American, Kansas State, Florida and Illinois, coached the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA and guided UNLV to the postseason in six of his seven seasons.
The doubts had more to do with Kruger inheriting a program that won 14 games last season.
Big 12 coaches didn’t expect much, picking the Sooners to finish tied for last in the league with Texas Tech. OU, though, surpassed expectations early by beating Washington State and Santa Clara in the 76 Classic in California before falling to St. Louis, 83-63, in the title game.
Second-leading scorer Calvin Newell Jr. left the Sooners in early December, but they continued to win. OU knocked off Arkansas on Dec. 10 and beat South Carolina State on Wednesday for the program’s fifth straight victory.
“They play hard. They play together. They hit the open man,” South Carolina State coach Tim Carter said. “They do things the right way.”
At 9-1, the Sooners are off to their best start since Blake Griffin wore an OU jersey in the 2008-09 season.
Junior G Steven Pledger is leading the way,
ranking second in the Big 12 in scoring at 19.5 points and third in
3-point shooting percentage (.512). He is also fourth in field goal
percentage (.604) and fifth in 3-pointers per game (2.3).
Also scoring in double digits are junior F Andrew Fitzgerald (10.9 ppg) and sophomore G Cameron Clark (10.0 ppg). The additions of PG Sam Grooms (5.1 assists per game) and F Romero Osby (7.8 rebounds per game) have provided a major boost.
Pledger posted his first career double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s win over Houston. The Cougars opened the second half with a 12-0 run and led by nine with 15 minutes left before the Sooners rallied for the win.
“I think that when you have games that are close it shows a lot about teams,” Grooms said. “It tells a lot about chemistry, how well we play together, how much we trust each other and the confidence we have in what we’re doing.”
OU players are enjoying their hot start, but they realize there’s still a long way to go.
“We just try to focus on getting better,” Osby said after grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds Wednesday against South Carolina State. “That’s something that coach preaches every day, and our coaching staff preaches every day. The wins and losses will take care of themselves.”
The Sooners are idle until traveling to play Cincinnati (8-3) on Dec. 29. They start Big 12 action on Jan. 3 at Missouri (11-0).
“We’ve had a few opportunities away from Lloyd Noble, but it won’t be quite the environment that we’ll see up there in Cincinnati,” Kruger said. “It will be great preparation for Big 12 play.”
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Required Reading
***First-year Missouri coach Frank Haith is eager for his first Braggin’ Rights game vs. rival Illinois.
***Texas showed its inexperience in Wednesday’s blowout loss on the road against North Carolina.
***Kansas G Tyshawn Taylor played in Monday’s loss to Davidson, just eight days after knee surgery.
***Depth could be a major factor in Kansas State’s favor in the Diamond Head Classic.
***Oklahoma State G Fred Gulley has left the team and decided to continue his college career elsewhere.
What I Knew …
Kansas G Tyshawn Taylor was going to return sooner than the expected three weeks after having surgery on a torn meniscus in his right knee. The senior logged 15 points, seven assists and three steals in Monday’s loss to Davidson but had five turnovers and shot 4-of-11 overall and 6-of-11 on free throws. The Jayhawks need for him to be healthy to be successful this season.
What I Should Have Known …
Texas would find a way to lose again before Big 12 play started on Jan. 4 against Iowa State. After losing all five starters from last season, the Longhorns started 2-2 before winning seven straight. That winning streak ended with Wednesday’s 19-point loss at No. 6 North Carolina. Texas shot 34.8 percent in the loss, and its players admitted afterward to not playing hard. That’s a sign of the team’s inexperience.
Stat of the Week
0: Losses this season for Missouri (11-0) and Baylor (10-0). Missouri is 11-0 for the seventh time in school history and the first time since the 1991-92 season. The 10-0 start is the best for Baylor under Scott Drew and two wins from matching the top opening for the program since the 2000-01 campaign.
Who’s Hot, Who’s Not
Who’s Hot: Baylor F Perry Jones III
and Oklahoma G Steven Pledger shared Big 12 Player
of the Week honors. Jones averaged 18 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.0
steals and 2.5 assists in recent wins over Bethune-Cookman and BYU.
The sophomore had a career-high 28 points against BYU. Pledger
logged his first double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds in a
win over Houston. The junior is averaging 21.4 points and shooting
62.5 percent during OU’s five-game winning streak …
Kansas F Thomas Robinson recorded his
league-leading eighth double-double of the season with 21 points
and 18 rebounds against Davidson on Monday. The junior is averaging
22.6 points and 12 rebounds in the past three games …
Missouri G Michael Dixon scored a career-high 30
points in Sunday’s win over William & Mary on 13-of-19
shooting. That topped his 19 points in a Dec. 2 win over
Northwestern State. The junior sixth-man had 18 points in his
previous game on Dec. 15 against Kennesaw State … After
shooting 2-of-15 from the floor in his previous game against New
Mexico, Oklahoma State G/F Le’Bryan Nash
scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting in Wednesday’s loss to
Alabama. The freshman is averaging 15.5 points in the past four
games … Texas F Jaylen Bond averaged a
double-double last week (15 ppg, 10 rpg) while shooting 78.9
percent in wins over Nicholls State and Temple to earn Big 12
Rookie of the Week honors. Bond, a freshman, had 18 points and 12
rebounds in 24 minutes against Nicholls State … Iowa State
senior G Chris Allen scored a season-high 23
points in Wednesday’s win over Lipscomb. He had a combined 11
points in his previous two games … Kansas State C
Jordan Henriquez scored a career-high 17 point on
7-of-9 shooting in Saturday’s win over then-No. 21 Alabama.
The junior had made five shots and scored 12 points combined in the
previous three games … Texas Tech freshman F Jordan
Tolbert is playing as well as any newcomer in the Big 12,
averaging 14.0 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 61.3 percent
from the field. He scored a career-high 27 points in a Dec. 6 loss
to TCU before adding 22 in Sunday’s win over Grambling
… Texas A&M senior F David Loubeau
posted a season-high 20 points in Saturday’s loss to Florida.
He has 11 points or more in each of the past five games and is 17
shy of joining the 1,000-point club.
Who’s Not: Texas A&M G/F Khris Middleton scored 24 points in a win over ULM on Dec. 10 in his first action after a seven-game absence due to a knee injury but didn’t have the same success in Saturday’s loss to Florida. The junior had 12 points and seven rebounds but made only 5-of-18 shots before fouling out … First-year Texas Tech coach Billy Gillispie returned one starter from last season in F Robert Lewandowski, who has struggled. The senior had 16 points in Sunday’s win over Grambling, but it was only his second double-digit scoring effort of the season. Despite playing close to the basket he’s shooting only 44.8 percent, and his scoring has dipped from 8.5 ppg last season to 7.2 ppg this season … According to those who nominate players for the Bob Cousy Award (given to the nation’s top point guard), Missouri sophomore G Phil Pressey. He was left off the 65-player list of nominees for the award despite tying for the league lead in assists (6.0 per game) and steals (2.3 per game) … Oklahoma State G Keiton Page played his worst game of the season in Wednesday’s loss to Alabama. The senior had more turnovers (four) than points (three) while making only one of four shots in 27 minutes … The scoring of Baylor freshman F Quincy Miller has dipped since he had 17 points against Texas-Arlington on Nov. 23. Miller missed the next game with an ankle injury and has 21 total points in the last four games … Oklahoma sophomore G Calvin Newell Jr. announced earlier this month that he was transferring to a program closer to home. The Philadelphia native ended up transferring to UCF … Kansas State freshman F Thomas Gipson had only three points in Saturday’s win over Alabama. He made only one of six shots from the floor and one of five free throws … Iowa State F Royce White’s streak of five straight games with double-digit points ended when he had six points in Wednesday’s win over Lipscomb. The sophomore averaged 16 points in his previous five games … The Kansas bench contributed only six points in Monday’s loss to Davidson, all coming from Connor Teahan. The Jayhawks got 21 points from their reserves in a Dec. 10 win over then-No. 2 Ohio State … Texas got less than it hoped for from G J’Covan Brown and Myck Kabongo in Wednesday’s loss to North Carolina. Brown had 16 points but shot 6-of-18 overall. Kabongo had more turnovers (four) than combined points and assists (two) in 15 minutes.
Did You Know?
The Big 12 has two of the nation’s six remaining undefeated teams (Baylor and Missouri). The Big East is the only other league in the country with two undefeated teams (Syracuse and Louisville).
Games to Watch
Rice (7-4) at Texas A&M (8-2), Thursday: The Aggies will play their first game since an 84-64 loss to then-No. 13 Florida ended a six-game winning streak. Rice has dropped two straight after a 7-2 start.
No. 24 Illinois (11-1) vs. No. 8 Missouri (11-0) in St. Louis, Thursday: For the second straight year both teams are ranked going into this fierce matchup. Mizzou is off to its best start since 1991-92.
Saint Mary’s (10-1) vs. No. 7 Baylor (10-0) in Las Vegas, Thursday: Unbeaten Baylor faces a Gaels team that’s won eight straight games. This is a rematch of a 2010 NCAA regional semifinal game won by Baylor.
No. 11 Kansas (7-3) at USC (5-7), Thursday: The Jayhawks need to rebound from Monday’s loss to Davidson in Kansas City. USC beat TCU on Tuesday after losing three in a row, including two straight at home.
West Virginia (8-2) vs. No. 7 Baylor (10-0) in Las Vegas, Friday: Baylor will play under postseason conditions with a game against the Mountaineers one day after playing Saint Mary’s. West Virginia has won four straight games.
Parrott’s Take
Baylor (10-0) is going to show what it’s really made of this week. The No. 7 Bears play Saint Mary’s (10-1) and West Virginia (8-2) on Thursday and Friday in Las Vegas. They’ve played only two road games this season: A 69-41 win over Northwestern on Dec. 4 and an 86-83 win over BYU on Dec. 17. We know Baylor has plenty of talent and now we’ll see how they handle a tournament schedule with tough games away from home on back-to-back days.
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Perry Jones III photo credit,
Baylor Marketing and Communications
