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2 years ago
Big 12 Gameday #1 - 3 games to watch
Alright people, we’re finally here! Your football first friends are still crying over getting screwed out of a “legit national title game” because Colt McCoy got hurt. (Which is pretty stupid in the first place since three undefeated teams had no chance to win it… whatever, the set up of college football makes me sad. Sorry, back on topic.) So the football crowd is in their post-season grief stages which starts with catching up on what has happened in the NFL, but what then? Where do they turn when they’re sitting at home on a Monday night and the Big Bang Theory is over? You got it. You know they’re coming so get prepared. (I can’t wait to get my first round of text messages proclaiming Baylor crushing Oklahoma an upset.) But not you my friends.You’ve been here all season, and you are the people that this is written for. You already know that Texas and Kansas have been putting on a show for three months, and you’ve seen Texas Tech rise and fall in the rankings already. So here’s what you, my basketball friends, need to watch for on Big 12 gameday #1.
It’s all about the Tigers
Kansas State at Missouri - 1:00 Big 12 Time (central) - ESPN2
Without looking, where do you think Kansas State is ranked? Top 25? Top 20? WRONG. The Wildcats find themselves NUMBER TEN this week in the coaches poll. Yeah, I didn’t realize it either. But todays game isn’t really about Kansas State. Because of the ridiculously stupid way the Big 12 scheduling works, the Wildcats should cruise to at least ten wins without even trying so they aren’t really a story yet (if they knock of Kansas then they might be.) Today’s game is more about Missouri. Are the Tigers good enough to be considered part of the Big 12 wolfpack? If they have NCAA aspirations, the Tigers need today’s game in the worst way to start conference play. Missouri is probably going to get 9 wins in conference play, but being in the “north” division, quality wins are going to be hard to come by. It’s also going to be hard for Mike Anderson to make a case for them to get in when they’re biggest non-con win is over Illinois and they have losses to Richmond, Oral Roberts, and Vandy.
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Expect a beatdown, and convince your friends it isn’t a big deal
Oklahoma at Baylor - 5:00 B12T - ESPN360
Not too much to say here, but this is only a big game because when people hear the name “Oklahoma” they think of Blake Griffin and Willie Warren putting on a show. What they probably don’t think of is this years craptacular version of the Sooners that got absolutely embarrassed on national TV by UTEP (who is good, but still.) Meanwhile Drew’s Bears have been slowly sneaking toward the top 25. And hell, why not, Butler is still ranked somehow. Baylor has been living on the zone defense, and OU has some shooters. Baylor hasn’t played a real tough schedule, and OU will come in desperate for this win. Put that together and you have the recipe for… ha, you thought I was actually going to say that OU might win this. Actually, to be fair, none of us would be that shocked if OU does win only because Baylor has an amazing ability to do awesomely horrible things. If the Sooners do win, it will be because Baylor sucked it up.
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Big 12 Game of the Week - Guns up and pistols firing!
Texas Tech at Oklahoma State - 7:00 B12T - ESPN360
If you’ve been watching basketball all year, you’ve already witnessed the meteoric rise and near disastrous fall (beating McNeese by 1? really?) of Texas Tech. Pat Knight will take the Red Raiders on the road to start conference play to face off against the Big 12’s biggest mystery, Oklahoma State. The last time we saw the Cowboys, they lost to Rhode Island. They also got obliterated by Tulsa earlier this season, so you could write off the Cowboys but their ability to shoot the 3 is going to keep them in games they shouldn’t be in. They also have the experience of being in the Big 12 wolfpack, which Tech doesn’t have. (more important as the season goes along than it is today though.) This game is going to be absolutely crucial if either of these teams are going to push A&M, Kansas State, Baylor, and potentially Missouri for an NCAA bid.
Elsewhere in the Big 12
If you get a chance, check out the Rolandless Aggies take on Nebraska. I called OSU the conference’s biggest mystery team, but in reality it might be Texas A&M. They’ve played two high school JV’s since Derrick Roland went down so this game could be interesting.
The 5th and final conference game today (Iowa State is out of conference today and Kansas takes on Bruce Pearls pistol team tomorrow on CBS) is Colorado at Texas. Poor poor Colorado…
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