Big 12 Basketball: Who Will Prevail in the First Weekend of Conference Play?

We're finally here!  The start of the Big 12 conference season is about to be underway.  All but two Big 12 teams will face a conference opponent today.

As we cruise along and enter the start of Big 12 play, let's take a quick glance at the match-ups for this weekend.

1) No. 9 Missouri Tigers (13-1, 0-0) at Colorado Buffaloes (11-4, 0-0)

Mizzou is coming off of an absolute slaughter against North Alabama.  MU's only loss on the season came at the hands of No. 8 Georgetown in overtime on a neutral court. Michael Dixon faced a short suspension for violating team rules but is now back in action.  Missouri can score quickly and is developing to be quite the post player in Ricardo Ratliffe.  Kim English also has the capability of heating up.  MU is currently scoring the most points per game in the Big 12, while Colorado is third on that list.

Colorado started off sluggish but ended its non-conference schedule strong.  While CU's post players may not match up well with Mizzou's, the guard play will be interesting to watch.  CU guards Alec Burks and Cory Higgins are dangerous scoring threats and can take over a basketball game.  Colorado is 10th in the Big 12 in rebounds per game, which won't fly against Mizzou.  The Buffs big men are going to have to play tough inside.

Players To Watch:

MU: Ricardo Ratliffe, F

CU: Alec Burks, G

Kip's Pick: Missouri Tigers

The guard play will be a shootout, but I think Missouri dominates the boards and as a result, gets the win in Boulder.

2) No. 17 Kansas State Wildcats (12-3, 0-0) at Oklahoma State Cowboys (12-2, 0-0)

Kansas State has hit a bit of a rough patch lately.  After starting out the season with high expectations, the Wildcats have dropped a few games and have had problems with players off of the court.  That said, K-State's losses were against Duke, Florida and UNLV.                                                                                                                        Jacob Pullen is back from suspension but Curtis Kelly is still serving his six-game suspension.  When he gets back, don't expect Frank Martin to put him in right away. You don't get on that man's bad side and make up for it quickly.  Rodney McGruder has been asked to step up for his teammates lack of discipline and has been playing well.

Oklahoma State had fairly decent non-conference results with a win over then-ranked Temple.  Other than that, OSU blew one of its only tests against Gonzaga.  Marshall Moses has emerged as an absolute beast inside.  When Keiton Page is draining shots, OSU becomes very dangerous.  He may be short in size, but he has the capability to make it rain on any team.  That said, OSU is 11th overall in three-point percentage in the Big 12, so the Cowboys will need to take better shots.

Players To Watch:

KSU: Rodney McGruder, G

OSU: Marshall Moses, F

Kip's Pick: Kansas State Wildcats

I think K-State has had enough of being embarrassed both on and off the court.  Jacob Pullen is due for a huge game to set the record straight, and I think he leads KSU to a victory.

3) Baylor Bears (10-3, 0-0) at Texas Tech Red Raiders (8-7, 0-0)

Baylor was a top-ranked team a few short weeks ago but has completely fallen out of the AP Rankings.  Regardless, the Bears are still a dangerous team.  Baylor is long and athletic.  LaceDarius Dunn continues to impress, while Quincy Acy and stud freshman Perry Jones III are playing well down low.  Dunn leads the Big 12 in scoring heading into opening weekend and is currently second in the nation in three-pointers made.                                                                                                                Another guard who is playing well is A.J. Walton, who ranks second in the Big 12 in assists-per-game (5.58) and third in steals-per-game (2.17).

Boy, has Texas Tech gotten off to a slow start.  The Red Raiders have some ugly losses on the season and no solid victories to ease the pain.  Pat Knight said his goal was to achieve 10 non-conference wins, but the Red Raiders only managed eight, including losses to TCU and UTEP.  Although Tech's opponents have been able to find the hoop easily, the Red Raiders have some scorers.  Currently, five players are averaging double digits in scoring.

Players To Watch:

BU: Perry Jones III, F

TTU: Mike Singletary, G

Kip's Pick: Baylor Bears

I like Baylor to dominate inside.  If Tech can't stroke from long range, I think Baylor's zone defense works very well.

4) No. 8 Connecticut (11-2, 1-2) at No. 12 Texas (12-2, 0-0)

Rick Barnes has Texas playing well lately.  His freshman duo of Cory Joseph and Tristan Thompson are living up to their preseason hype.  The young Longhorns have also been playing stellar defense recently.  UT has held its first 14 opponents to an average of 61.7 ppg on 36.4 percent FG shooting, including a 66-of-220 (.300) mark from three-point range.                                                                                                                          Texas also has allowed just 121 assists against 209 turnovers through the first 14 contests.  Jordan Hamilton has emerged as one of the Big 12's most talented players as he frequently leads UT in scoring.  Over the last four contests, Jordan Hamilton has averaged a team-best 21.3 points per game.

The Huskies may have one of the best players in the country in Kemba Walker.  Notre Dame was able to shut down the nation's leading scorer earlier this week, which led to a victory for the Fighting Irish.  Look for UT to attempt to do the same, although easier said than done.  UConn is a good team, but its last two road tests (Pitt and Notre Dame) have resulted in losses.

Players To Watch: 

UT: Jordan Hamilton, F

UConn: Kemba Walker, G

Kip's Pick: Texas Longhorns

This is a hard decision, but I think being at home comes as a huge advantage for the Longhorns.  Although UConn has a lot of talent, the Huskies haven't proved it on the road.  If UT can beat Michigan State on the road, I think taking care of UConn at home can be done, too.

5) No. 16 Texas A&M Aggies (13-1, 0-0) at Oklahoma Sooners (8-6, 0-0)

Texas A&M has been playing well recently and has certainly surprised some critics by beating Washington at home earlier this season.  Khris Middleton has been a solid contributor and Dash Harris can get every Aggie on the court involved, which is something Mark Turgeon loves.  His big men are crashing the boards, as the Aggies are currently third in the Big 12 in offensive rebounding.

OU is undefeated at home this season but hasn't won a game on the road yet.  Cade Davis and Andrew Fitzgerald are trying to piggy back the team, but the load has been too much for them to carry.  OU can take care of smaller schools but haven't stood a chance against any real competition yet.  OU is last in the Big 12 in rebounding and last in steals.  Jeff Capel needs to make some changes if he wants any shot of salvaging the season.

Players To Watch:

A&M: Khris Middleton, F

OU: Andrew Fitzgerald, F

Kip's Pick: Texas A&M Aggies

OU is bound to get killed on the boards in this game, and until OU finds another legitimate scoring threat, the Sooners will continue to struggle.

6) Iowa State Cyclones (13-3, 0-0) at Nebraska Cornhuskers (12-2, 0-0)

Fred Hoiberg has really gotten the ball rolling in Ames in his first year as head coach.  After a disappointing 2009-2010 campaign, ISU has bounced back and are on a roll.  Freshman Melvin Ejim seems to get better every game as he could certainly be a candidate for Big 12 Rookie of the Year.  Iowa State is dangerous beyond the 3-point line with guys like Scott Christopherson and and down low with Jake Anderson.  ISU has outshot 13 of 15 opponents this season.  Look for ISU to try and take advantage of its long range ability.

Nebraska is another surprise as the Cornhuskers had an undefeated December.  Doc Sadler's guys have been getting it done on the defensive side of the ball.  Nebraska has now held its last four opponents under 50 points and 10 straight foes under 60 points.  Offensively, Nebraska has shot 50 percent from the floor in the last five games.  Jorge Brian Diaz has come on as a strong scoring threat, scoring in double digits in six straight games.

Players to Watch:

ISU: Dianet Garrett, G

NU: Jorge Brian Diaz, G

Kip's Pick: Iowa State Cyclones

This game should be interesting as these two teams were supposed to be at the bottom of the Big 12 conference by now.  Although Nebraska has been playing stellar defense, I think the shooting of Iowa State will overwhelm the Cornhuskers.  If ISU gets hot from 3-point land, this one could be over early.

7) No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks (14-0, 0-0) at Michigan Wolverines (11-4, 1-2)

Kansas is hands down one of the best teams in the country.  The Jayhawks destroyed the UMKC Kangaroos on Wednesday and have been on a roll lately.  Newcomer Josh Selby has been playing out of his mind, while other Jayhawks off the bench are contributing substantially.  The Morris twins are nearly impossible to stop and have become true three-point threats.  The twins won't hesitate to take open threes if given the opportunity.

Michigan is a young team who starts three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior. Freshman forward Jordan Morgan scores 9.0 points per contest, leads Michigan with a 59.2 field goal percentage and is second on the team with 6.5 rebounds per game. Junior forward Zack Novak leads the Wolverines in rebounds with 6.9 per contest.  The Wolverines have lost to the only two ranked opponents they have faced this season in Syracuse and Purdue.

Players To Watch:

KU: Josh Selby, G

UM: Zach Novak, G

Kip's Pick: Kansas Jayhawks

Although Michigan is a good team, its youth will be the Achilles heel in this game. Kansas is just too deep and can rotate four players off the bench at a time.  A great atmosphere in Ann Arbor, but Kansas pulls away in the second half.