Big 12 Insider: Not long after NCAA drought, state of Texas takes basketball spotlight
It wasn’t too long ago that the state of Texas was making college basketball headlines for the wrong reasons. In fact, 2013 marked the lowest point in decades when none of the state’s 21 major college men’s basketball programs landed a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
But things have changed. Texas now is home to some of the best college basketball in the country, with a marquee early-season matchup on tap Sunday down the road in Waco.
No. 2 Baylor hosts No. 13 Texas as both open Big 12 play. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
The Bears have a loaded team, headlined by guard Jared Butler, who is averaging 15.3 points. Mark Vital is one of the country’s best defensive players.
Among Baylor’s notable wins is a 13-point victory over then-No. 5 Illinois on Dec. 2.
The Longhorns, meanwhile, are off to a promising start in Shaka Smart’s sixth season. Courtney Ramey and Matt Coleman III are leading the team in scoring and both are shooting better than 41% from 3-point range. Jericho Sims and Greg Brown have provided a nice inside presence as both are averaging at least six rebounds a game.
Texas has gone 1-1 against ranked opponents in nonconference play, defeating North Carolina and falling to Villanova.
Both teams are coming off easy nonconference victories on Wednesday. Baylor handled Stephen F. Austin 83-52, while Texas rolled Texas State 74-53.
But Sunday afternoon will be a good measuring stick for both teams, particularly Texas. Just how much buzz should Smart and the Longhorns be getting right now?
Since taking over Texas, Smart is just 2-9 against Baylor. His only victory in Waco happened in the 2015-16 season, his first year at the helm.
Sunday will be a telling sign as Smart continues to try and showcase why he deserved to keep his job. Fans have grown frustrated with Smart in recent years but he’s always brought in talent.
Now that talent is translating to wins. At least early on.
It’s good for the Longhorns. And it’s good for the entire state when looking at the big picture. College basketball is alive and well.
K-State’s embarrassment
College basketball is not alive and well in Manhattan, Kansas. In case you missed it, K-State had a humiliating loss to Division II Fort Hays State this week.
A Power Five program should not lose to a Division II program, particularly in the fashion the Wildcats did in an 81-68 loss. That was the first non-Division I program to beat a major conference team on the road since Texas A&M-Corpus Christi topped Texas Tech on Dec. 18, 2000, in Lubbock.
Listen, Bruce Weber is a good coach who has won two Big 12 regular-season conference titles and taken a team to the Elite Eight in his eight seasons. But ... Gregg Marshall is a free agent.
Would (or should) K-State give the disgraced coach a call this offseason should it move on from Weber?
Costly day in football
The Big 12 won’t play its entire conference football schedule.
The league announced Thursday that the Oklahoma-West Virginia and Texas-Kansas games scheduled for Saturday have been canceled. The Mountaineers have paused their football program for a week due to a spike of COVID-19 issues. The Longhorns are also dealing with a number of COVID-related.
These cancellations will have a significant financial impact across the league.
Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby told the Austin American-Statesman earlier this season that each conference game brings in $3.5 million in TV revenue for the Big 12. So the conference lost $7 million by canceling those games, or $700,000 for each school that would have been evenly distributed.
These are the only conference games that were completely canceled by the league. At least four teams (Iowa State, TCU, K-State and Texas Tech) have played an entire conference schedule with two more (Oklahoma State and Baylor) still scheduled to play this weekend.
By most measures, assuming the Big 12 gets through an entire conference season with only two games canceled amid the coronavirus pandemic, it has to be viewed as a success.
Oklahoma, by the way, will still play Iowa State for the Big 12 championship. The Sooners had already clinched a berth in the game.
Elsewhere in the Big 12
▪ The Big 12 had three quarterbacks land as semifinalists for the Fort Worth-based Davey O’Brien Award: Iowa State’s Brock Purdy; Oklahoma’s Spencer Rattler; Texas’ Sam Ehlinger.
▪ Fort Worth native and Oklahoma State standout WR Tylan Wallace is a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award. Wallace leads the Big 12 with 877 yards receiving.
▪ Cade Cunningham, the potential No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA Draft, has been as good as advertised. He’s leading the Big 12 in scoring and had his biggest night with 29 points against Oral Roberts on Tuesday. TCU gets a first-hand look next week as it travels to Stillwater for a game Wednesday night.
