Big 12 Rewind

Kansas Lots of growing pains, but plenty of talent. 13 players in the rotation but only 200 minutes of playing time per game. One or two will probably transfer out. But despite their struggles, this team can gel by February and surprise a few people in March. Bill Self is a darling at ESPN - they even carry his coaches show on ESPN-U. But can he deliver? Bruce Webber is having two great seasons with his players @ Illinois, Roy Williams won the championship with Matt Doherty's players, what has Bill Self done with Roy's players? An Elite 8 and a Bucknell :-) As charming as Bill Self is, he may be OVERRATED. Perhaps.

Texas The curse of "Turnaround Tom" is haunting the Longhorns? They have a couple of first rounders, but are they really a team? PJ Tucker is great when he plays to his strengths, but a perimeter player he is not. This team needs to do some soul-searching, but given the back-to-back blowouts (Duke, Tennesee), a WakeForest-style flake-out is possible in the post season.

Oklahoma This is one of the most overrated teams. Taj Gray is great, but then what?

Oklahoma State Lots of new pieces, this team lost as much as UNC and Georgia Tech did, so it will take a while to blend all the new pieces and recover from the injuries. But there is plenty of raw talent, despite losing Gerald Green to the NBA and Keith Brumbough to academics. Eddie Sutton is closing in on 800, and perhaps the Hall of Fame. They may depend on heroics at the conference tournement for an NCAA bid. On the other hand, as Bob Knight would say, for such a young and inexperienced team, an NIT run with a Final Four trip to MSG may be much better for the long run.

Iowa State They have the guards. They have many bigs but can they deliver? They lost two of their multiple bigs, and the ones lost were probably the ones that would have been most productive.

Texas Tech Never count out Bob Knight, but this team is young and struggling.

Texas A&M Cupcakes galore for Mr Gillespie, he will have to win big on the road in the Big 12 to earn an NCAA bid.

Kansas State Is this the year the triangle offense gets vindicated? This team looks good on paper so far, but no big Ws on the resume.

Colorado A team with ten thousand seniors on the roster is a rarity. Since they haven't beaten anyone of note in the preseason, they would need a solid Big 12 season with road wins.

Missouri What a mess Quinnnn Snyder is in. I bet Coach K is not happy his star pupil has failed so badly.

Nebraska There is promise if Joe McCray can get back in shape and play like ...a freshman. Promise for an NIT bid.

Baylor Sight unseen, without an OOC schedule, they probably have to win the Big 12 conference tournament to get an NCAA bid since they are officially in the NCAA dog house.