Big 12 Basketball: Power Rankings in the home stretch

5. Iowa State Cyclones, 18-7, 7-5 Big 12

Jameel McKay only missed two games due to his suspension, February 6 at Oklahoma State and February 10 at Texas Tech, not exactly world-beaters. McKay returned to action last Saturday, but came off the bench, scoring 8 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, and blocking 4 shots in the Cyclones’ victory.

I’m still very unsure of what McKay’s value really is to this Iowa State team. On one hand, Deonte Burton, McKay’s replacement in the starting lineup, averaged over 15 points per game in McKay’s stead. On the other hand, they allowed a very bad Texas Tech offense to shoot 53% from inside the arc, and an equally bad Oklahoma State offense to shoot 54% from the same area. Affecting shots inside the arc is where McKay’s value is felt.

On Saturday, Texas shot 50% from inside the arc. Still not a good number, but better, and McKay only played 22 minutes. On the season, the ‘Clones are allowing teams to shoot 48% from inside the arc, which is in the bottom half of teams in the country (via sports-reference.com). That’s a terrible number for a team that had national championship hopes coming into the season. This team probably had the most expectations of any team in the history of this program.

Their offense is still elite, with an offensive rating good for 30th in the country, and they’re shooting an other-worldly 73% at the rim (via hoop-math.com). But that only goes so far if they can’t stop the other team from scoring, too.

Next: Number 4