Current KenPom ratings:
Biggest surprise so far is Kansas State.
103rd in offensive efficiency. Last yr, they were 134th in off eff. Missed the tournament
Disappointing so far. Any other suprises? Arizona State? UCF?
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Most disappointing loss is still Baylor’s loss to Gonzaga for me. Zags are obviously really good but 38 points is a crazy margin. Kansas is probably the only team that’s genuinely impressed me up to this point. Everybody else has either had a mixed bag of results or just beaten up on nobodies.
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Yeah i really dont wanna be a wet blanket, but I knew this was going to happen. If you want some straight talk on this league: it’s not like football, but also it is. We have had plenty of teams make deep runs, but its NEVER been on talent. Even Kansas.
We all can get blown out by skilled elite teams. Any of us can. Big 12 basketball has to be built up and earned over the course of a season the old fashioned way. You need to be old and gritty. Teams have to gel. You need to consistently win loose ball battles, get stops, and get to the free throw line. You have to win in the margins.
You want to see college basketball played the right way? The big 12 is your league. You want to see high powered offenses and NBA level skill befitting of these high rankings you see? You will probably be disappointed more often than not.
Baylor and Arizona are outliers. They arent really typical Big 12 teams. The rest of our top teams are. If you want fireworks, that’s where you should look. But it usually doesnt work out historically playing that way in this league.
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Yah I felt like the secret sauce for the Baylor title team was their toughness. In addition to being extremely skilled offensively they defended well and were tough on the boards. Definitely feels like they’ve strayed away from that.
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100%. Those 3 guards put them over the top. I dont wanna sound like scoring the ball isnt important, obviously its crucial. But the DNA has to be toughness.
Not sure I agree with that. Yeah, any team can lose to a team from another conference, but most of our teams can beat the best teams in other conferences, too. But getting blown out? Barring injuries, that ain’t happening to this Houston team, and it probably doesn’t happen to KU or ISU either.
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Ya i was probably over stating it a bit.
You’re probably more right than me. Gonzaga might beat any 3 of those teams, but they are gonna earn it on their back. Nobody is running a layup line on those squads. They will put you on your freaking butt to do it. Baylor isnt that team right now.
38 points? No way. But 12 points in a game you are clearly outgunned as a top 10 team is a blowout to me. Kind of depends on your definition. But yeah 38 points in inexcusable. So i agree with you actually.
Houston KU and ISU isnt losing by 38 to anybody. Somebody is gonna be on a stretcher before that happens lol
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Another point to make on that team is that they were a man-to-man squad. Because they were tough enough to do it.
Scott Drew is a HUGE zone guy. They usually play a lot of zone. Some of their best teams have been a 1-3-1 team and a 3-2 zone team, depending on how well their opponent shoots.
Credit to Scott Drew for recognizing they didn’t need to mess around with zone that year. The Big 12 is 100% a man to man league. And often times Baylor isnt up to the task to play man to man. They recruit very well, but they are generally more on the soft side compared to other teams in the Big 12.
Looks like they have committed to man to man this year, and its not been great for them. I think he sees they wont reach their ceiling without becoming a man to man team. So they are vulnerable right now. He’s actually a very good coach, but very weird and unconvential too. He likes to burn time ALL his timeouts early, for example. They are very much an outlier in this league.
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Also BYU is an outlier too. Should mention that. But in the best way. ISU really struggles with their skill and how they space it and take care of the ball.
My apologies to our BYU brothers. I see you.
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This is a totally new system this season. It will be interesting to see how it develops.
The defense isn’t looking great yet, but it shows potential. If the league play had started already BYU would be getting cooked, but the OOC was setup to give them time to figure it out.
Iowa State, Cinci, and Houston look great. I look forward to seeing more B12 teams play. I haven’t seen most of the league yet.
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Gtech provided very little resistance to UC even with UC on the road and without Dan Skillings & CJ Frederick.
Shot 41% from 3
52% from the field
Back to back road games I think helps this team grow.
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Brutal night for the B12
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Disappointed in the league so far. Shouldn’t matter though as long as we show out this week.
Hopefully ISU can take down Auburn tomorrow… That would be a huge win
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Ergh hmm.
Any thoughts?
I know you’re watching.
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Starting to think Iowa State is the best team in this league by a good margin. Houston is beatable. Kansas too. But Iowa State looks damn good. Top of this league is insane.
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Thaaaaaaank you!