Last week was not the way we were hoping it to go. Everything we wanted to happen, didn’t turn up in the Red Raiders favor. Let’s recap last week:
- Baylor 73, Oklahoma State 69 – This was a weird result. Oklahoma State won two in a row and seemed to be trending in the right direction. Baylor lost it’s best player and was on the road. But it was the Bears who came out on top. This game was all about threes, as both teams drained threes even behind the NBA line. Oklahoma State shot 44.8% from three, and it wasn’t even close to Baylor’s 60%. King McClure (29 Pts, 9-14 FG, 7-11 3FG, 9 Reb ) was absolutely bananas.
- Kansas 80, Texas 78 – This game was a lot like major Texas athletics this decade. Lot of hope, highly talented, but can’t seem to do anything right. Texas had the lead at halftime, but blew it in part because they kept on shooting threes. Their only two plays seems to be drive and kick it out to a shooter or a Jaxon Hayes alley-oop. The Longhorns’ last play was an off balance three from a few feet behind the arc when they just needed a two to tie. That being said, Marcus Garrett (20 Pts, 8-11 FG) played his best game as a Jayhawk, besting his previous career high of 13 points. He at one point scored 13 straight for Kansas.
- TCU 98, West Virginia 67 – Well, one team came to play and the other didn’t. This looks like what a West Virginia-TCU game would look like four years ago, except flip the teams. The Horn Frogs had six players in double digits, including Desmond Bane (26 Pts, 11-18 FG, 8 Reb). I didn’t watch much of the game, but all you need to do is look at the shooting numbers. TCU shot 47/43/75 with 37 FTs and West Virginia shot 38/17/75 with 24 FTs.
- Kansas State 74, Oklahoma 61 – Didn’t watch this game because I was at the Texas Tech game, but Kansas State had a huge lead in this game and didn’t really look back. The Wildcats really did miss Dean Wade (20 Pts, 8-14 FG), who was a problem for the Sooners in just 25 minutes. Barry Brown (25 Pts, 11-19 FG) also had a good outing for the Wildcats. The Sooners are now 2-3 in conference play, which isn’t the start they hoped for.
- Iowa State 68, Texas Tech 64 – This was a game where Iowa State had the perfect plan for attacking Texas Tech with their fast break offense and got really hot with some deep outside shots. At the same time, the Red Radiers 100% should’ve won this game. They were 6-15 from the line and missed some lay-ups. Make one of those lay-ups are make two or three free throws, and the game is tied with eight seconds left and Tech doesn’t have to foul. Need to win home games in the Big 12. Marial Shayok (20 Pts, 6 Reb) had a hot first half, and Culver (20 Pts, 16 Reb) had his second double-double, but a terrible FG% (7-21)
Here’s an updated look at my record overall and against the spread.
Overall: 18-6 (3-2 last game); Against The Spread: 10-14 (2-3 last game).
Apparently all my luck from the football season and first couple games has worn off. Oh well. We have a fun weekend of Big 12 basketball, as I have all three of these games have four stars or more or interest with only one bad game (You suck West Virginia). Here are the games.
Big 12 Schedule: Game Six
No. 7 Kansas (15-2, 4-1) at West Virginia (8-9, 0-5)
| Line | Watch | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| KU -6, O/U 149.5 | 1/19, 1 p.m., ESPN | * |
Match-Up: This is the only bad game of the weekend, as it should be a slaughter for the Jayhawks. After keeping it fairly close in their first two conference games, they blew a 21 point lead to Kansas State before losing by eight and now TCU by 31. That’s not good.
The only advantage that West Virginia has going for them and that they are at home. But unfortunately for them, it’s Kansas. I don’t think Kanote is back yet, so Derek Culver is going to have his toughest match-up of the year against Dedric Lawson. Kansas also loves to force turnovers, which has been a weakness of the Mountaineers.
Prediction: If I recall correctly, West Virginia can never seem to defeat the Jayhawks at home. They had a double digit lead there last year but blew it. I don’t think a significantly worse Mountaineer team is getting the job done this year. Kansas wins and covers.
Oklahoma State (8-9, 2-3) at Iowa State (13-4, 3-2)
| Line | Watch | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| ISU -13, O/U 141 | 1/19, 5 p.m., ESPNU | *** |
Match-Up: Iowa State came off a big win, as Oklahoma State came off a bad loss both on and off the court. A few players got kicked off the team, and now the Cowboys are a little shorthanded, so much so that they are offering walk-on try outs. Oof. I originally had this game as four stars, but Iowa State had a big win and Oklahoma State is now trending the wrong way.
Both teams have the ability to knock down shots from way outside, so I’m curious if we’ll see another game like last week where everyone is just jacking up threes the whole time. Both are two of the top three teams in defensive FG% in Big 12 play, and are top four in 3FG% in Big 12 play. It’s not a bad game I think, just not as good as the other games.
Prediction: Iowa State wins, but doesn’t cover. Oklahoma State, despite losing some guys, is still a solid team and Iowa State had appeared to play to their competition so far.
No. 8 Texas Tech (15-1, 4-0) at Baylor (10-6, 2-2)
| Line | Watch | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| TTU -3, O/U 124.5 | 1/19, 5 p.m., ESPN2 | **** |
Match-Up: WE’RE FINALLY ON A BASIC CABLE CHANNEL IN BIG 12 PLAY! LET’S CELEBRATE!
Texas Tech is coming off a bad loss, but I don’t think they are going to be below 50% from the free throw line. And despite this game being on the road, I expect a lot of Texas Tech fans to be there. King McClure showed up big for the Bears last week and he’ll need to do so again for Tech to win.
Baylor is another team that loves to shoot the outside shot, as they are second in Big 12 play in 3FG% (third was Iowa State). Makal Mason and McClure can shoot, as can Jared Butler occasionally. Baylor is also first in rebounding margin, so much like Oklahoma, the Red Raiders need to box out Mark Vital and whoever else is on the floor for the Bears.
Prediction: The Red Raiders win and cover this game. Don’t think Beard will let them lose this one after a loss last week.
No. 20 Oklahoma (13-4, 2-3) at Texas (10-7, 2-3)
| Line | Watch | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| UT -4, O/U 135.5 | 1/19, 7 p.m., LHN | ***** |
Match-Up: I feel like I’m going to get some grief for putting this above Texas Tech, but I’m trying to grade these games as “what would my friends back in Irving watch”, whom either didn’t go to college long or don’t attend an school with a major athletic program. In other words, they have no affiliation to any school
Oklahoma and Texas is always a great rivalry, both teams might get desperate with a combined below .500 record in Big 12 play, and Jaxon Hayes is arguably the most exciting player in the league (even if the ESPN networks talk about him too much).
Anyway, back to the match-up. Both teams are really in the middle of the pack for most categories in Big 12 play. Texas does a lot of pick and roll with an option to pass it out for three, so this will be a big game for Kristian Doolittle and Brady Manek, as their success guarding the play will say a lot about the result.
Prediction: All of Texas’ loses have been because they haven’t quite been able to finish in the final minutes. I think Texas gets a good lead, but it able to hold on to it for the win. Longhorns win and cover.
TCU (13-3, 2-2) at Kansas State (13-4, 3-2)
| Line | Watch | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| KSU -1, O/U 133.5 | 1/19, 3 p.m., ESPN2 | ***** |
Match-Up: I’ve been saying that Kansas State is overrated, but with the injuries and early losses in Big 12 play, they actually may be underrated now. This is a lot like the previous game where both teams might get desperate to stay in the Big 12 race. Except both these teams are probably better than the previous two.
TCU lost a couple one possession heart breakers at Kansas and at Oklahoma, and Kansas State lost at Texas Tech and home against Texas, but with Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade. And much like the Cowboys, TCU has had a problem keeping players, except in this case it’s been players transferring out.
We’re going to see a battle of point guards, as Alex Robinson vs Barry Brown Jr. is as good as any match-up in the Big 12. Robinson can score from anywhere, but his strength is his passing ability. If Brown had stay in front of Robinson, then it will allow the Wildcat defenders to stay put with their defenders and not allow any good shots.
Prediction: TCU whipped West Virginia pretty good, but I don’t think they’ll be fortunate this time around. I’ll pick Kansas State to win and cover.