Big 12 Men's Current Standings with Net Ranking: Sooner are 1-2.

[OUBeliever56A]

Big 12 Current Standings: - (Net Ranking includes the Jan 14th games.)

T-1st - Baylor ------------ 3-0 --- 14-2 ---> NET Ranking #12 - AP-9, Coaches 9
T-1st - Texas Tech ------ 3-0 --- 14-2 ---> NET Ranking #37 - AP 25, Coaches 25
T-3rd - Kansas ----------- 2-1 --- 14-2 ----> NET Ranking #15 - AP 3, Coaches 4
T-3rd - Iowa State ------ 2-1 --- 13-3 ----> NET Ranking #9 - AP 24, Coaches 20
T-3rd - TCU -------------- 2-1 --- 13-3 ----> NET Ranking #29 - AP 19, Coaches 22
T-3rd - Kansas State --- 2-1 --- 12-4 ---> NET Ranking #75
T-7th - Houston --------- 1-2 --- 14-2 ----> NET Ranking #1 - AP 5, Coaches 5
T-7th - BYU --------------- 1-2 --- 14-3 ---> NET Ranking #5 - AP 20, Coaches 19
T-7th - Oklahoma ------- 1-2 --- 13-3 ----> NET Ranking #23 - AP 15, Coaches 16
T-7th - Cincinnati ------- 1-2 --- 12-4 ---> NET Ranking #33
T-7th - Texas ------------- 1-2 --- 12-4 ----> NET Ranking #59 - AP RV34, Coaches RV32
T-7th - UCF -------------- 1-2 --- 10-6 ----> NET Ranking #76
T-7th - West Virginia --- 1-2 --- 6-10 ----> NET Ranking #178
14th - Okla State ------- 0-3 --- 8-8 -----> NET Ranking #129

Nine (9) Big 12 teams are in the Top 37 teams in the country. three (3) more are in the Top 75 teams.

So far, Oklahoma has had one of the tougher schedules in the Big 12 with I-State, TCU and Kansas on their card. I would add TCU to that list of teams with a tough opening 3 games. TCU has played Kansas, OU and Houston. Oklahoma State has played Baylor, Tech and I-State also which is a very tough three games. West Virginia has played Houston, K-State and Texas and someway one one of those games as well.

Here is the schedule of mid-week games for the Big 12 Men:

Jan 16th Games:
• TCU (2-1) at Cincinnati (1-2) 6 PM ESPN+ – In their first 3 games, TCU played Kansas (L), OU and Houston and is 2-1. That is a big feather in TCU’s cap. In their first 3 games, Cincy played BYU, Texas (L) and Baylor (L) and is 1-2. A feather goes in their cap as well. But their NET rankings are 29 and 32 respectively. Playing in Ohio, can TCU keep the string going? Can Cincy defeat the upset leaders in TCU?
• Baylor (3-0) at Kansas State (2-1) 7 PM ESPN+ – Baylor’s 3 opponents are 2-7. K-State’s 3 opponents are 5-4. Baylor has a NET ranking 65 places above K-State. Can Baylor win on the road (their road win is at OSU) against a strong Big 12 team? The home court advantage seems huge in the Big 12.
• Kansas (2-1) at Okla State (0-3) 8 PM ESPN – In this case the home court advantage will not help, Kansas should win on the road on Tuesday night.
• Iowa State (2-1) at BYU (1-2) 8 PM ESPN+ – BYU lost their opener at home to Cincy. BYU needs to win this one against Iowa State at home badly. If Iowa State can win at BYU, it will be their first road win in the Big 12. Their Net rankings are 5 and 9, so the two teams should be the equal of other.

All three of the other Tuesday night games will be better than the ESPN game between Kansas at OSU. IMO, the Big 12 should have pushed for another game to be on ESPN.

Jan 17th games:
• West Virginia (1-2) at Oklahoma (1-2) 7 PM ESPN+ – WV’s defeat of Texas was not expected. (But I did enjoy it.) OU has played I-State, @ TCU and @ Kansas in their first 3. They need to even the record with a win over West Virginia. WV showed they are at least capable of picking up wins in the Big at home. OU cannot afford to overlook WV.
• Central Florida (1-2) at Texas (1-2) 7 PM LHN – Texas lost to Tech in their only home game so far, they need to give the home fans a win. UCF upset Kansas at home for their only win. If Texas wants to be in the Big 12 upper echelon, they have to win this game.
• Texas Tech (3-0) at Houston (1-2)8 PM ESPNU – Houston lost to I-State and TCU. Now they play the undefeated Red Raiders at home. They need to defeat Tech to avoid their third loss in four games in the conference. Tech has defeated Texas in Austin, and OSU and K-State at home. Can they step into the Fertitta Center in Houston and pick up a big win on the road? I do not think that the Red Raiders can do that.

[OUBeliever56A]

The results from Big 12 play for the men on Tuesday night were a bit surprising.

Cincinnati defeated TCU at home 81-77 in an overtime game. Cincy tied the score at 67-67 with 13 second left in the 2nd half. Both team missed two shots, Cincy two =free throws and TCU missed a free throw and a three to send the game to OT. TCU tied the score at 77 with 49 seconds left. Cincinnati scored the last four point of the game to win 81-77. Cincy moves to 2-2 and TCU falls to 2-2.

Kansas State won at home 68-64 over Baylor in a second overtime game for the night in the Big 12. K-State got a four-point play with 20 seconds left in OT to win the game. The win by K-State knocks Baylor out of the unbeaten ranks in the conference and moves both teams to 3-1 in conference.

Kansas won easily over Oklahoma State on the road 90-66. Kansas' front court scored 55 points in the game as five Jayhawks scored in double-figures. OSU is now 0-4 and 0-2 at home. Kansas is now 3-1. So far OSU with four losses in the conference has been outscored by 60 points in four games with 2 of the losses at home. That is four games against the top of the Big 12, but they are still struggling so far in conference.

BYU won at home over Iowa State by a surprising score of 87-72. BYU made 13 three's in the game and 5 Cougars in double digits with Spencer scoring 28 points. Both teams are now 2-2 in conference.

The home court advantage is huge ror the men in the Big 12 it looks like. Look at these results:

Game #1 - The home team won 4 of 7 games.
Game #2 - (mid-week) - The home team won 5 of 7 games.
Game #3 - The home team won 6 of 7 games.
Game #4 - (mid-week) - 1st half of 4 games - The home team won 3 of 4 games.

Overall, the home team has won 18 of 25 games for 72% home court wins.

[OUBeliever56A]

Here are the highlights of the Men's Big 12 play on Wednesday night.

UCF at Texas - The Central Florida Golden Knights upset the Longhorns on the road with a strong second half, 77 - 71. Texas held the lead at half time 44 to 32. But UCF roared back in the second half ad they outscored Texas 45 to 27 for the win. Texas led or was tied for the game until the 7:21 mark of the 2nd half when UCF took the lead 63-62 on a three-point shot. The lead toggled back and forth until the 2:51 mark when UCF again took the lead by 1 point at 69-68. From that point, UCF scored 8 points to only three for Texas. The win on the road by UCF lifts their record to 2-2 and the loss by Texas at home drops their record to 1-3 in the conference.

Texas Tech at Houston - Houston evened their conference record at 2-2 with a home victory over Texas Tech 77-54. Houston shot 52% at home to Tech's 36% for the easy win. Jamal Shead scored 29 points for Houston. Houston is now 2-2 while Texas Tech falls to 3-1.

West Virginia at Oklahoma - The Sooners got off slowly but lead by 4 at the half. The Sooners steadily built their lead in the 2nd half to win 77-63 over the Mountaineers. Jalon Moore scored 16 points to lead the Sooners. OU is now 2-2 while WV drops to 1-3.

The home teams have won 20 of 28 games in the Big 12 this season. (71.4%) In an oddity, Texas has lost both of their home games this season, along with OSU who is winless for the season in conference.

[EMan]

Here are the highlights of the Men's Big 12 play on Wednesday night.

UCF at Texas - The Central Florida Golden Knights upset the Longhorns on the road with a strong second half, 77 - 71. Texas held the lead at half time 44 to 32. But UCF roared back in the second half ad they outscored Texas 45 to 27 for the win. Texas led or was tied for the game until the 7:21 mark of the 2nd half when UCF took the lead 63-62 on a three-point shot. The lead toggled back and forth until the 2:51 mark when UCF again took the lead by 1 point at 69-68. From that point, UCF scored 8 points to only three for Texas. The win on the road by UCF lifts their record to 2-2 and the loss by Texas at home drops their record to 1-3 in the conference.

Not to get ahead of ourselves since OU has a road game at Cincinnati on Sat, but next Tues Texas* comes to the LNC. So, will the Horns rally and turn their season around, which a win in Norman would certainly do? Or is OU catching them at the right time and can further send Texas* into a full-blown tail-spin? What I find most interesting is the obvious frustration going on in Austin. It seems the major story coming out of the game last night wasn't necessarily that Texas* lost, but that the UCF players celebrated with the horns down gesture. Texas* HC Rodney Terry was so offended he had words with all the UCF players in the after-game handshake line, calling each one of them classless. On a side note, I actually find it kind of funny that not only Texas* fans, but Texas* coaches get so bent out of shape over a simple hand gesture. I guess throwing the horns down sign is akin to giving them the middle finger. I don't know. But I do think the citizens of Austin need to grow a skin and not be so mentally fragile. It just brings on more of it when opposing fans know it gets under their skin so much. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if they completely tank, or will they find an "us against the world" attitude and come out punching. The Horns have a game with Baylor on Sat in Austin. If they lose that one, they may be ripe for a hammering. Whatever the case, the game on Tues (with hopefully a rabid OU crowd) will be an interesting one to watch. And it certainly won't surprise me to see numerous references to the horns down sign by the OU students.

[Pokerman]

Here are the highlights of the Men's Big 12 play on Wednesday night.

UCF at Texas - The Central Florida Golden Knights upset the Longhorns on the road with a strong second half, 77 - 71. Texas held the lead at half time 44 to 32. But UCF roared back in the second half ad they outscored Texas 45 to 27 for the win. Texas led or was tied for the game until the 7:21 mark of the 2nd half when UCF took the lead 63-62 on a three-point shot. The lead toggled back and forth until the 2:51 mark when UCF again took the lead by 1 point at 69-68. From that point, UCF scored 8 points to only three for Texas. The win on the road by UCF lifts their record to 2-2 and the loss by Texas at home drops their record to 1-3 in the conference.

Not to get ahead of ourselves since OU has a road game at Cincinnati on Sat, but next Tues Texas* comes to the LNC. So, will the Horns rally and turn their season around, which a win in Norman would certainly do? Or is OU catching them at the right time and can further send Texas* into a full-blown tail-spin? What I find most interesting is the obvious frustration going on in Austin. It seems the major story coming out of the game last night wasn't necessarily that Texas* lost, but that the UCF players celebrated with the horns down gesture. Texas* HC Rodney Terry was so offended he had words with all the UCF players in the after-game handshake line, calling each one of them classless. On a side note, I actually find it kind of funny that not only Texas* fans, but Texas* coaches get so bent out of shape over a simple hand gesture. I guess throwing the horns down sign is akin to giving them the middle finger. I don't know. But I do think the citizens of Austin need to grow a skin and not be so mentally fragile. It just brings on more of it when opposing fans know it gets under their skin so much. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see if they completely tank, or will they find an "us against the world" attitude and come out punching. The Horns have a game with Baylor on Sat in Austin. If they lose that one, they may be ripe for a hammering. Whatever the case, the game on Tues (with hopefully a rabid OU crowd) will be an interesting one to watch. And it certainly won't surprise me to see numerous references to the horns down sign by the OU students.

Maybe I'm just slow, but I fail to understand why the horns down gesture is more classless or offensive than the hook'em horns gesture. But then I'm no horn and there's a lot about them I don't understand.