Big 12 Basketball: December Power Rankings
Nov 27, 2015; Stillwater, OK, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys guard Jawun Evans (1) dribbles the ball as Long Beach State 49ers forward Gabe Levin (0) defends during the second half at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Cowboys won 79-73. Mandatory Credit: Rob Ferguson-USA TODAY Sports
6. Texas Longhorns
Record: 4-3
Notable games: lost to Texas AM 84-73, lost to Michigan 78-72
Overview: Welp. Shaka Smart has gotten off to a less than inspiring start to his coaching career at Texas. But it’s going to take time for him to get the right personnel on the team, and the Longhorns have already shown improvement as the season has gone along. After a disappointing loss to a very young Washington team to start the season, they took care of business against lesser teams, including beating Washington in a second meeting just a couple weeks later. Their only two other losses are to two likely NCAA tournament teams in Michigan and Texas AM, and they were right there in both meetings.
Isaiah Taylor is still shooting below 40% from the floor, and still can’t shoot a jump shot. He’s either the best player on the floor, or is the sole reason the Longhorns are losing. I was ready to crown him the best point guard in the Big 12 after his 27 point outing in the opener against Washington, but he followed that up with a six point, 1-7 outing against Texas AM Corpus Christi.
To make things even worse, the Longhorns aren’t forcing turnovers like a traditional Shaka Smart team, just 14 per game. They aren’t shooting the ball well, just 41% from the floor. They’re defending well enough in the halfcourt, but this bears repeating, if it isn’t obvious already: it may be a rough first year in Austin for Shaka Smart. I thought I was being generous putting them above Oklahoma State, quite frankly.
7. Oklahoma State Cowboys
Record: 5-3
Notable games: lost to Tulsa 66-56
The Cowboys have played nobody that really has a chance of making the NCAA Tournament, barring any big upsets in conference tournaments. Yet they sit at an unimpressive 5-3, mostly thanks to the health of Phil Forte. After playing in the Cowboys’ first two games of the season, Forte injured his elbow in their third game against Towson, and hasn’t played since. He has no time table for a return, and Oklahoma news outlets are already discussing the possibility of him taking a redshirt. But hey, maybe that could save Travis Ford’s job!
So because of this, even more onus has fallen on freshman Jawun Evans. While I’m not going to pretend that Evans has been unimpressive (averaging 10/4/4 on 48% from the floor), it’s just clear that he’s not going to carry this team on his back… yet. I think he could become that player down the road, however. The problem is, almost every other major contributor on this team, save for Leyton Hammonds and Jeffrey Carroll (who I don’t think are very good, anyway), are seniors. So, let’s just enjoy whatever remains of the Travis Ford show in Stillwater.
Next: The five-win hopefuls