Big 12 Weekend Hoops Preview: Contender or Pretender?

With every team at least a fourth of the way through it's Big 12 schedule, contenders and pretenders are coming to fruition. However this weekend will be gigantic in further distinguishing which is which. College Gameday might be in Lawrence this weekend for the Kansas v. Kansas State game, but the biggest game of the weekend, and possibly the season, resides in Austin, Texas, and that is where I will start my Jan. 29 Big 12 weekend preview.

#13 Missouri vs. #8 Texas: 
The Tigers come into this game 3-2 in the Big 12 and their only two losses have come on the road, which would appear to not bode well for them in this matchup. However, recently, the Tigers have found success against the Longhorns, winning three straight, including one in Austin.

The Erwin Special Events Center is not historically a difficult place to play, so I don't see that being much of a factor in this matchup. What will be huge is the low-post play of Ricardo Ratliffe for Missouri. Texas' bigs were impressive, to put it mildly, against the Jayhawks in its 74-63 road victory. The Morris twins were effectively turned into jump shooters in that game, which is something I've honestly never seen before.

The Horns' simply out-toughed Kansas' big men and that was the difference in the game. Tristan Thompson has been as good as advertised for the Longhorns, but he is merely the focal point of one of the best front courts in America. Gary Johnson plays an inside-out game, but is relentless in crashing the boards, as is the Horns' Jordan Hamilton, both averaging 6.9 and 7.4 RPG, respectively. It does not stop there for the Longhorns, though, Matt Hill provides a large 6'10 frame that comes off the bench to bang and wear down the opposing big man when Thomspon is getting a breather. It will be essential for Ratliffe to get going early in this game and establish himself in the low-post in order to get Thompson and others in foul trouble early.

Ratliffe's supporting cast could help out immensely by imposing its up-tempo brand of basketball and creating havoc in the backcourt, forcing the Texas' bigs to exert more effort than they would like to. Thompson isn't Dexter Pitmann, but he also isn't Marcus Morris and the up-tempo play will wear him down and cause him to spend much more time on the pine then the Horns' would like.

To be honest the Tigers probably are not going to stop or even come close to slowing down Jordan Hamilton, they just aren't. The Tigers don't have a defender on their team capable of doing so, and quite frankly not many teams in the country do. Hamilton is going to get his 20 points, but the key for the Tigers will be to make sure he does not get his backcourt mates, Cory Joseph and J'Covan Brown involved. If you can limit the impact of Brown and Joseph then you have a real shot at beating the Horns.

Prediction: I really like Mike Anderson's style up against a Rick Barnes' coached team. Anderson has won three straight in this matchup and to be honest, with much less talent than Barnes had. These two teams are very equal in talent and I like the Tigers to impose their up-tempo style and spring the mini-upset in Austin, 74-68. 


Kansas State vs. #6 Kansas: 
This matchup was THE matchup that all of the national and Big 12 pundits were looking forward to before the season began. How quickly things can change. Kansas State is not a legitimate Big 12 title contender at this point and never really was in my opinion. (People seemed to forget that the Cats lost the engine that ran last years Elite Eight squad in Dennis Clemente). Kansas, however, is still very much in contention and if my thinking is right about the above game, they would increase their odds tremendously if they were able to hold serve at home against the Wildcats.

Kansas is the more talented team and received a bit of a wake-up call after its second-half meltdown against Texas. Kansas State matches up fairly evenly with Kansas in the post with Curtis Kelly and Jamar Samuels. But the big difference in this game will be the disparity in talent between the Wildcats and Jayhawks on the perimeter.

Jacob Pullen is an incredible player, no doubt about that. But after that there is just not much else to help him out. Spradling is nice player and a good outside shooter, but nothing more. Even though the Wildcats insist on having him handle the ball, no matter how lost he seemingly is every time he is under defensive pressure. The Jayhawks have a wealth of talent on the perimeter starting with Josh Selby, who is an impressive young scorer. Sprinkle in Tyshawn Taylor, Tyrel Reed, and Brady Morningstar and the talent disparity will be all-too apparent for Wildcat fans.

Prediction: I see this game starting much like the Kansas-Texas game did, but without the Jayhawks nearly being doubled-up in the second half. Kansas, despite the Texas game, is still very difficult to beat at home and the Wildcats just don't bring enough ammo to change that. Kansas in a rout, 86-64. 


Colorado vs. Baylor: 
This matchup is almost more intriguing to me than the KU/KSU game, because of what both these teams represent is so opposite from one another. Colorado, the early surprise team in the conference, has come back to reality after their 3-0 start with three straight losses. Tad Boyles' club, however, is such a well-coached team that plays to its strengths and does well to hide its weaknesses. The Buffalos strengths, future lottery pick, Alec Burks, and Cory Higgins, completely hide the fact that they have no low-post game whatsoever. The Buffs have played way above their actual talent-level to put it bluntly. 


On the other hand, Baylor is one of the worst-coached ball-clubs in the country. So much talent all over the court, yet it's as if Scott Drew tells his boys, "Take your defender one-on-one any chance you get and if that doesn't work stand around the perimeter until something opens up." Seriously, have you ever seen a more intimidating looking team during warm-ups that looks so average during the actual game? No ball movement on offense and a defense that should really scare you with their length, but doesn't close out on shooters and plays very soft on the inside.   


With all that said, both these teams stand 3-3 in the Big 12 and neither are a contender for the league title, but to me this game is still big because it is essentially an elimination game for the NCAA tournament. Baylor lacks a quality victory and a win against Colorado might not impress the selection committee, but a winning record in this league would help its chances greatly and they certainly do not want to fall to 3-4 with road games vs. Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M, and OK-State still awaiting them. 


Despite my criticism of the Bears, I still really like what they bring to the table talent-wise. Perry Jones is the potential 2011 NBA #1 overall pick and he certainly fits the bill as far as athleticism and touch around the basket. Lacedarius Dunn is as good of scorer as their is in the Big 12, and does really well to create his own shot. The key ingredient missing from the Bears this year is their will to defend and a dominant defensive big-man like they had in Epe Udoh the previous season.

Colorado has several above-average shooters in Alec Burks, Corey Higgins, and Levi Knutson who will give the Baylor zone fits if they fail to close out. However, with no adequate big-man down low Perry Jones is going to have a field day offensively, which could prove to be the difference.

Prediction: 
I really liked what Colorado had done before this past week, but road losses at Nebraska and Oklahoma just isn't going to cut it. A loss here by the Buffalos would be understandable, but would really sink their NCAA tournament hopes due to virtually no impressive out-of-conference victories and would send me jumping off their bandwagon. I think Burks and company exploit the weak Baylor zone and get out on the Bears early and hold Jones down just enough to eek out a big-time victory, 84-80. 


#11 Texas A&M vs. Nebraska:
This is the only other matchup this weekend that I am looking forward to. Nebraska challenges Texas for the best defensive team in the conference and can really give a team like A&M fits. The Aggies are great when playing in College Station, but haven't impressed me on the road. (The blowout in Austin is still fresh in my mind)

Nebraska is going to want this game in the 50s or 60s, and if they do so, I think they win. A&M is a very good shooting team, led by sophomore Khris Middleton, but he and the rest of the Aggies are going to have to work for nearly every shot they take. According to Ken Pomeroy, Nebraska is #11 in the nation in defensive efficiency and are #4 in the country in giving up offensive rebounds, which means they severely limit any second-chance opportunities.

I think this game is a statement game for both teams. If the Aggies can go into Lincoln and grind out a victory then it will go a long way in establishing themselves as a legitimate Big 12 title contender. On the flip side, a victory by Nebraska would bolster their tournament resume and would serve as notice to the rest of the league that a victory in Lincoln will be hard to come by this season.

Prediction: I've been very impressed with Nebraska this year, especially at home. I think their deficiencies on the road will ultimately prevent them from being a tournament team, but they are a gritty defensive team that can frustrate the heck out of an opponent. I think they impose their style much more easily at home and take care of the Aggies in a close game, 60-54.


Honestly, these next two games are really not that intriguing and provide essentially no impact on the Big 12 race. All are bottom feeders, with the possible exception of Oklahoma St. So I will just give a prediction and leave it at that. 


Oklahoma St. vs Texas Tech: I think Texas Tech is really, really bad, however I don't think Oklahoma St. is all that good either. If Mike Singletary shows up I think the Red Raiders could grab their third straight victory. I'll give the nod to the home team,  Red Raiders in a close game, 80-76. 


Oklahoma vs. Iowa St: I don't think the Cyclones are as bad as they've been the last two games vs. Missouri and Texas Tech, seriously I think the Cyclones were STILL tired from the MU game against Tech, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on that game. Oklahoma has played well in their last two, which have been at home, but have been dreadful on the road all season. I think the Cyclones bounce back in a big way at home, 78-62.

The 21st Century Athlete

I'm a few days late on this, but something hit me on Monday night, several hours after Blaine Gabbert had declared his intentions to enter into the 2011 NFL Draft. No, not the fact that Gabbert had decided to forego his senior year at the University of Missouri, or the fact that he was more than likely going to be the first Missouri QB since the late 60's to be a first round draft pick. It was something that happened just a day earlier in the Twitter world. Gabbert was berated endlessly by, what can only be concluded from his comments, a low-life Mizzou fan who not only criticized his play, but his personal life as well.

Gabbert probably gave the anonymous tweeter exactly what his low-self esteemed ego was yearning for by linking his profile in one of his tweets. Tweeting sarcastically, "Classy tweet of the week. Everyone look at (the aforementioned person's) tweets." (I refuse to give the actual profile name of the person, because he doesn't deserve the recognition and is merely a small, pathetic portion of my bigger overall point.)

Predictably, many of Gabbert's more than 8,000 followers tried to give the poster a bit of his own medicine, to which he gladly welcomed and threw an insult back, seemingly all referring to race or assumed sexuality. (He called guys fags and told them they like anal sex and called girls whores, etc.) I was not at all surprised by this and my own personal sexuality came into question by this "dude" when I retweeted Gabbert's post and called it "utterly pathetic," to which he responded to by insinuating that I liked anal sex. (I think due to the fact that I am wearing a pink Ralph Lauren button-down shirt that my girlfriend, excuse me, "boyfriend" bought me.)

Anyway, this whole situation got me thinking, not about my sexuality, (not that there's anything wrong with that) but rather,  the "21st century athlete" that has become much more accessible to fans through the power of social networking. Even as recent as the early 2000's athletes personal lives were much more hidden and their only accessibility to fans was three-dimensionally. Nowadays nearly every athlete, college or pro, has a Twitter page to which fans can tell these athletes exactly what they think of them. This opens up the type of comments that were directed toward Gabbert, because they are much easier to make when hiding behind a computer screen, instead of in person.

In my personal opinion, Gabbert went about this the wrong way and should have just ignored the ass-hole. But then again, he's a 21-year-old college kid and some "dude" was saying some disturbing and derogatory things about his girlfriend. It's not easy for any guy, especially at that age, to ignore that kind of thing. Some people and many coaches frown upon college athletes, such as Gabbert, having a Twitter account, for exactly the situation discussed above. But guess what? They're in college and all of their friends and peers have one and like them, they probably started their Facebook or Twitter account in high school, before they became the highlight of other people's lives, sadly.

Technology and innovation has brought about a change in the way people communicate and how they are able to interact with the athletes they follow. Unfortunately, I don't think this has been a good thing, because for every 100 decent people that tweet Gabbert a compliment, there are 10 others that attack him and his personal life. I think all of us, if put in the same situation, could tell you which one effects them more.