Big 12 Preview

Big 12 Preview

- - Big 12 North - -

- - Colorado Buffaloes - -

Non-Conference Record (4-6)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 261

Notable Wins:
@ Utah 60-59

Notable Losses:
@New Mexico 65-106
Air Force 46-84

Notable Players:
Richard Roby - - 17.9 PPG 5.4 RPG
Dominique Coleman - - 10.9 PPG 5.1 RPG 3.4 APG

Projected Big XII Record:
2-14

- - Iowa State Cyclones - -

Non-Conference Record (9-5)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 167

Notable Wins:
@ Minnesota 68-63

Notable Losses:
@Northern Iowa 57-70
@Iowa 59-77
@ #3 Ohio State 56-75

Notable Players:
Mike Taylor - - 16.0 PPG 4.6 APG 4.1 RPG
Wesley Johnson - - 12.1 PPG 8.4 RPG

Projected Big XII Record:
5-11

- - Kansas Jayhawks - -

Non-Conference Record (12-2)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 38

Notable Wins:
#1 Florida 82-80
Southern Cal 72-62

Notable Losses:
Oral Roberts 71-78
@DePaul 57-64

Notable Players:
Brandon Rush - - 13.4 PPG 5.4 RPG
Darrell Arthur - - 12.1 PPG 5.5 RPG
Julian Wright - - 12.3 PPG 8.1 RPG
Mario Chalmers - - 12.3 PPG 3.5 APG

Projected Big XII Record:
14-2

- - Kansas State Wildcats - -

Non-Conference Record (10-4)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 68

Notable Wins:
@Southern Cal 68-55

Notable Losses:
@California 48-78
@Colorado State 83-84

Notable Players:
Cartier Martin - - 15.3 PPG 3.7 RPG
David Hoskins - - 13.3 PPG 5.1 RPG
Bill Walker - - 13.2 PPG 5.4 RPG

Projected Big XII Record:
8-8

- - Missouri Tigers - -

Non-Conference Record (11-2)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 45

Notable Wins:
Arkansas 86-64

Notable Losses:
Illinois 70-73
@Purdue 62-79

Notable Players:
Stefhon Hannah - - 16.0 PPG 5.1 APG
Kalen Grimes - - 9.5 PPG 6.5 RPG

Projected Big XII Record:
7-9

- - Nebraska Cornhuskers - -

Non-Conference Record (10-3)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 52

Notable Wins:
#25 Creighton 73-61
Houston 70-57

Notable Losses:
@Oregon 56-68
@Hawaii 72-81

Notable Players:
Aleks Maric - - 18.3 PPG 7.7 RPG
Ryan Anderson - - 14.3 PPG 5.7 RPG

Projected Big XII Record:4-12


- - Big 12 South - -

- - Baylor Bears - -

Non-Conference Record (10-3)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 95

Notable Wins:
@Colorado State 87-82

Notable Losses:
@Gonzaga 69-78
@Syracuse 71-94

Notable Players:
Aaron Bruce - - 11.3 PPG 4.6 APG
Henry Dugat - - 12.5 PPG 4.8 RPG
Kevin Rogers - - 12.8 PPG 6.5 RPG

Projected Big XII Record:
7-9

- - Oklahoma Sooners - -

Non-Conference Record (8-4)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 62

Notable Wins:
@Tulsa 58-48

Notable Losses:
@ #11 Memphis 65-77
Villanova 51-67
@ #8 Alabama 55-70

Notable Players:
Longar Longar - - 13.3 PPG 7.8 RPG
Michael Neal - - 9.8 PPG 3.2 RPG

Projected Big XII Record:
8-8

- - Oklahoma State Cowboys - -

Non-Conference Record (14-1)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 11

Notable Wins:
#21 Syracuse 72-68
#7 Pittsburgh 95-89

Notable Losses:
@Tennessee 77-79

Notable Players:
Mario Boggan - - 21.7 PPG 7.5 RPG
JamesOn Curry - - 18.9 PPG 4.7 APG

Projected Big XII Record:
11-5

- - Texas Longhorns - -

Non-Conference Record (10-3)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 38

Notable Wins:
#11 LSU 76-75

Notable Losses:
#21 Gonzaga 77-87
@Tennessee 105-111

Notable Players:
Kevin Durant - - 21.5 PPG 10.3 RPG
A.J. Abrams - - 16.6 PPG
D.J. Augustin - - 13.5 PPG 6.4 APG

Projected Big XII Record:
10-6

- - Texas A&M Aggies - -

Non-Conference Record (12-2)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 12

Notable Wins:
@Auburn 87-58

Notable Losses:
#11 @LSU 52-64
#1 @UCLA 62-65

Notable Players:
Acie Law IV - - 15.1 PPG 5.8 APG
Joseph Jones - - 13.3 PPG 5.7 RPG
Antanas Kavaliauskas - - 12.9 PPG 5.7 RPG

Projected Big XII Record:
12-4

- - Texas Tech Red Raiders - -

Non-Conference Record (11-4)
Current Sagarin Rating - - 57

Notable Wins:
@Arkansas 71-56

Notable Losses:
#17 Marquette 72-87
Air Force 53-67
UNLV 66-74

Notable Players:
Jarrius Jackson - - 21.4 PPG 3.9 RPG
Martin Zeno - - 16.8 PPG 5.1 RPG

Projected Big XII Record:
8-8

Big 12 North Commentary

The Big XII North is basically Kansas and the 5 dwarfs.

Despite having one of the best individual players in the conference in Richard Roby, Colorado is simply awful. Anything beyond a couple of conference wins will be very surprising. They have already fired Ricardo Patton, but he will finish the season. Good luck with that.

Kansas State has one of the best freshmen in the nation in Bill Walker and a great all-around player in Cartier Martin, but I think Huggins is a year or two away from making a major impact at K-State. K-State will be improved over a year ago, but is likely an NIT team.

Missouri will also be improved under new coach Mike Anderson (former UAB Head Coach), but I do not think they have the athletes on their roster to make a whole lot of noise in the league just yet.

Iowa State is also breaking in a new coach in Greg McDermott (he took Northern Iowa to the NCAA tournament each of the last 3 seasons). Much like Missouri, I just do not think their roster is quite there yet.

Speaking of new coaches, Nebraska hired Doc Sadler from UTEP this year. Maric and Anderson are nice players, but they will not be able to carry this team by themselves.

Kansas is the class of the Big XII this year, and they have a solid roster that runs 7 guys deep. They feature one of the top freshmen in the nation in Darrell Arthur and one of the best players in the nation in Brandon Rush. Kansas was the coaches’ unanimous choice to win the league this year. Kansas is a lock for an NCAA tournament bid.

Big 12 South Commentary

The Big XII South is stacked and all 6 teams should see post-season play in 2006-2007.

Baylor is continuing to build a nice program under 4th year coach Scott Drew. Aaron Bruce is a great pure shooter and sophomore Henry Dugat is off to a great start this year. Baylor should be an NIT team this season.

Oklahoma lost a top-10 recruiting class when the NCAA punished them for violations under former coach Kelvin Sampson. New coach Jeff Capel was left to pick up the pieces. Longar Longar is a beast inside, and Michael Neal is a nice complement on the perimeter. OU should also be an NIT team this season.

Oklahoma State is one of the most athletic teams in the league and new (sort-of) coach Sean Sutton is letting them fly around and get up and down the floor in order to take advantage of their athleticism. If there is one knock on this group it would be their bench (or lack thereof). Mario Boggan is a premier big-man, and JamesOn Curry can go for 30 on any given night. OSU is a lock for an NCAA tournament bid.

Texas is one of the youngest teams in the nation. The Longhorns start 4 true freshmen including what may be the best fish in the nation in Kevin Durant. Durant is absolutely sick and fans in Austin better enjoy this season, because the kid is going to be wearing a Memphis Grizzlies jersey next year. Texas is a lock for an NCAA bid.

I’ll spare you the details on Texas A&M - you should have this group figured out by now. Texas A&M is a lock for an NCAA bid.

Texas Tech is going to be a decent team, but not great. Jarrius Jackson and Martin Zeno are nice players, but Bob Knight’s roster is not where it needs to be in order to compete in the Big 12. Tech should play in the NIT.


AHR - - Big 12 Predictions - -


Big 12’s Best 5

Brandon Rush - Kansas
Mario Boggan – Oklahoma State
Kevin Durant - Texas
Acie Law – Texas A&M
Jarrius Jackson – Texas Tech

Big 12’s Next 12

Aaron Bruce – Baylor
Richard Roby - Colorado
Darrell Arthur - Kansas
Julian Wright - Kansas
Cartier Martin – Kansas State
Aleks Maric - Nebraska
Longar Longar - Oklahoma
JamesOn Curry – Oklahoma State
D.J. Augustin - Texas
Joseph Jones – Texas A&M
Josh Carter – Texas A&M
Martin Zeno – Texas Tech

Big 12’s Best Freshman

Darrell Arthur – Kansas
Bill Walker – Kansas State
Kevin Durant – Texas
D.J. Augustin - Texas
Damion James – Texas
Obi Muonelo – Oklahoma State (Injured)

Big 12 Player Of The Year

Kevin Durant – Texas

Big 12 Coach Of The Year

Sean Sutton – Oklahoma State

Big 12 Freshman Of The Year

Kevin Durant - Texas


Big 12 NCAA Teams

Texas A&M
Texas
Oklahoma State
Kansas

Big 12 NIT Teams

Texas Tech
Baylor
Kansas State
Missouri
Oklahoma