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So the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament has come and gone, and as you might expect, the massive amount of upsets has rocked the Gunner Pool.

But the way this works is tricky, not only should you look at who has the most number of points, but an even bigger consideration is who has the most people left in the tournament.

Now I'm not saying that because I have seven of ten guys I'm going to win, but someone like Funk or Russ Bag might want to get their checkbook out, because they've lost six of their players.

Anyways, here's the standings going into the Sweet 16. A total breakdown is after The Jump.

Continue reading this post »

Bet you've never heard this one before: "This team is SO big, the Missouri Tigers will have a hard time against them." Well, that's what they're saying about today's matchup between Mizzou and the Norfolk St. Spartans.

Sure, the Spartans' leading scorer is 6-10, 240 lb Kyle O'Quinn, and sure Mizzou's tallest starter is 6-8 Ricardo Ratliffe, but Mizzou has been undersized the entire year, and they roll into the tournament with a 30-4 record.

Convention wisdom says that you have to have strong interior play to win, but time and time again Mizzou has proven that if you can outshoot, outhustle and out play your opposition, size isn't the only determining factor.

But you're reading Big 12 Hoops, so you already know this.

Alongside O'Quinn, Norfolk State relies on a pair of 6-6 guards, Pendarvis Williams and Chris McEachin. There's no doubt that there is some size there, but with Phil Pressey, Marcus Denmon and Kim English, size is neutralized by outside shooting, and that trio sure can hit an open jumper.

So while Norfolk might try and isolate O'Quinn, Mizzou should be able to extend the D far enough to give them good outside looks, and dribble-drive penetration.

Height neutralized.

Eight of us completed our 2012 NCAA Tournament Fantasy Gunner Draft last night, and it dawned on me just how much of a Big 12 homer I am.

I ended up with the sixth overall pick in the snake draft format, so with the sixth and 11^th overall pick I went Mizzou-centric, snatching up Marcus Denmon and Kim English. After a brief respite, I then picked up Baylor's Pierre Jackson, Kansas' Elijah Johnson and BU's Quincy Acy with sixth, seventh and eighth rounds picks. So yeah, half of my team are Big 12ers, but really are those that bad of picks?

I project Mizzou and KU in the Final Four and Baylor to the Elite Eight, so I got good value, especially with my last three Big 12ers. Now did I reach a tad for Denmon and English? Sure, but now I have even more reason to root on Mizzou and the Big 12.

All told, 14 Big 12ers were taken, my five plus: J'Covan Brown, Ricardo Ratliffe, Phil Pressey, Tyshawn Taylor, Mike Dixon, Quincy Miller, Thomas Robinson, Rodney McGruder and Perry Jones III.

Remember, since ONLY points count, the object is to pick the guy who will score the most points per game PLUS play the most games. For more information on how it works, check out my post from Tuesday.

Complete rosters are below. Which team do you like best?

Continue reading this post »

Year after year, I have blogged about what I consider the premier Fantasy game of the year, the NCAA Tournament Fantasy Gunner Pool.

The idea behind it is simple, but the strategy is complicated. Basically all you're looking for are total points scored during the tournament. No rebounds. No assists. No steals. Straight points.

This means that what you want to draft is a player that not only will score a lot of points per game, but also make a deep tournament run.

So while the leading scorer entering the tournament is Creighton Bluejays Doug McDermott, as an 8-seed with a possible matchup against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second round, common logic tells you that he'll play 2 games max. With an average of 23.2 points on the season, McDermott is probably good for 46 points, a ton in a Gunner but probably not worthy of a first round pick. (I don't want to give too much away, as our draft is tomorrow evening). Same with Lehigh Mountain Hawks's CJ McCollum or South Dakota St. Jackrabbits' Nate Wolters. They both average 21 ppg, but are likely first round knockouts.

Instead, you will want to look at teams projected to go far in the tournament, and snatch up their players. Take the Kentucky Wildcats Marquis Teague for example. He's sixth on the Wildcats, averaging 9.4 ppg - roughly 14 points per game less than McDermott - but everyone expects UK to cut down the nets, so in that scenario Teague would play 6 games. If UK does advance that far, Teague's 9.4 ppg would net him 56 tournament points, or 10 more than McDermott.

So the ideal combination you're looking for is highest ppg on a team that will advance the furthest in the tourney. Make sense?

As far as Big 12ers go, the Kansas Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers are the highest seeds and projected to go the furthest. Say each make a Final Four. That would mean that Thomas Robinson, Marcus Denmon and Tyshawn Taylor would all get 5 games in. With all averaging over 17 ppg, you're looking at 85 points each from the trio. And while J'Covan Brown led the conference in scoring with 20.1 ppg, as an 11-seed, they're underdogs in their first game, so in all likelihood, he'd only net you those 20.

Now obviously two things happen in March, there are upsets and sleepers. Last year the Butler Bulldogs and Va. Commonwealth Rams both made the Final Four, meaning whoever had Bradford Burgess (nobody) got 85 points and whoever had Shelvin Mack (nobody) would have wound up with 122 points. Meanwhile with VCU's upset of he Georgetown Hoyas, Austin Freeman, who was averaging 17.6 ppg, was held to just 10 in the first round loss.

How It Works

The draft works like any other. We use a snake draft and don't count any of the play-in games, so it all begins on that first Thursday.

We have eight guys and go 10 rounds, so 80 players are chosen. We all put in a modest amount of money, with second place getting their money back and first netting six shares.

Questions? Ping me and I'll be happy to answer. I don't want to reveal too much here, as our draft is tomorrow and I'm still forming my MATRIX.

I'll post draft results and updates throughout the tournament, but get on the phone now with your friends and schedule something. Like any other fantasy game, it adds an additional level of rooting interest to an already exciting month.

Well, this Big 12 basketball tournament championship is one for the history books. Either the Missouri Tigers will exit the conference on a winning note, or the Baylor Bears will become the first Texas team to win the tournament in its 16-year history.

Including today's game Texas schools have made up over half of the championship games, placing teams in 9 of 16 finals, but the Lone Star State is 0-8 in their previous appearances, including a 73-60 Mizzou win over Baylor in 2009. That game is of significance, because seven guys suiting up tonight were freshman on teams that competed in that final. Two of those guys, Mizzou's Kim English (7 points) and Baylor's Anthony Jones (3 points) scored in that game, but for Mizzou Marcus Denmon (11 minutes, no points), Steve Moore and Jarrett Sutton were in uniform, while Quincy Acy and Fred Ellis also watched from the bench.

But those Baylor and Mizzou teams were different than today's teams. For Mizzou, they relied on interior play of DeMarre Carroll and Leo Lyons, while today's Tigers have utilized sharp outside shooting to bring them to a school best 29-4 record.

In reversed roles, the 2008-09 Bears were more guard heavy than they are today. Tweety Carter, Curtis Jerrells, Henry Dugat and LaceDarius Dunn lead a guard heavy attack, while today's Bears use the height of Perry Jones III, Anthony Jones, Quincy Miller and Acy inside to free up Pierre Jackson, Brady Heslip and AJ Walton on the outside.

And while Baylor (27-6) spoiled the highly anticipated "three-match" between Mizzou and the Kansas Jayhawks, tonight's game is of no less significance for the Tigers.

"We would have played Texas Tech, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas, anybody," English told the AP. "We just wanted to win the Big 12. We are prepared to beat Baylor (Saturday) and try our best."

Baylor, who came into the season highly ranked, and didn't quite meet expectations, finishing fourth in the conference, had their sights focused on righting the ship at the right time. "We came out here and wanted to get respect," Heslip said in a CBS Sports story. "We had a mindset in this tournament that we were going to do something different."

So in order for Baylor to become the first Texas team to cut down the Big 12 championship nets, they need to see the Perry Jones that has been on fire this tournament. In his previous two games against Mizzou, Jones has scored a combined 12 points, almost two points less than his average per game this season (13.9 ppg).

They also need Quincy Miller to continue to dominate Mizzou's interior. In those two Mizzou wins, Miller has scored 29 and 20 points, while shooting over 70% from the field.

For Missouri to cut the nets down twice in 4 years, they need Marcus Denmon to show up. The second leading scorer in the conference has held without a field gaol in yesterday's win against Texas. While English and Phil Pressey (23 points apiece) picked up Denmon's slack, it will be hard pressed for the Tigers to win without Denmon scoring double-digits.

A rundown of all Big 12 Championship scores is available after The Jump.

Continue reading this post »

The school that sent the Missouri Tigers packing for the SEC next year is hoping to send them packing from the Big 12 Tournament tonight.

While no one at Mizzou will publicly say that the Texas Longhorn's Longhorn Network and the monetary discrepancy the Longhorns receive compared to other Big 12 schools was the reason Mizzou looked to leave its 100-year history with some derivative of the conference, it is widely known that is the reason for the Tigers' departure.

And tonight one of the schools will get the last laugh.

Either Mizzou, behind a senior laden team led by Marcus Denmon and Kim English, will sweep the money-generating sport season series with UT, or Texas will be able to derail the Tigers' hope of a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament and possible seeding in the St. Louis region.

For Texas to prevail J'Covan Brown needs to be, well, J'Covan Brown. As the 6-1 junior goes, so go the Longhorns. Only once in the past 5 games has Brown not led the Longhorns in scoring, and that was an overtime win at Texas Tech when Brown scored 14 on 4-13 shooting and Julien Lewis outscored him by a point. But if Brown can go off like he did in the first matchup against the Tigers, watch out. In that game in Columbia, Brown ended with 34 points on 6-7 from behind the arc.

This game will not be for the sheepish at heart or the traditional pound-inside types. No, with Brown, Lewis, Sheldon McClellan, Denmon, English and Mike Dixon on the floor, you have six guys who hoisted up at least 100 three-point attempts this season.

At the end of the day, though, Texas is just too one-sided to win. Even if Brown scores another 34, the rest of the team hasn't shown enough to help carry the rest of the burden. If one of Mizzou's four guys averaging double-digit scoring shows the effects of playing back-to-back games, they have others to fill that void. Texas simply doesn't have an answer if Brown's shots start finding iron.

The Missouri Tiger are hoping for a little bit more than just revenge tonight, when they face the Oklahoma St. Cowboys in the second round of the 2012 Big 12 Tournament.

The Tigers are also looking to both close out their Big 12 legacy with their second Big 12 Tournament championship in four years, and also to inch closer to a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament and a potential seeding in the pro-Mizzou St. Louis region.

The fifth ranked Tigers are 27-4 on the season, and have only suffered one loss to a team from outside of the state of Kansas. That was a January 25 loss to tonight's opponent. In that 79-72 Pokes victory, freshman Le'Bryan Nash was unstoppable, scoring a career high 27 points on 12-18 shooting (with a career high three 3-pointers).

Things should be different tonight, though. Nash is sidelined for the rest of the season with a fractured hand, and the game is in Kansas City, where Mizzou has obliterated the two opponents its played there, beating Notre Dame by 29 before thumping Cal the following night by 39 on their way to winning the CBE Classic last November.

If there is one thing to watch tonight, it will be Frank Haith's substitution pattern. Since Mizzou has one of the shallowest benches of all ranked teams -going only seven deep - it will be interesting to see if Haith goes deeper or changes up his substitution patterns, with the thought that Mizzou could be playing three games in three days.

But luckily for Mizzou, they don't rely on a single player to guide them. Despite the short bench, Mizzou has four guys averaging double digit scoring - Marcus Denmon, Kim English, Ricardo Ratliffe and Mike Dixon - with Phil Pressey scoring 9.6 ppg while leading the conference with 6.2 assists per game.

Mizzou should win tonight, easily, but it will still be a good watch, just to see how Haith handles the substitutions.

This post is sponsored by TiqIQ.

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Each week we will make predictions on all the league's conference games. We'll also be joined by a different SB Nation Big 12 blogger to weigh in with their thoughts. Check back throughout the week to see how much (or little?) we all know.

And this week it appears we either ALL know a lot, or ALL know nothing at all. Not much discrepencies in our picks (can you spot the one outlier in our conference picks?). I guess by this time in the season everyone seems to have a good grasp on teams'

This week we're proud to have Owen from KU's Rock Chalk Talk

And post your predictions in the comments section. If we like your picks we might ask you to be a guest picker... so take your chance and put your thoughts out for everyone to read. Also keep track of your record to see how you compare with our picks.

Big 12 Basketball Conference Picks
	Joe Loyd @joe_loyd	Nathan Kotisso @natekotisso	Evan Pfaff @EvanPfaff	E. Carnes @E_Carnes	Owen @rockchalktalk
Season Record	48-24 (66.6%)	60-23 (72.3%)	61-22 (73.5%)	60-23 (72.3%)	42-13 (76.4%) (All Guest Picks)
Last Week	7-4	6-5	8-3	7-4	N/A
Saturday, February 25
Iowa St. Cyclones at Kansas St. Wildcats	K-State	ISU	K-State	K-State	K-State
Oklahoma Sooners at Baylor Bears	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Texas A&M Aggies at Oklahoma St. Cowboys	Ok State	Ok State	Ok State	Ok State	Ok State
Texas Longhorns at Texas Tech Red Raiders	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas
Missouri Tigers at Kansas Jayhawks	KU	KU	KU	KU	KU
Monday, February 27
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Baylor Bears	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Kansas Jayhawks at Oklahoma St. Cowboys	KU	KU	KU	KU	KU (very close, OSU could even win)
Tuesday, February 28
Kansas St. Wildcats at Texas A&M Aggies	K-State	K-State	K-State	K-State	K-State
Wednesday, February 29
Iowa St. Cyclones at Missouri Tigers	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou
Oklahoma Sooners at Texas Longhorns	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas	Texas
National Game of the Week - Tuesday, February 28
Michigan St. Spartans at Indiana Hoosiers	MSU	MSU	IU	MSU	IU
What We're Saying
Joe: If K-State can beat Texas A&M the Wildcats will have gone 6-0 in football and basketball this sports season against the two teams heading for the SEC.
Nathan: Bravo, Kansas State, bravo! That is how you get yourself off the bubble.
Evan: So apparently once you play all the tough teams, you have a week of Oklahoma and Tech at home, eh Baylor? But like everyone else is saying, there really is only one game that every Big 12 fan should be watching. KU at home is almost unbeatable and K-State showed how Thomas Robinson should play inside against Mizzou. For Mizzou to win they need to shut down either T-Rob or Tyshawn Taylor, which isn't an easy task.
E. Carnes: The Game We've Been Waiting For is Saturday — Texas A&M at OK State! Kidding, of course. I decided to go with the home advantage and pick Kansas. But I'll be pulling for Mizzou. At the start of the season, this kind of success seemed improbable and they're such a likable bunch of guys. I'm curious — who are you cheering for? Not necessarily who you think will win, but who do you *want* to win?
Owen: Saturday's final Border War in Lawrence decides the conference champion. With a win Kansas has a two game lead with two to play. The Jayhawks haven't lost two consecutive games since 2006 and they haven't lost a senior night in 27 years now so it's highly unlikely that the Jayhawks would lose two games down the stretch. That would give Kansas 8 straight and 5 straight outright titles most likely. Possibly a top seed in the tournament and it would signal a year that has wildly exceeded expectations. Problem is, they have to beat Missouri and the Tigers are a very good team. Honestly Missouri has probably been more consistent than Kansas and offensively they are extremely good. This game is huge for both so I suspect the Tigers to be ready and I think they are a veteran group that can manage what will likely be the most amped up Allen Fieldhouse environment this year. It should be a great game and if Missouri wins then that should lock down a share of the title at a minimum and honestly even though they'd give out two trophies you would kind of have to give the nod to the Tigers. It's the final installment of the Border war in the regular season and the stakes are huge.

See a week-by-week breakdown of how Joe, Nathan, Evan, E. Carnes and the Guest Pickers did after The Jump

Continue reading this post »

First place in the Power Rankings is up for grabs on Saturday. As Nathan says below... EPIC.

Disagree with us? Put your rankings in the comments section.

1. Missouri Tigers Overall Record: 25-2 (12-2 conference) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 1, same What Evan Says: One loss avenged, the next tonight. Then checking the schedule I see they play Kansas on Saturday. Who knew?

2. Kansas Jayhawks Overall Record: 22-5 (12-2) Last Week's Record: 1-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 2, same What Nathan Says: Saturday. Will. Be. Epic.

3. Baylor Bears Overall Record: 23-5 (10-5) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 3, same What Nathan Says: Had they lost to Texas, I would have knocked them down a spot but kudos to the Bears for sticking it out.

4. Iowa St. Cyclones Overall Record: 19-8 (9-5) Last Week's Record: 1-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 4, same What Nathan Says: Bracketologist Jerry Palm believes the Cyclones have "work left to do." They do but as of now they're on the right side of the bubble.

5. Kansas St. Wildcats Overall Record: 18-8 (7-7) Last Week's Record: 1-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 6, up one spot What Joe Says: Just maybe the Wildcats have their point guard for the next few years in Angel Rodriguez.

T6. Texas Longhorns Overall Record: 17-11 (7-8) Last Week's Record: 1-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 5, down one spot What E. Carnes Says: The Longhorns really "pulled a Texas" on Monday night against Baylor, losing a close game in the last few minutes.

T6. Oklahoma St. Cowboys Overall Record: 13-14 (6-8) Last Week's Results: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 7, up one spot What Evan Says: Big win against Texas only helps Travis Ford's solid recruiting in the Lone Star state.

8. Texas A&M Aggies Overall Record: 13-13 (4-10) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 8, same What E. Carnes Says: The Aggies face Kansas on Wednesday. This game between the two pre-season favorites to win the conference miiiight not be as close as we would have thought at the start of the season.

9. Oklahoma Sooners Overall Record: 13-13 (3-11) Last Week's Record: 0-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 9, same What Evan Says: Bedlam tomorrow then three straight road games. My once promising Sooners might finish with 3 wins in conference, which would be down two from last year... in two more games.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders Overall Record: 8-18 (1-13) Last Week's Record: 0-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 10, same What E. Carnes Says: It's back to business as usual in Lubbock with the Red Raiders losing by 9 points to A&M and 33 points to Kansas.

Rankings are based on averages of our individual picks. See how we each voted after The Jump.

Continue reading this post »

Each week we will make predictions on all the league's conference games. We'll also be joined by a different SB Nation Big 12 blogger to weigh in with their thoughts. Check back throughout the week to see how much (or little?) we all know.

And post your predictions in the comments section. If we like your picks we might ask you to be a guest picker... so take your chance and put your thoughts out for everyone to read. Also keep track of your record to see how you compare with our picks.

Big 12 Basketball Conference Picks
	Joe Loyd @joe_loyd	Nathan Kotisso @natekotisso	Evan Pfaff @EvanPfaff	E. Carnes @E_Carnes
Season Record	41-20 (67.2%)	54-18 (75%)	53-19 (73.6%)	53-19 (73.6%)
Last Week	8-3	7-4	10-1	10-1
Saturday, February 18
Oklahoma Sooners at Iowa St. Cyclones	ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU
Kansas St. Wildcats at Baylor Bears	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Missouri Tigers at Texas A&M Aggies	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou
Texas Longhorns at Oklahoma St. Cowboys	Ok State	Texas	Ok State	Texas
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Kansas Jayhawks	KU	KU	KU	KU
Monday, February 20
Baylor Bears at Texas Longhorns	Texas	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Tuesday, February 21
Kansas St. Wildcats at Missouri Tigers	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou
Wednesday, February 22
Oklahoma St. Cowboys at Oklahoma Sooners	OU	Ok State	OU	Ok State
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Iowa St. Cyclones	ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU
Kansas Jayhawks at Texas A&M Aggies	KU	KU	KU	KU
National Game of the Week - Saturday, February 18
St. Mary's Gaels at Murray St. Racers	St. Mary's	St. Mary's	St. Mary's	Murray St
What We're Saying
Joe: Interested to see how much revenge is on Missouri's mind when K-State comes to visit
Nathan: I did pick the Horns to make the tournament but I'm kinda surprised they still have a chance to make it out alive despite their early gauntlet. About BracketBusters, I don't think they do enough for a mid-major with a questionable profile. Maybe it could be a two week, four-game format with two games at home and two away for each participant and hopefully then, the NCAA Selection Committee would have an easier time deciding on mid-majors.
Evan: RE: the national game. I think that St. Mary's' battles with Gonzaga over the past couples years has taught them about the limelight. I think as the newcomer, Murray State will be overwhelmed by the ESPN exposure. If this were in California it'd be a slam dunk that the Gels prevail. Being at Murray State gives the Racers a boost, but I think that Murray State's nerves will get the best of them early, allowing St. M to take an early lead and take the crowd out of the contest. Then again... what do I know about mid-major hoops?
E. Carnes: I struggled with choosing Baylor over Texas. I'd really like to see Texas upset Baylor (and I think they have a shot if PJIII continues to be mediocre and the Texas freshman play their best consistently), but this way at least I'll be right on here if they don't.

See a week-by-week breakdown of how Joe, Nathan, Evan, E. Carnes and the Guest Pickers did after The Jump

Continue reading this post »

Despite big games last week, not much movement in the Power Rankings.

Disagree with us? Put your rankings in the comments section.

1. Missouri Tigers Overall Record: 23-2 (10-2 conference) Last Week's Record: 1-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 1, same What Evan Says: From KU to Baylor, Mizzou is now 3-0 against the top of the conference. Revenge will be on their mind tomorrow against Ok State.

2. Kansas Jayhawks Overall Record: 21-5 (11-2) Last Week's Record: 3-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 2, same What Nathan Says: Last two games for Jeff Withey: 36 points, 31 rebounds and 16 blocked shots. Better be Big 12 Player of the Week.

3. Baylor Bears Overall Record: 22-4 (9-4) Last Week's Record: 1-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 3, same What Nathan Says: They don't play Kansas or Missouri anymore so they should win the rest of their games, right? Isn't that how it works?

4. Iowa St. Cyclones Overall Record: 18-8 (8-5) Last Week's Record: 1-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 4, same What Nathan Says: Chris Allen's thing at Michigan State was three-point shooting. He's nailed 18 3s in the last five games.

5. Texas Longhorns Overall Record: 16-9 (6-6) Last Week's Record: 1-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 6, up one spot What E. Carnes Says: That was a much-needed win against K-State. If the 'Horns can win the games they're supposed to win (OU, OK State, Tech) a 5th place Big 12 finish and a tournament spot are theirs.

6. Kansas St. Wildcats Overall Record: 17-8 (6-7) Last Week's Record: 1-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 5, down one spot What Evan Says: K-State really, realy needed either a win in Austin or against KU. With their next two games @Baylor and @Mizzuo, they may have played themselves out of an NCAA tourney bid.

7. Oklahoma St. Cowboys Overall Record: 12-13 (5-7) Last Week's Results: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 7, same What Evan Says: Even if they sweep the Mizzou series tomorrow night, they have a brutal schedule remainingin pursuit of an NCAA tourney bid.

8. Texas A&M Aggies Overall Record: 12-12 (3-9) Last Week's Record: 0-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 8, same What E. Carnes Says: Khris Middleton's back, but Dash Harris is still out. They aren't looking like a team that can beat Texas Tech tonight.

9. Oklahoma Sooners Overall Record: 13-11 (3-9) Last Week's Record: 0-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 9, same What Evan Says: A four game losing streak (including one to Tech) and only one winable game left on the schedule... maybe Lon should have stayed at UNLV.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders Overall Record: 8-16 (1-11) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 10, same What E. Carnes Says: You guys, they did it! They won a conference game!

Rankings are based on averages of our individual picks. See how we each voted after The Jump.

Continue reading this post »

Each week we will make predictions on all the league's conference games. We'll also be joined by a different SB Nation Big 12 blogger to weigh in with their thoughts. Check back throughout the week to see how much (or little?) we all know.

This week we're proud to have Seth C from Texas Tech's Double-T Nation

And post your predictions in the comments section. If we like your picks we might ask you to be a guest picker... so take your chance and put your thoughts out for everyone to read. Also keep track of your record to see how you compare with our picks.

Big 12 Basketball Conference Picks
	Joe Loyd @joe_loyd	Nathan Kotisso @natekotisso	Evan Pfaff @EvanPfaff	E. Carnes @E_Carnes	Seth C @doubletnation
Season Record	33-17 (66%)	47-14 (77%)	43-18 (70.5%)	43-18 (70.5%)	33-11 (75%) (All Guest Picks)
Last Week	4-7	8-3	7-4	7-4	9-2 (D-Sing)
Saturday, February 11
Baylor Bears at Missouri Tigers	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou
Kansas St. Wildcats at Texas Longhorns	K-State	K-State	UT	UT	UT
Oklahoma St. Cowboys at Kansas Jayhawks	KU	KU	KU	KU	KU
Texas A&M Aggies at Iowa St. Cyclones	ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU
Oklahoma Sooners at Texas Tech Red Raiders	OU	OU	Tech	OU	OU
Monday, February 13
Iowa St. Cyclones at Baylor Bears	BU	BU	BU	BU	BU
Kansas Jayhawks at Kansas St. Wildcats	KU	K-State	KU	KU	K-State
Tuesday, February 14
Texas A&M Aggies at Texas Tech Red Raiders	A&M	A&M	A&M	A&M	Tech
Texas Longhorns at Oklahoma Sooners	OU	OU	OU	UT	UT
Wednesday, February 15
Oklahoma St. Cowboys at Missouri Tigers	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou
National Game of the Week - Monday, February 13
Syracuse Orange at Louisville Cardinals	Cuse	Cuse	Cuse	Cuse	Cuse
What We're Saying
Joe: Texas should beat K-State but being as how I haven't seen the Longhorns beat a K-State team in years in either football or basketball I'll go with the Wildcats.
Nathan: Just as I said yesterday, Frank Martin will not let his team die and racking up the next two would be huge for them. And with that Texas would kill their realistic yet slim hopes for the Tournament.
Evan: Yep. I picked Oklahoma to lose to Tech and beat Texas. This I will regret.
E. Carnes: Well after last night, I'm not betting against Kansas in big games anymore. I'm filing that away for March. This week, I'm most excited for the K-State-Texas game. Like we mentioned in the conference call, it looks like these two teams might be vying for the same Big 12 tournament spot.
Seth C: I think that Missouri is the best team in the Big 12 at this point, with Kansas just slightly behind the Tigers. Baylor has the most talent, but I don't think that they play the team game that Missouri and Kansas have exhibited thus far. I have picked Texas Tech to beat Texas A&M, but I'm only doing that because TAMU is pretty banged up and I think that if Texas Tech is going to win a conference game this year, this will be one of the remaining games on the schedule where that could happen.

See a week-by-week breakdown of how Joe, Nathan, Evan, E. Carnes and the Guest Pickers did after The Jump

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The Iowa St. Cyclones might have Hilton Magic, but the Oklahoma St. Cowboys have something up their sleeves at Gallagher-Iba Arena as well. So when the Clones visit Stillwater tonight, they shouldn't underestimate the sub .500 Pokes.

At G-I Arena, Ok State has already knocked off the Missouri Tigers and Oklahoma Sooners and were a few key shots away from upending the Baylor Bears last Saturday.

The red hot Clones are in the midst of a three game winning streak, and have won five of their past six, including a narrow three point win at home against Ok State.

The key to this game are the two opposing newcomers. Iowa State's Royce White leads the Clones with a 13.5 ppg scoring average, despite being held to 3 points on 1-1 shooting in ISU's victory over Oklahoma on Saturday.

Ok State's Le'Bryan Nash is carrying the longest double-digit scoring streak of his young career, having posted 10+ ppg over his past four outings, including a 27-point outburst in the Pokes win over Mizzou.

On paper, ISU should win this one. They are a bigger team, with a better record who scores more and rebounds more. However if Ok State can channel their inner David Copperfield, and LBN and Keiton Page get hot, an upset is in the making.

As you probably expected, we have a new #1 team in our Power Poll.

Disagree with us? Put your rankings in the comments section.

1. Missouri Tigers Overall Record: 22-2 (9-2 conference) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 2, up one spot What Evan Says: All things considered, that KU victory was one of the biggest wins in school history. BTW, I love hyperbole.

2. Kansas Jayhawks Overall Record: 18-5 (8-2) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 1, down one spot What Nathan Says: The Border War didn't disappoint but now they face another tough test on the road.

3. Baylor Bears Overall Record: 21-2 (8-2) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement:3, same What Nathan Says: This is their second week in Big 12 play that they have to face KU and Mizzou back-to-back. Can't go 0-fer again.

4. Iowa St. Cyclones Overall Record: 17-6 (7-3) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 4, same What Nathan Says: They're on a roll now but just ask Missouri how difficult it is to play your best at Gallagher-Iba Arena.

5. Kansas St. Wildcats Overall Record: 16-6 (5-5) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 5, same What Joe Says: Cats better beat Tech if they have any NCAA Tourney hopes as schedule once again gets brutal.

6. Texas Longhorns Overall Record: 15-9 (5-6) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 7, up one spot What E. Carnes Says: The Longhorns are breathing easier now that the they're clear of that nasty stretch of schedule. Texas grabbed an easy win over Tech and was able to seal a close a game in College Station.

7. Oklahoma St. Cowboys Overall Record: 11-12 (4-6) Last Week's Results: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 9, up two spots What Evan Says: Easy win and close loss last week, but ISU, @KU and @Mizzou are their next three, so they may lose some of the ground they gained in this Power Poll.

8. Texas A&M Aggies Overall Record: 12-11 (3-8) Last Week's Record: 0-3 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 8, same What E. Carnes Says: The Aggies showed some fight in their losses to Baylor, K-State, and Texas — thanks mostly to Elston Turner who has averaged 19.3 ppg over the last 6 games.

9. Oklahoma Sooners Overall Record: 13-10 (3-8) Last Week's Record: 0-3 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 6, down three spots What Evan Says: The Sooners are wishing they played with horseshoes and handgranades this week. 7-point loss to ISU and 3-point loss to Mizzou are still losses.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders Overall Record: 7-15 (0-10) Last Week's Record: 0-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 10, same What E. Carnes Says: Okay, so I guess they won't win a conference game this season.

Rankings are based on averages of our individual picks. See how we each voted after The Jump.

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Last Saturday night, the Missouri Tigers possibly faced their toughest opponent of the year when they hosted the Kansas Jayhawks in a game that really needs no explanation.

Tonight, though, they may face a tougher opponent... over-confidence.

It would be easy for Mizzou to look past tonight's game against the Oklahoma Sooners. And why not? Mizzou just knocked off their heated rival, in what might be the last game between the two in Columbia. A national audience watched the game. They also saw pre-game, as ESPN's College GameDay broadcast live from Columbia.

And now what's their task? Taking on an Oklahoma team that is 3-7 in conference, who they already beat by 38 points earlier this season. Compared to the weekend the Tigers had, it might very well be that they could suffer a case of the Mondays.

But luckily enough for the Tigers, they have some kid named Kim English on their side

@Englishscope24 Most important game of the year tonight in Norman. Really focused shoot-around. We cannot have any let down. Need this win! #Mizzou

Also, luckily enough for the Tigers it appears Marcus Denmon is out of the horrendous shooting slump that has plagued him during Big 12 play. Or if he isn't, he sure did a good job to disguise it. In the nine games leading into last Saturday's matchup, Denmon was shooting a horrific 37 of 106 (34.9%) from the field, this after going 92 of 180 (51.1%) from the field during non-conference play. So Saturday's 10-16 shooting (6 of 9 from three) was something Mizzou fans have been waiting for since early January.

In their first meeting Mizzou held OU's leading scorer Steven Pledger to 11 points on 3-10 shooting - with a couple of his buckets coming during garbage time. For OU to compete on their home floor this evening, Pledger needs to be more involved in the flow.

If Sooner fans see Pledger light up like he did against K-State, and Andrew Fitzgerald can have another solid outing vs the Tigers (18 points in the first meeting), then the Sooners have a chance. If not, Mizzou should cakewalk again and start looking ahead to their next top-10 matchup when they host Baylor on Saturday.

Each week we will make predictions on all the league's conference games. We'll also be joined by a different SB Nation Big 12 blogger to weigh in with their thoughts. Check back throughout the week to see how much (or little?) we all know.

This week we're proud to have D-Sing from Mizzou's Rock M Nation

And post your predictions in the comments section. If we like your picks we might ask you to be a guest picker... so take your chance and put your thoughts out for everyone to read. Also keep track of your record to see how you compare with our picks.

Big 12 Basketball Conference Picks
	Joe Loyd @joe_loyd	Nathan Kotisso @natekotisso	Evan Pfaff @EvanPfaff	E. Carnes @E_Carnes	D-Sing @pigskinpundit
Season Record	29-10 (74.3%)	39-11 (78%)	36-14 (72%)	36-14 (72%)	24-9 (72.7%) (All Guest Picks)
Last Week	7-4	10-1	9-2	7-4	7-4 (TB)
Saturday, February 4
Baylor Bears at Oklahoma St. Cowboys	Baylor	Bayor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Texas A&M Aggies at Kansas St. Wildcats	K-State	K-State	K-State	K-State	K-State
Iowa St. Cyclones at Oklahoma Sooners	OU	ISU	OU	ISU	ISU
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Texas Longhorns	Texas	UT	UT	UT	UT
Kansas Jayhawks at Missouri Tigers	KU	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	KU
Monday, February 6
Missouri Tigers at Oklahoma Sooners	OU	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou
Texas Longhorns at Texas A&M Aggies	A&M	A&M	A&M	UT	UT
Tuesday, February 7
Iowa St. Cyclones at Oklahoma St. Cowboys	ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU	Ok State
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Kansas St. Wildcats	K-State	K-State	K-State	K-State	K-State
Wednesday, February 8
Kansas Jayhawks at Baylor Bears	Baylor	KU	KU	Baylor	KU
National Game of the Week - Wednesday, February 8
Duke Blue Devils at North Carolina Tar Heels	UNC	UNC	UNC	UNC	Duke
What We're Saying
Joe: Not confident in my picks to be perfectly honest.
Nathan: Well the conference schedule always balances itself out and Kansas isn't immune to it with games at Missouri and Baylor. Should be satisfied with a split. K-State fans have every right to be unhappy with refs in the ISU game but now you've got two winnable ones at home. I'm happy to be atop the standings but now that I've said something about it, I'm certain my picks will now be wrong.
Evan: Memorable games on tap. Mizzou-KU and Texas-A&M. I agree with Nathan that KU would be more than happy with a split this week, and I think they'll get one. Baylor has shown that it isn't the most agressive team down low and Thomas Robinson should eat them up again.
E. Carnes: Of course Kansas at Mizzou is the big one this week. But it's also the last time that longtime rivals Texas and Texas A&M will play each other in the regular season. This game will be a far cry from Kevin Durant vs Acie Law, but I'll still be sad to see it end.
D-Sing: I have a feeling that I'm going to be dragging down the record for guest pickers this week. (Insert joke about Missouri dragging down the conference before leaving here.) In all seriousness, I think that Kansas will find a way to edge out the Tigers and Baylor in back to back road games and firmly reclaim the inside track for the Big 12 regular season title.

See a week-by-week breakdown of how Joe, Nathan, Evan, E. Carnes and the Guest Pickers did after The Jump

Continue reading this post »

This week we tackle individual performances, NBA draft stock, the conference's best basketball rivalry and, of course, the Super Bowl.

Now the questions....

1. We've seen Le'Bryan Nash shoot lights out (12-18 against Mizzou) and shoot like the lights were out (5-15 against A&M). Also in a five game stretch recently he went for 21, 6, 21, 4, 27. Will we ever be able to go into a game knowing we'll get a solid performance out of LBN?

2. Let's answer E. Carnes' question from yesterday's Power Rankings: Are the Aggies playing better without Khris Middleton? They only lost by 10 to Kansas and had a decisive win over OK State in College Station.

3. Each year we have a "The Biggest Game EVER." Put the Mizzou-KU Saturday night Mizzou-going-to-the-SEC, College-GameDay-gonna-be-there, national-audience rivalry game into context.

4. Iowa State started the season with early losses to Drake and Northern Iowa. They have since beaten Kansas and are 5-3 in conference. Obviously the transfers are meshing. They are a tournament team, right?

5. Super Bowl predictions: Winner, score, MVP

Our answers after The Jump...

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Movement in the polls with upsets and home losses happening all week..

Disagree with us? Put your rankings in the comments section.

1. Kansas Jayhawks Overall Record: 17-4 (7-1 conference) Last Week's Record: 0-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 1, same What Nathan Says: More times than not, you won't win every game in a conference like this. Tyshawn Taylor may be the toughest guard to matchup against in the Big 12.

2. Missouri Tigers Overall Record: 20-1 (7-2) Last Week's Record: 2-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 2, same What Evan Says: They haven't looked too sharp in their past two games, but winning in Austin in never easy. I read somewhere about a big game on the horizon, but I'll need to do a little more research before I know more.

3. Baylor Bears Overall Record: 19-2 (6-2) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 3, same What Nathan Says: The reason I ranked them second is because that was just a BAD loss by Missouri last Wednesday. Don't see any of those for Baylor.

4. Iowa St. Cyclones Overall Record: 15-6 (5-3) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 5, up one spot What Nathan Says: OK the national microscope is focused on the Cyclones now. Take care of business at home versus a struggling K-State squad and don't give them a reason to look away.

5. Kansas St. Wildcats Overall Record: 15-5 (4-4) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 4, down one spot What Joe Says: Getting swept by OU should be unacceptable for Frank Martin at this point in his tenure at K-State.

6. Oklahoma Sooners Overall Record: 13-7 (3-5) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: T7, up one spot What Evan Says: Season sweep over K-State gives them momentum into a treacherous three game tilt. If Steven Pledger can continue to light it up, there will be more upsets a-comin'.

7. Texas Longhorns Overall Record: 13-9 (3-6) Last Week's Record: 1-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 6, down one spot What E. Carnes Says: The Longhorns came thisclose to beating Mizzou, Kansas, Baylor, and K-State. Time for this young team to learn how to close a game.

8. Texas A&M Aggies Overall Record: 12-8 (3-5) Last Week's Record: 1-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: T7, down one spot What E. Carnes Says: Are the Aggies playing better without Khris Middleton? They only lost by 10 to Kansas and had a decisive win over OK State in College Station.

9. Oklahoma St. Cowboys Overall Record: 10-11 (3-5) Last Week's Results: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 9, same What Evan Says: I'm still trying to figure out Le'Bryan Nash. 27 against Mizzou then 5-15 shooting and 13 pts in the loss to A&M. Either LBN carries the team... or they lose.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders Overall Record: 7-13 (0-8) Last Week's Record: 0-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 10, same What E. Carnes Says: You guys, it's here. The game that Texas Tech can win. I say if the Red Raiders don't beat OK State tonight in Lubbock, they go winless in conference play.

Rankings are based on averages of our individual picks. See how we each voted after The Jump.

Continue reading this post »

Is Blake Griffin's dunk now the best ever?

Each week we will make predictions on all the league's conference games. We'll also be joined by a different SB Nation Big 12 blogger to weigh in with their thoughts. Check back throughout the week to see how much (or little?) we all know.

This week we're proud to have TB from K-State's Bring On The Cats

And post your predictions in the comments section. If we like your picks we might ask you to be a guest picker... so take your chance and put your thoughts out for everyone to read. Also keep track of your record to see how you compare with our picks.

Big 12 Basketball Conference Picks
	Joe Loyd @joe_loyd	Nathan Kotisso @natekotisso	Evan Pfaff @EvanPfaff	E. Carnes @E_Carnes	TB @BringOnTheCats
Season Record	22-6	29-10	27-12	29-10	17-5 (All Guest Picks)
Last Week	0-0	8-3	5-6	7-4	0-0
Saturday, January 28
Texas Longhorns at Baylor Bears	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Texas Tech Red Raiders at Missouri Tigers	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou
Kansas Jayhawks at Iowa St. Cyclones	KU	ISU	KU	KU	ISU
Oklahoma St. Cowboys at Texas A&M Aggies	A&M	A&M	A&M	A&M	Ok State
Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas St. Wildcats	K-State	K-State	K-State	K-State	K-State
Monday, January 30
Missouri Tigers at Texas Longhorns	UT	Mizzou	Mizzou	UT	Mizzou
Tuesday, January 31
Oklahoma St. Cowboys at Texas Tech Red Raiders	Tech	Ok State	Ok State	Tech	Ok State
Kansas St. Wildcats at Iowa St. Cyclones	ISU	ISU	ISU	ISU	K-State
Wednesday, February 1
Baylor Bears at Texas A&M Aggies	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Oklahoma Sooners at Kansas Jayhawks	KU	KU	KU	KU	KU
National Game of the Week - Wednesday, February1
Connecticut Huskies at Georgetown Hoyas	Georgetown	G-Town	Georgetown	G-Town	UCONN
What We're Saying
Joe: How many people do you think are going to be in attendance Jan 31st when Oklahoma State visits Texas Tech??
Nathan: As E. has grown weary of writing about how well Jordan Tolbert played in another Tech loss, I, too, am tired about how much Iowa State needs to win their next game. But for lack of a better term, they do need this one at home against Kansas. They need to make that tournament profile look more appealing to the eye.
Evan: I went road team heavy last wek (seven rood teams? What was I thinking?) and learned my lesson with a 5-6 record. This week I "only" picked four. Doomed again, eh?
E. Carnes: Am I crazy for picking Texas over Mizzou? Maybe! But I think this is the Longhorns' best chance for the big upset they almost pulled off over K-State and KU. Either way, it should be an interesting game — Haith used to be on Barnes' staff, so both coaches are familiar with the other's strengths and weaknesses. Also, is this finally the week Texas Tech will win a conference game? I think OK State in Lubbock is their best shot.
TB: Big week for swing games in the conference. Iowa State could give the other contenders a chance by beating KU, Missouri could tumble if it can't beat Texas on the road, and K-State and Iowa State will battle for "best of the rest" (i.e., fourth place) when the two meet in Ames.

See a week-by-week breakdown of how Joe, Nathan, Evan, E. Carnes and the Guest Pickers did after The Jump

Continue reading this post »

Slowly but surrly the Cyclones are closing in on a top 4 spot, while the top two have shown they're there to stay.

Disagree with us? Put your rankings in the comments section.

1. Kansas Jayhawks Overall Record: 17-3 (7-0 conference) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 1, same What Nathan Says: They nearly lost on the road to the Longhorns on Saturday. It'll be interesting to see how Kansas does away from Allen Fieldhouse against more quality opponents.

2. Missouri Tigers Overall Record: 18-1 (5-1) Last Week's Record: 1-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 3, up one spot What Evan Says: Undersized? Short bench? Those can be overcome when you have the experience and coaching that Mizzou has. And yes, this team has made me change my tune on the Frank Haith hire... how could it not?

3. Baylor Bears Overall Record: 17-2 (4-2) Last Week's Record: 0-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 2, down one spot What Nathan Says: Giving up points in the paint have killed the Baylor frontcourt this week. Hopefully they can bounce back without the pressure of playing another Top-10 team.

4. Kansas St. Wildcats Overall Record: 14-4 (3-3) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 4, same What Evan Says: K-State will not keep winning unless they start hitting free throws. 44 of 79 (55.6%) in their two wins this week simply won't cut it.

5. Iowa St. Cyclones Overall Record: 14-5 (4-2) Last Week's Record: 2-0 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 5, same What Nathan Says: Speaking of quality opponents, the Cyclones still lack a "signature win," and what better way to get one than by hosting Kansas at Hilton Saturday.

6. Texas Longhorns Overall Record: 12-7 (2-4) Last Week's Record: 0-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 6, same What E. Carnes Says: The Longhorns dropped two heartbreakingly close games to K-State and Kansas. Tuesday's game against Iowa State is a must-win for Texas if they want to keep their tournament hopes alive.

T7. Oklahoma Sooners Overall Record: 12-6 (2-4) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 7, same What Evan Says: Next three: Baylor, @K-State, @KU. They needed to win that OT game in College Station to have momentum heading into their toughest stretch of the season.

T7. Texas A&M Aggies Overall Record: 11-8 (2-5) Last Week's Record: 1-1 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 8, up one spot What E. Carnes Says: Pro: the Aggies beat Oklahoma in overtime in College Station. Con: Khris Middleton banged up his injured knee and had to sit out during their loss to Kansas.

9. Oklahoma St. Cowboys Overall Record: 9-10 (2-4) Last Week's Results: 0-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 9, same What Evan Says: Early on I might have thought about an upset over Mizzou, but with the way Ok State is playing, even in Stillwater, the Pokes will need to play their best game of the season to keep it close.

10. Texas Tech Red Raiders Overall Record: 7-11 (0-6) Last Week's Record: 0-2 Last Week's Ranking/Movement: 10, same What E. Carnes Says: Robert Lewandowski finally showed up against Iowa State, but it wasn't enough for the Red Raiders who are now 0-6 in conference play.

Rankings are based on averages of our individual picks. See how we each voted after The Jump.

Continue reading this post »

Each week we will make predictions on all the league's conference games. Check back throughout the week to see how much (or little?) we all know.

And post your predictions in the comments section. If we like your picks we might ask you to be a guest picker... so take your chance and put your thoughts out for everyone to read. Also keep track of your record to see how you compare with our picks.

Big 12 Basketball Conference Picks
	Joe Loyd @joe_loyd	Nathan Kotisso @natekotisso	Evan Pfaff @EvanPfaff	E. Carnes @E_Carnes
Season Record	22-6	21-7	22-6	22-6
Last Week	10-1	7-4	9-2	9-2
Saturday, January 21
Kansas St. Wildcats at Oklahoma St. Cowboys	On vacation	K-State	Ok State	K-State
Missouri Tigers at Baylor Bears	In Jamaica	Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Oklahoma Sooners at Texas A&M Aggies	Sippin Red Stripe	A&M	OU	OU
Kansas Jayhawks at Texas Longhorns	On the beach	KU	KU	KU
Iowa St. Cyclones at Texas Tech Red Raiders	(Jealous?)	ISU	ISU	ISU
Monday, January 23
Texas A&M Aggies at Kansas Jayhawks		KU	KU	KU
Tuesday, January 24
Baylor Bears at Oklahoma Sooners		Baylor	Baylor	Baylor
Iowa St. Cyclones at Texas Longhorns		Texas	ISU	Texas
Wednesday, January 25
Missouri Tigers at Oklahoma St. Cowboys		Mizzou	Mizzou	Mizzou
Kansas St. Wildcats at Texas Tech Red Raiders		K-State	K-State	K-State
National Game of the Week - Saturday, January 21
Mississippi St. Bulldogs at Vanderbilt Commodores		Vandy	Vandy	Vandy
What We're Saying
Joe: Jamaica me crazy
Nathan: I'm going with the favorites this time after going against the grain last week. Wonder when the Jayhawks will lose their first Big 12 game.
Evan: SEVEN away teams!?!?!?! What am I thnking? Well, I'm thnking I'm hosed.
E. Carnes: The game I'm most excited to see isn't Mizzou at Baylor. It's the rematch between Iowa State and Texas. This is the time of year when the second-tier teams get really interesting to watch, especially since they might be jockeying for the same tournament berth.

See a week-by-week breakdown of how Joe, Nathan, Evan, E. Carnes and the Guest Pickers did after The Jump

Continue reading this post »