With the new year beginning and teams already playing half of their regular season games, one can get a better view of how well teams might do in the big 12. Teams might play differently once confrence began but as of today this is how I see things unfolding. 1. Oklahoma 2. Texas 3. Baylor 4. Texas a&m 5. Texas Tech 6. Oklahoma st. Not sure about the north yet but you guys and gals feel free to provide your experties. Also I think the top seeds in the Ncaa tournament will be Uconn, Tenneesee, Maryland, & Stanford. One other thing. Texas will win in the sweet 16 round but lose inthe elite 8. If Erica comes back witch I doubt this year, Longhorns have a shot at final four.
wow....no bias in that post at all, huh? first off, there is no north/south in basketball. second, i don't think we are a better team than texas agricultural & mechanical or baylor. i think they are both better than us, but the margins are slimmer than most people thought/realize. third--how can you predict what we'll do in the tournament when you don't know the matchups nor the seed? i'm as happy as anyone else about our record and what this team has accomplished, but lets still look at this season rationally and realistically.
Ummm, Pancho, there actually is an artificial division some people consider the "north" part of our conference--K State, Nebraska, Iowa State, probably someone I'm forgetting. I think it's basically everyone not in TX or OK.
Too early to make any predictions. I don't think OU will win Big 12...at least I hope not. Texas has a long way to go but we are making huge strides. I think our team has been waiting to play this kind of ball. So they're all anxious and playing great ball while going through the learning curve. We will get banged up a bit in the season but by the end of the season we should be stronger mental and physically as well as prepared to play at the big dance. However if everyone stays on point and no injuries, next year we will dominate. Too early to say #1 seeds but I'm sure TN and UCONN are in the mix. I'm not sure how far TX will go in the dance but they should get out of the 1st and 2nd rounds. We could even upset a number 1 or 2 seed. I say that because we will have to bring it every game during conference play. Some teams have a cupcake conference and if our first or second game is against one of these teams we could surely upset them because we've been playing tough ball all conference and full speed is all we know. So if we catch a team on their off night yes, Texas could be that cinderella that makes it into the tourny further than some people expect.
I think his rankings were actually how he felt the entire Big 12 would turn out. I do think he's probably right that the Big 12 South fields the 6 best teams in the Big 12. I'd argue that on any given night 2-5 could swap places with each other, maybe even 2-6. The reality is that the teams of the South division will not be able to finish 1-6 because all it takes is for one North team to take care of business and they'll finish in the Top 4. The fact the North only has to play the South once while the South will beat up on each other twice makes it difficult for there to be a southern sweep.
Goodness. I think Roseville was just offering a topic and musing a bit on how the conference season and NCAAs would go for us. There is a bit of a North/South division in basketball in that we play "south" teams twice and the "north" teams once - wins could be more difficult in the "south division" with 5 teams in the south ranked at this time. Of course, all that could change -- CO is coming on, NB is competitive, ISU is always pesky, haven't checked on Kansas and KState recently, but it should be a great year for the Big XII . . . Go Horns!
This is looking like a pretty tough conference, regardless of north or south schools. Every school has a winning record through today (01-02-08). OSU and Tech lead the pack at 12-1. Baylor is at 11-1. KSU (8-5) and Mizzou (7-6) are at the bottom of the pack. In between, there are three teams at 11-2 (ISU, UT, and A&M), two at 10-2 (CU & KU), and OU at 9-2. Given that the Horns are a bit thin in the paint, I would be happy with a fourth place finish. OU, Tech and A&M should be fighting for the first three spots. Every team in the Big 12 has at least one solid post player and an outstanding guard. OU has the best post but Tech’s Seals should give her a run for that title. Per my burnt orange bias, I think a healthy Carla is the best PG in the conference. Brittainey is as athletic as any wing and faster than most. Kat is turning out to be one of the top freshmen in the Big 12. Ashley is long and quick enough to play against Courtney and Seals if she stays out of foul trouble. And she has improved offensively so much that they can’t afford to take any plays off when guarding her. Texas may not win the Big 12 but they have a good shot at making some noise in the NCAAs if they stay healthy and continue to improve as a team as they have been doing. I was hoping for the team to at least make the NCAAs this season at the start. I think they have a chance to get at least the Sweet 16, depending on matchups. Guess I’m expecting the South teams to dominate even though they have to play each other twice.
Here we go with the sniping again....Jeez, can't a poster just make a prediction without getting mauled? That being said, I KNOW you did not mean "Tech" fighting for for first in your last post, BAB.....you DID mean Baylor, right?? I agree with the posters who think that we will surprise a few folks...I do not think winning the Big 12 Tny is out of the question. We'll see, meanwhile, "Can't We All Just Get Along"?
Wow, really?? I thought Tech was really hurting this year?? I am not doubting you, (after all, you are the WBB "Guru"...) Just wondering what you base that on??
I know that there is really no north and south in the big 12 basketball league, but I really think that the best teams are in the quote on quote south. Also i do think that teams in the north might alot of times have better records than south teams because the south usually beat up on each other by playing each south teams twice. Maybe it will even out this year since there is several quality teams in the north this year and not just one or two like it usally is. By the way I think Texas is better than Texas A&m this year
Personally, I think we'll have the advantage over Tech, but I say that without any knowledge whatsoever about their team. Obviously, lack of knowledge doesn't keep me from having an opinion. Here's what the Pan-Am coach had to say about playing both UT and Baylor: They have different styles. I think the one thing we really stress is the offensive board (rebounding) ability, an ability that Texas collectively brings to the court. You have to collectively box out the entire Texas team. I feel that the depth of Texas was greater. And, I think tonight that Texas played faster than what Baylor plays, and that surprised me. They took a lot of shots quicker than what we expected and they just hammered us on the boards.
Thanks for the tidbits of what the UT Pan Am coach said. I'd like to think we are faster than Baylor - I don't doubt it either!
I haven't been paying attention to Tech, but I think we just might have the edge on Baylor this year. BU is definately a fantastic team and Kim an impressive coach, but if you compare mutual opponents so far, we have found a way to hit more baskets. It will be the defensive effort that will decide the game and we've got one of the best. The Ags scare me only because they always bring their A game when they play us. They can lose every other game, but if they beat us they are happy. OU will be tough. I am not a fan of Paris because the refs - for some reason - have decided to ref her differently because she is such a big player (something said by Coale not me). She should be in foul trouble as often as Stacey Stephens used to be. When you give someone that good even the slightest edge... well it will be hard to win. I hope for a split. I think Raven is our key this year. I got lucky enough to get floor seats to the game tonight and what stood out for me was Brit's attitude. On and off the court she was pumped up!! She comes to play and does what she can to pump her team up as well. Please god let Carla be OK. Everything above would need to be edited if she is out. And it would be nice to have EA back. Williams is another X factor who is getting better each game. I remember Jody Conradt once saying that Williams understood the strategy of the game better than any player she had coached. I have to admit. I have fallen head over heels for Coach G. She finds a way. If there is a problem with the game, she has it fixed by the second half. This team looks a hell of a lot better than it did in November and I gotta believe G isn't done giving homework. Hook 'Em.
I would say that the fouls for and against CP probably go both ways. I agree that she has a tendency to displace her defenders, but I also think that she absorbs a lot of contact that ends up not being called simply because she is not easily displaced. It is what it is and likely will not change. As far as changing the game, being big is not changing the game. It’s not as if future players are going to try to be 40 to 50 pounds over weight in order to gain an advantage in the paint. She is a unique player but her style of play is not going to revolutionize the game of women's basketball. The players that can play near or above the rim and the post players that can play multiple positions, such as Parker and Baugh from Tennessee, are doing that. I can hardly wait to see Brittney Griner play a college game.
