Stillwater, Okla. ? Four Big 12 schools have either been ranked No. 1 or defeated a team ranked No. 1 in the past seven days.
That pretty much clinches it.
The Big 12 is the nation’s best college basketball conference, not to mention the most exciting, given all the dramatic finishes.
West Virginia topped No. 1 Kansas a week ago today, and Iowa State knocked off No. 1 Oklahoma on Monday night. Baylor, by the way, entered the week in a four-way tie for first place.
Anyone not convinced of the power of the Big 12 should consider that Oklahoma is the nation’s top-ranked team and in six conference games has scored just 10 more points than it has allowed.
The average score for the Sooners (4-2 in the Big 12) is 83.3-81.7. Except for a 10-point victory vs. Kansas State, every OU conference game has been decided by five points or fewer.
So nobody, not even the school bidding for its 12th consecutive Big 12 title, is cruising to a first-place finish this season.
More than just development of Kansas University’s promising freshman big men, who are coming off encouraging yet inconclusive performances against TCU, will need to take root for Kansas to establish itself as the clear-cut favorite to win the conference.
Watching Bill Self search for the right big-man mix has been so compelling that a lesser, yet still real concern has escaped the spotlight.
KU’s perimeter depth hasn’t quite matched preseason expectations. Junior Brannen Greene and sophomore Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk have had their moments, but both players need to take a step forward soon, make their impact felt in a louder way, a way that could result in more rest for Frank Mason III.
Sure, Greene has shot 60 percent from three-point range, but Kansas could use more than the 4.6 points per game he has scored in conference play. He also needs to secure the basketball better. In 67 minutes in Big 12 games, Greene has committed eight turnovers and eight personal fouls and has had at least one of each in all five games.
Mykhailiuk, 18, has improved significantly, runs the floor well, keeps the ball moving and has become a driving threat. He has shown signs of improving as a three-point shooter, but still isn’t knocking them down nearly as well in games (.339 percentage) as in practice. Against quick teams, he tends to pile up fouls quickly.
It’s time for Greene, Svi, or both to come up big tonight in Stillwater.