So here we have a real, accomplished conference – the Big 12. At least this Big 12 conference. BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF have arrived while Oklahoma and Texas have yet to leave, and the Pac-12 wave won’t be due until next year. The current league lineup will go this way but once.
Are they making the most of it? Is there a bigger league out there? The race should be as wild as a game day in Lawrence, so here’s the one, here today and tomorrow in the 2023-24 Big 12:
Six of the AP’s top 19 this week are members, including No. 2 Kansas, No. 4 Houston and No. 6 Baylor. Six of the top 15 of the current NCAA NET rankings carry the Big 12 tag — the three mentioned above plus BYU, Oklahoma and Iowa State.
👉 Take a look at the teams that made it to the new AP Poll
Only seven remain undefeated. Three call the Big 12 home — Houston, Baylor and Oklahoma, with a combined record of 28-0.
Texas, at 7-2, is ranked No. 19 in this week’s AP poll, but that’s currently the 10th-best record in the Big 12.
The Big 12 members have played 127 matches so far against the outside world. They won 102 of them, 80.3% – the best on earth. Name a team, any team, and there will be something unusual – or at least unusual – to say.
Houston. . .
She brings her suffocating ways to the table in the Big 12. The Cougars are No. 1 in the country in scoring defense and turnover margin, have held eight of 10 opponents to 55 or fewer points, and in 20 innings of play, have allowed more than 30 points just four times. They outscored teams 234-80 in points off turnovers. If a Big 12 team wants a new face that doesn’t have anything easy for it, it has a new face.
Kansas. . .
He leads the country with 22.1 assists per game, making up 74 percent of the Jayhawks’ field goals. No wonder they’re shooting 52.7 percent, second best in Division I. Hunter Dickinson is No. 1 in the country with 12.6 rebounds per game. Here’s why this area matters: Kansas has won 58 straight games when it has outscored its opponent. Kevin McCullar Jr. is the only NCAA Men’s Division I player to complete two triple-doubles, becoming the seventh player in NCAA history to do so back-to-back.
Baylor. . .
He ranks second in the nation in three-point shooting, and leads opponents by 84 from beyond the arc. This is from the Omen section: The Bears led the nation in three-point shooting in 2020-21. They also won the national championship. They are now 27-11 against ranked teams in the past four seasons, including 16-5 on the road, and are a top-10 team in the AP for the fifth straight year. Duke and Kansas are the only other schools that can say that.
🔄 a summary: No one is safe after an upset-filled weekend in men’s basketball
B.U. . .
The Big 12 welcomed the Cougars on board, then voted them to finish 13th in the league. But at last count, BYU ranked third in the NET rankings, second in the nation in average scoring margin and 3-pointers made per game and third in rebounding margin. The Cougars are also No. 2 in the country with 40 points a night coming off the bench, and the team’s leading scorer, Jackson Robinson at 16.9, has yet to start a game. BYU can stand for Boy, You’re Up (there in age). Four players are married and point guards Spencer Johnson and Trevin Neal are 26 and 25 years old. That’s bigger than the backcourt of the Orlando Magic or Oklahoma City Thunder, who currently sit in second place in the NBA East and West Conferences.
Oklahoma. . .
He was voted 12th in the preseason conference poll but has yet to lose. When the Sooners beat Arkansas last weekend, it made them 13-2 versus the SEC since 2018-19. Remember where they will be moving next season.
Texas. . .
Now serves a Texas-sized plate of Max Abbas. In the past three seasons, the transfer guard has ranked first, fifth and ninth in the nation in scoring at Oral Roberts Stadium. His load is lighter with the Longhorns, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be electric. He ranks 102nd nationally with 17.6 points per game. He’s also the leading active scorer in Division I, which is pretty good for a 6-foot college graduate with a major in math.
Iowa. . .
The Hurricanes play a very annoying defense. Ask the Iowa Hawkeyes, who just took their worst beating ever at the hands of their in-state cousins, 90-65. Iowa is third in the nation in thefts and forced turnovers. Then there’s hometown sophomore Tammin Lipsey who has 15 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 3.6 steals per game. He went to high school two miles from Hilton Coliseum in Iowa.
3️⃣5️⃣ Fun numbers and nuggets from the first month of the men’s college basketball season
cincinnati. . .
He scored at least 85 points in six straight games. The last time the Bearcats did that was the 1959-60 season, led by a senior named Oscar Robertson.
Kansas State. . .
The over is 8-2, and four of its wins have come in overtime, including three in a row, the first time the Wildcats have done so since 1964. You’ve beat Jerome Tang in the first 40 minutes or you won’t beat him at all. In his second season as coach, he went 9-0 in overtime, and 25-12 in regulation.
TCU. . .
Who knew horned frogs could move so fast? They lead the nation in fast break scoring with 27.5 points per game. Second place 21.2. TCU also leads Division I with nine players who have scored at least 20 points in a game during their careers.
West Virginia. . .
If the 4-5 Mountaineers can only find some depth. The bench produced 8.78 points per game. This is 351st and last on the NCAA statistics list.
Oklahoma State. . .
Four of the Cowboys’ five losses have come by a combined 11 points. This is how they can be 4-5 and still have the same average scoring margin — plus 6.7 — as 9-0 Ole Miss.
📲 New Power Rankings 36 includes Oklahoma, Tennessee
UCF. . .
He may have finally been selected in the opening round of the Big 12, but right now the team includes the conference’s leading scorer, Ball State’s Jaylen Sellers. He puts up 19.6 points per game.
Texas Tech. . .
It is 84-2 in non-conference home games since 2013, with the only losses by two points each to LSU and Kentucky. Welcome to Lubbock.
Now just think what will happen soon when these teams start playing each other. “We’ve been tested, but we haven’t been tested like we’re going to be,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said.
Interesting questions will abound once this loaded league hits the starting line.
📊 Scoreboard: Take a look at upcoming matches
Since 2017, Houston has the second-highest winning percentage in the country, behind only Gonzaga. But how will that hold up against a Big 12 schedule that hasn’t exactly been a welcome gift? Houston should go to Kansas, Baylor, BYU, Iowa State and Oklahoma, but only get to Kansas State and Iowa at home. We call it initiation. The road fun begins on January 9 when the Cougars sample the Hilton Magic in Iowa.
How high will the rankings go and how loud will the roar be on February 3 when Houston visits Kansas and looks to the end of business for Allen Fieldhouse for the first time in 40 years? Or in a month when the Jayhawks go to Houston for the first time since 1983?
Can Baylor take advantage of its offseason – with no Houston, Iowa State or Oklahoma on the road?
How will the Big 12 organization do with farmland as BYU swings through the mountains in Provo? First: Cincinnati.
How will point machine Max Abbas hold up against the nightly pounding he will receive on behalf of Texas in the Big 12?
What kind of goodbye do Texas and Oklahoma give on their way out the door?
Who’s next to face this monster – Kansas State in overtime?
It should be an amazing journey with these 14 bands. The first of their kind, and the last.
The 2021-2022 season of college basketball in the Big 12 conference has been nothing short of extraordinary. With powerhouse teams like Kansas, Baylor, and Texas leading the charge, this season’s Big 12 is showcasing a level of talent and competition that may never be seen again. From nail-biting matchups to stunning upsets, the conference has become a force to be reckoned with on the national stage. With the level of skill and determination displayed by these teams, it’s clear that this season’s Big 12 is truly a one-of-a-kind phenomenon in college basketball.