Big 12 Basketball Power Rankings: Week 6
Roughly six weeks into the 2010-2011 season, the Big 12 is panning out a little different than expected.
Some of the top Big 12 programs were tested this past week. Some failed, while others prevailed.
Who's shining? Who's emerging? Who's struggling?
With the holidays coming up and Big 12 conference play on the horizon, let's take a look at our Big 12 Power Rankings for Week 6!
1. Kansas Jayhawks (10-0, 0-0)
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Josh Selby is a freak. He made his debut by scoring 21 points off the bench, including the game-winning three-pointer with 26 seconds remaining.
As good as Selby is going to be, KU fans may be a little worried. KU has gone down to the wire with UCLA and USC. Those teams have losses to the likes of Rider, Montana, Bradley and Pacific.
Basically, USC and UCLA aren’t very good teams—and Kansas has gotten very lucky at the end of both games.
KU is by far the most talented team in the Big 12 but has to play better in the second half, as opponents are finding ways to claw back into games.
This week KU travels to California to take on the Golden Bears in its first true road test. Cal has a win over Temple earlier in the season but some ugly losses as well. Kansas will find a way to win this game.
Next up: Dec. 22 at California
2. Texas A&M Aggies (11-1, 0-0)
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Texas A&M has been climbing up the power rankings ever since Week 1. Mark Turgeon is finding ways to win down in College Station, and the Aggies continue to improve.
TAMU overcame a nine-point deficit to defeat Arkansas in an overtime thriller in Dallas on Saturday. Khris Middleton stole the show as he led the Aggies with 31 points. TAMU crushed Wagner last night, 86-51.
David Loubeau and Khris Middleton are becoming solid players for the Aggies.
Texas A&M will certainly be an NCAA Tournament team when the time comes, as it has already beaten two teams in the Top 25 polls.
This week TAMU plays McNeese State on New Year's Eve. McNeese who? Exactly.
Next up: Dec. 31 vs. McNeese State
3. Missouri Tigers (10-1, 0-0)
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Unfortunately, point guard Michael Dixon was suspended indefinitely this past week due to a violation of team rules.
Still, Mizzou was able to easily put away Oral Roberts and and Central Arkansas with Marcus Denmon and Laurence Bowers leading the way.
Up next is an Illinois team still wondering what happened on Saturday. No. 21 Illinois lost to the University of Illinois-Chicago, which was beyond ugly for the Fighting Illini. Reports are circulating that Dixon will be back in the lineup against Illinois.
Mizzou fans, rejoice.
The fastest 40 minutes in basketball is back.
Next up: Dec. 22 vs. No. 21 Illinois
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4. Texas Longhorns (9-2, 0-0)
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Texas came away with a big win against UNC on Saturday with a Cory Joseph game-winning three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining. Joseph scored 21 points, but sophomore Jordan Hamilton led the Longhorns with 24.
UNC has a lot of talent, but Roy Williams hasn’t figured out how to get the ball rolling, as the Tar Heels have lost eight of nine to ranked opponents. Still, a great win for a young UT team.
An even bigger matchup emerges this week as UT travels north to take on Michigan State. After being smashed by Syracuse a few weeks back, Tom Izzo should be looking to set the record straight with his squad.
We’ll see how a younger UT squad matches up with the very experienced and talented Michigan State Spartans.
Next up: Dec. 22 at No. 12 Michigan State
5. Oklahoma State Cowboys (11-1, 0-0)
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Oklahoma State took care of Alabama last Saturday and Stanford last night.
Neither of these teams is much to brag about, but they are from major conferences.
Marshall Moses continues to be dominant inside, while Keiton Page has heated up from three-point land. Page led the way for OSU with 23 points on 6-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-11 from beyond the arc.
The Cowboys are flying under the radar so far this season but may emerge as one of the Big 12 South's best teams.
Next up for Oklahoma State are the Gonzaga Bulldogs, who are fresh off a victory against then-ranked No. 9 Baylor. Gonzaga has toughened up due to its brutal non-conference road trip, so expect OSU to have its hands full on New Year's Eve.
Next up: Dec. 31 vs. Gonzaga
6. Baylor Bears (7-1, 0-0)
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Baylor dropped its first true test to Gonzaga on Saturday.
BU owned the majority of the crowd at the American Airlines Center in Dallas but still played terribly. The Bears dominated the boards but couldn't get anything to drop from long range.
Gonzaga is a good team, but Baylor should have taken care of business—especially when Gonzaga's leading scorer, Steven Gray, came out of the game with an injury early in the first half.
Baylor's zone defense worked well against Gonzaga, but 17 turnovers kept the Bulldogs in the game.
Freshman stud Perry Jones III led the Bears with 19 points and will certainly be in the running for Big 12 Rookie of the Year. Quincy Acy can also be a threat inside but was rather quiet on Saturday.
Baylor is still one of the best teams in the Big 12, but now it has to prove it. The Bears dropped to the No. 15 spot, and another loss to an unranked opponent could push them out of the Top 25.
We'll see if Baylor can get back on track tonight when it hosts San Diego.
Next up: Dec. 22 vs. San Diego
7. Kansas State Wildcats (9-3, 0-0)
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I think Martin's face in this picture pretty much sums up the past week for Kansas State.
The Wildcats dropped another contest to the UNLV Rebels at home last night, 63-59.
KSU was without stars Jacob Pullen and Curtis Kelly after they were both suspended by the NCAA for receiving improper benefits at a clothing store. The troubles are starting to build up in Manhattan, and K-State fans may be getting a bit nervous.
As of now, Pullen will have to sit out two more games, and the length of Kelly's full suspension has yet to be announced.
KSU will hope to bounce back when it hosts the UMKC Kangaroos on Thursday. No pun intended. OK, maybe a little.
Next up: Dec. 23 vs. UMKC
8. Iowa State Cyclones (11-2, 0-0)
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Talk about surprises.
New head coach Fred Hoiberg has completely turned around the ISU program after a terrible 2009-2010 season. ISU is having its best start since the 2000-2001 season (13-2).
Iowa State destroyed Chicago State last night by a final score of 104-63. ISU's 104 points is the highest for the Cyclones this season.
I wouldn't go as far to say the Cyclones are one of the best teams in the conference just yet, but some stars have emerged in Ames over the past two months.
ISU has great talent in Diante Garrett, Melvin Ejims and Scott Christopherson. If Iowa State can get its shooters on a roll, the Cyclones could give some of the top teams a run for their money.
We'll see how they play against a decent ACC team in the Virginia Cavaliers.
Up Next: Dec. 30 vs. Virginia
9. Colorado Buffaloes (7-3, 0-0)
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Colorado has shaken off a slow start to get back on track in the past few weeks.
The Buffs cruised to a 104-59 victory over Longwood last weekend and have amazing guards in Alec Burks and Cory Higgins.
Burks currently leads the Big 12 in scoring with 19.8 per game, and Higgins is fifth, averaging 17.1. These two guards can pose a threat in the Big 12, but CU needs to work on its interior game. If the Buffs want any chance to knock off the likes of Baylor or Kansas this year, they'll have to shut down guys like Quincy Acy and Marcus Morris.
Right now, I don't see that happening.
CU will square off in Boulder tonight against New Mexico. The Lobos sit at 9-1, so a victory tonight could boost some confidence in the Buffalo squad.
Next up: Dec. 22 vs. New Mexico
10. Nebraska Cornhuskers (10-2, 0-0)
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Nebraska has been on a little roll lately, as the Cornhusker have won eight straight games for the first time since the 1994-1995 season.
That's a long time.
Doc Sadler has his team playing well as Nebraska beat Grambling State last night, 79-39.
I still don't think Nebraska has proved anything yet, although the Cornhuskers did overcome a 20-point deficit to beat USC. USC then beat Texas and almost beat Kansas in Lawrence. That has to count for something, right?
Regardless, the Cornhuskers are off to their best start in almost two decades. NU will host North Dakota in what should be another easy victory for Sadler and the crew.
Next up: Jan. 2 vs. North Dakota
11. Oklahoma Sooners (6-6, 0-0)
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The Sooners fought hard against Cincinnati on Saturday but fell short. However, OU was able to come away with a victory last night over Sacramento State, 66-53.
Jeff Capel has some talent on his squad, but the Sooners are just a young team going through some growing pains.
The Sooners sit at the 11 spot in the power rankings this week, as they have much to prove before they can be considered a true competitor in the Big 12 again.
Senior Cade Davis is playing well and is starting to get some help from sophomore Andrew Fitzgerald. It will be interesting to see how much OU progresses as Big 12 play starts. As of now, the Sooners are far behind the competition.
Capel and company get another game to figure things out as OU faces Central Arkansas next week. Mizzou just spanked Central Arkansas, so expect a victory for the Sooners.
Up Next: Dec. 30 vs. Central Arkansas
12. Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-6, 0-0)
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Fresh off its latest embarrassment against UTEP, Texas Tech comes in dead last in the power rankings.
Again.
Pat Knight has to be furious with the way the Red Raiders have been playing. Despite having multiple seniors to lead the way, Tech has lost three straight against Washington, TCU and UTEP.
TTU is scoring 78.5 points per game but letting opposing teams score an average of 79.3.
Seniors John Roberson and Mike Singletary are trying to lead the rest of the squad but have been unsuccessful lately.
Knight needs to find out what is lacking in the Red Raider defense. Tech has five players averaging double figures but hasn't been able to find a way to stop opposing teams from getting to the hoop.
Texas Tech should be able to win against Texas-Arlington at home tonight. But based on the past two weeks, don't hold your breath.
Next up: Dec. 22 vs. Texas-Arlington
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