Big 12 MBB Week 2 Recap and Power Rankings

You can find last week’s post here.

Overview:

Home Teams went 15-0

Ranked Teams went 8-0 against lower-ranked or unranked opponents

6 of 25 games were decided by 6 or fewer points

My Team of the Week: Houston – 4-0 on the week with big wins over Utah and Dayton

My Player of the Week: Hunter Dickinson (Kansas) – 27 points, 21 rebounds, and 3 steals against Kentucky

1. Kansas Jayhawks

Game 1: KU defeated Kentucky 89-84. Telling Stat: The Jayhawks outscored the Wildcats by 18 points in the paint. Standout Player: Hunter Dickinson (27 points, 21 rebounds, and 3 steals on 8/12 [67%] from the field).

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Stat to Know: The Jayhawks are 8^th in the nation in FG% defense.

Outlook: Kansas battled back against a talented Kentucky squad behind a herculean performance from Hunter Dickinson. The Jayhawks are the team to beat in the Big 12 until further notice.

2. Baylor Bears

Game 1: BU defeated Kansas City 99-61. Telling Stat: The Bears outscored the Kangaroos by 27 points from deep. Standout Player: Jayden Nunn (25 points, 1 rebound, and 4 assists on 8/9 [89%] from the field).

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Stat to Know: The Bears are averaging more offensive rebounds per game than any other team in the conference.

Outlook: Baylor finally blew out an opponent they way you’d expect from a top-tier team. Missi looks fantastic in the starting center position and Jayden Nunn is on fire right now.

3. Texas Longhorns

Game 1: UT defeated Rice 80-64. Telling Stat: The Longhorns outscored the Owls by 18 points from beyond the arc. Standout Player: Max Abmas (13 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal on 5/9 [56%] from the field).

Game 2: UT defeated Louisville 81-80. Telling Stat: The Horns outscored the Cardinals 16-4 off turnovers. Standout Player: Kadin Shedrick (27 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 1 block on 11/15 [73%] from the field).

Stat to Know: The Longhorns rank 22^nd nationally in 2P%.

Outlook: Texas flirted with disaster against Louisville before Max Abmas lifted the Horns over the Cardinals. This remains among the more balanced teams in the Big 12.

4. TCU Horned Frogs

Game 1: TCU defeated UT Rio Grande Valley 88-55. Telling Stat: The Frogs outscored the Vaqueros 20-4 in second-chance points. Standout Player: JaKobe Coles (16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals on 7/12 [58%] from the field).

Game 2: TCU defeated Mississippi Valley State 86-52. Telling Stat: The Horned Frogs outscored the Delta Devils by 33 points in transition. Standout Player: Emanuel Miller (13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks on 5/9 [56%] from the field).

Stat to Know: The Frogs are 2^nd among Big 12 teams in turnovers forced per game.

Outlook: TCU’s defense has been the story for this team in the early part of the season. They force a lot of difficult shots and turnovers and have impressively done so without committing a ton of fouls.

5. Houston Cougars

Game 1: UH defeated Stetson 79-48. Telling Stat: The Cougars outscored the Hatters by 29 points off turnovers. Standout Player: LJ Cryer (21 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, and 2 steals on 9/15 [60%] from the field).

Game 2: UH defeated Towson 65-49. Telling Stat: The Cougars outscored the Tigers by 9 points in transition. Standout Player: LJ Cryer (18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal on 6/14 [43%] from the field).

Game 3: UH defeated Utah 76-66. Telling Stat: The Cougars outscored the Utes by 12 points in the paint. Standout Player: J’Wan Roberts (13 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal on 5/6 [83%] from the field).

Game 4: Houston defeated Dayton 69-55. Telling Stat: The Cougars were +10 in rebounding margin. Standout Player: Jamal Shead (16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals on 7/13 [54%] from the field).

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Stat to Know: The Cougars have the best defense in the nation (per KenPom).

Outlook: Houston has finally played a pair of quality opponents and managed to dispatch each with relative ease. This looks like a typical Kelvin Sampson team, emphasizing defense and trying to get easy buckets in transition.

6. Iowa State Cyclones

Game 1: ISU defeated Grambling 92-37. Telling Stat: The Cyclones outscored the Tigers by 30 points in the paint. Standout Player: Tamin Lipsey (17 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals on 6/9 [67%] from the field).

Stat to Know: The Cyclones have the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the nation.

Outlook: While Iowa State has absolutely dominated every game they’ve played to this point, they still haven’t faced a team in the KenPom top 250. That’ll change this week.

7. Texas Tech Red Raiders

Game 1: Tech defeated Texas A&M Corpus Christi 73-64. Telling Stat: The Raiders outscored the Islanders by 15 points from the FT line. Standout Player: Darrion Williams (10 points, 14 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 block on 2/6 [33%] from the field).

Stat to Know: Tech ranks 3^rd nationally in scoring defense.

Outlook: The Raiders are undefeated despite their struggles shooting the ball. If they want to compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis this week, they’ll need to perform much better on the offensive end of the floor to complement their stifling defense.

8. Oklahoma Sooners

Game 1: OU defeated Texas State 93-54. Telling Stat: The Sooners outscored the Bobcats by 18 points in the paint. Standout Player: John Hugley IV (12 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist on 4/4 from the field).

Game 2: OU defeated UT Rio Grande Valley 90-66. Telling Stat: The Sooners outscored the Vaqueros by 16 points in the paint. Standout Player: John Hugley IV (16 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 assist on 6/8 [75%] from the field).

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Stat to Know: The Sooners rank 9^th nationally in 2P%.

Outlook: Oklahoma has continued its strong start to the season behind strong post-play from new starting center, John Hugley IV. The Sooners will face their first true test of the season this week.

9. BYU Cougars

Game 1: BYU defeated SE Louisiana 105-48. Telling Stat: The Cougars outscored the Lions 23-2 off turnovers. Standout Player: Fousseyni Traore (18 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals on 6/7 [86%] from the field).

Game 2: BYU defeated Morgan State 93-50. Telling Stat: The Cougars outscored the Bears by 28 points in transition. Standout Player: Noah Waterman (15 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks on 3/6 [50%] from the field).

Stat to Know: The Cougars rank 6^th nationally in assists per game.

Outlook: It’s all about balance for BYU. They have 7 players averaging 20+ minutes per game and all of those guys are averaging 9+ points per game.

10. Cincinnati Bearcats

Game 1: Cincy defeated Northern Kentucky 90-66. Telling Stat: The Bearcats outscored the Norse by 18 points from deep. Standout Player: Viktor Lakhin (14 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal on 6/11 [55%] from the field).

Stat to Know: The Bearcats rank 24^th nationally in 3P% defense.

Outlook: The 4-0 start for Cincinnati is somewhat cheapened by the fact that they still haven’t faced a KenPom top 150 team. They’ll need big man Viktor Lakhin to continue playing well if this team wants to sustain its hot start.

11. Kansas State Wildcats

Game 1: KSU defeated South Dakota State 91-68. Telling Stat: The Wildcats outscored the Jackrabbits by 21 points from beyond the arc. Standout Player: Cam Carter (25 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals on 10/20 [50%] from the field).

Game 2: KSU defeated Providence in overtime 73-70. Telling Stat: The Wildcats outscored the Friars by 6 points from the FT line. Standout Player: Tylor Perry (24 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal on 4/11 [36%] from the field).

Game 3: Miami (FL) defeated KSU 91-83. Telling Stat: The Hurricanes outscored the Wildcats by 24 points from deep. Standout Player: Arthur Kaluma (18 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 assists on 6/13 [46%] from the field).

Stat to Know: The Wildcats are averaging more than 16 turnovers per game (the worst among Big 12 teams).

Outlook: While Kansas State has been among the more disappointing teams in the conference through the first 2 weeks, this group has played the toughest schedule of any Big 12 team thus far. Their early struggles may make them stronger in the long-run, but they have a lot of room for improvement.

12. UCF Knights

Game 1: UCF defeated Cal State Fullerton 72-44. Telling Stat: The Knights outscored the Titans by 12 points in the paint. Standout Player: Jaylin Sellers (15 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists on 7/12 [58%] from the field).

Game 2: UCF defeated South Dakota State 83-80. Telling Stat: The Knights outscored the Jackrabbits 25-6 off turnovers. Standout Player: Avery Marchelus (22 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block on 7/16 [44%] from the field).

Stat to Know: UCF ranks 354^th in defensive free-throw rate (per KenPom).

Outlook: The Knights continue to struggle to shoot from beyond the arc. To make matters worse, they are sending their opponents to charity stripe 28 times per game. They are probably lucky to be 3-1.

13. West Virginia Mountaineers

Game 1: WVU defeated Jacksonville State 70-57. Telling Stat: The Mountaineers outscored the Gamecocks by 14 points in the paint. Standout Player: Kobe Johnson (19 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 block on 7/17 [41%] from the field).

Stat to Know: West Virginia has the lowest-scoring offense among Big 12 teams.

Outlook: The Mountaineers got a much-needed bounce-back win last week. We will know a lot more about this team this week as they compete in the Fort Meyers Tip-Off.

14. Oklahoma State Cowboys

Game 1: St. Bonaventure defeated OSU 66-64. Telling Stat: The Bonnies outscored the Pokes by 7 points from the FT line. Standout Player: Eric Dailey, Jr. (15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal on 6/10 [60%] from the field).

Game 2: Notre Dame defeated OSU in overtime 66-64. Telling Stat: The Cowboys shot just 10/33 [30%] from the field in the 2^nd half and overtime. Standout Player: Javon Small (29 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block on 8/18 [44%] from the field).

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Stat to Know: The Cowboys are the only team in the Big 12 with a negative rebounding margin thus far.

Outlook: This was a team that I thought might be a sleeper in the Big 12. Fortunately for them, outside of a date with Creighton at the end of the month, the remainder of the non-conference schedule for OSU should present ample opportunities for them to attempt to fix their numerous weaknesses.

Conclusion

This week, commonly referred to as Feast Week, will feature some of the best matchups we’ll see until conference play. Most of the Big 12 teams will be featured in tournaments or multi-team events (MTEs) this week, and we’ll know a lot more about most of these squads by the time we finish off those Thanksgiving leftovers. Sic Em!