Big 12: A Look At How Each Team Has Done So Far

We’re now two weeks into the college basketball season and we’ve had no shortage of action in the Big 12. We’ve seen expected bottom-feeders climb into the ranks along with some teams with high hopes fall short early. With that said, let’s take a quick look at how each Big 12 team has fared up to this point in the season.

No. 7 Texas: 5-0

Thus far, it’s been clear that Rick Barnes’ Longhorns are one of the best teams in the country and have routed every team they’ve seen through their first five games by at least 14 points.

Texas’ depth and talent has shown in its entirety and Jonathan Holmes Myles Turner are looking to become the anchors in the absence of Isaiah Taylor, who is out with a broken wrist.

Texas hasn’t had a true test yet, but with a very well coached, deep and talented defensive-minded team, Texas should enter conference play with no more than one loss.

No. 11 Kansas: 4-1

After entering the season with national championship expectations, the Kansas Jayhawks ran into the brick wall of reality that was the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats after an embarrassing 72-40-blowout loss. But outside of their lone bump in the road, Kansas has rolled over their other four opponents with some well-rounded efforts throughout the roster.

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With the next three games on Kansas’ schedule sure to bring some stiff competition with No. 20 Michigan State, No. 18 Florida and Georgetown ahead, the freshmen will have to start getting more involved if Bill Self’s club expects to keep the loss column from growing.

No. 13 Iowa State: 3-1

There should be no question that Iowa State is going to remain amongst the powers in the Big 12 throughout the entire season, despite dropping their last game against Maryland. Iowa State is loaded with talent with five guys scoring in double figures up to this point, including Georges Niang leading the way with 19.5 points per game.

No, Iowa State shouldn’t have lost to Maryland, whom they unquestionably overmatch, but with a fairly easy schedule ahead until conference play, the Cyclones will be just fine after their recent loss.

No. 21 West Virginia: 6-0

West Virginia has turned out to be the surprise of the Big 12 to this point after making their first appearance in the top 25 after a 6-0 start.

The Mountaineers have been led by one of the best point guards in the country in Juwan Staten, while the double-digit scoring efforts of Devin Williams, Jonathan Holton and Jevon Carter has also been key in why the Mountaineers have yet to win by anything less than 10 points.

Only time will tell if West Virginia is the real deal or if their win of UConn was a one-time happening, but the Mountaineers are under a terrific coach in Bob Huggins who could very realistically have them undefeated entering conference play.

Oklahoma State: 6-0

How about the Big 12-leading Oklahoma State Cowboys getting off to a hot start at 6-0? Yes, it’s always nice when you still have a goose egg in the loss column, but Oklahoma State’s success could, in large, be credited to their lack of schedule strength.

This should continue until conference play, but let’s not take away from what could become a very dangerous team in the Big 12 this season.

Le’Bryan Nash and Phil Forte III have led the way in scoring at 18.3 and 17.2 per game, but with guys like Anthony Hickey Jr., Michael Cobbins and Jeffrey Carroll all looking to make some noise, the Cowboys should continue their early success and remain atop the Big 12 standings.

TCU: 6-0

Just as with Oklahoma State, you could say that TCU’s hot start is a direct result of their easy schedule early on, but for a team that saw its wins cease once conference play began last season, any win is a good win. Additionally, it helps that TCU is ranked in the top 30 in points, rebounds, assists and field goal percentage per game.

They’ve had a great all-around effort from the roster to this point with Kyan Anderson leading the way, but it’s still too hard to tell if the Horned Frogs are actually looking to become competitive this season or if the losses will add up once they start seeing some real competition.

Baylor: 5-1

Baylor was a team that many, including myself didn’t expect to make much noise this season after losing a majority of their production with guys like Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson out of town. But that hasn’t stopped the Bears from getting off to a hot start, which was highlighted by their blowout win over Memphis.

Baylor’s first and only loss came at the hands of Illinois in their most recent game, but with five different guys on the Baylor roster scoring at least 8.8 per night, Baylor’s easy non-conference schedule could serve as a catapult into conference play when things will surely become much more intriguing.

Texas Tech: 3-1

There really isn’t too much worth noting with Texas Tech through four games. Their three wins came against the likes of Loyola (Md.), Missouri State and Northwestern State, which provides no true evidence of how this team will stack up against real competition.

But they did push a solid LSU squad to OT, despite falling short. Things won’t get much more difficult until conference play for the Red Raiders, but Texas Tech would like to pile the wins up while they can before entering a stretch of at least three-straight ranked opponents in January.

Oklahoma: 4-2

Despite dropping two early games to Creighton and No. 2 Wisconsin, there is no reason to start worrying about the Sooners.

They’ve got an easy schedule up until conference play, which they should cruise through and with such a deep roster filled with guys like Buddy Hield, Ryan Spangler and Isaiah Cousins, the Sooners’ early disappointments won’t matter much when they’re in the thick of the conference race.

Kansas State: 3-3

Speaking of disappointments, Kansas State is a squad that looked like they would be one of the most competitive in the Big 12 this season, rather than sitting in dead last at 3-3.

Kansas State has already fallen to Long Beach State, Arizona and Pittsburgh and with tough matchup coming up with Tennessee; Kansas State could very easily find themselves in a hole before the truly competitive portion of their schedule begins.

They’ve got talent with guys like Marcus Foster and Thomas Gipson, but thus far, it just hasn’t been enough.

Next: College Basketball Rankings: Where Did The Big 12 Project Coming In?