Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big 12 Basketball: 5 biggest takeaways from first month of 2019-20

By Zach Stearman

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 05: Udoka Azubuike #35 and Devon Dotson #1 of the Kansas Jayhawks react in the first half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 05: Udoka Azubuike #35 and Devon Dotson #1 of the Kansas Jayhawks react in the first half of their game against the Duke Blue Devils at Madison Square Garden on November 05, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
LUBBOCK, TX – FEBRUARY 27: Lindy Waters III #21 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX – FEBRUARY 27: Lindy Waters III #21 of the Oklahoma State Cowboys (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Big wins and upset losses out of conference

The was plenty of turnover in the rosters of almost every Big XII team, and that has led to some inconsistent results so far in out of conference play. Nearly every team in the conference can point to a big win on their resumé, but each team also has a loss with many coming in surprising fashion.

The middle of the conference has really failed to separate themselves from each other so far due to these up and down performances. West Virginia is a candidate to be the third-best team in the conference, and they have good wins over Pittsburgh and Wichita State. They lost to a mediocre St. John’s team over the weekend, however, in a game that saw them commit 22 turnovers and shoot 42% from the free throw line.

Oklahoma State looked like a contender for the number three Big XII slot after blowing out Ole Miss 78-37, but they followed up that performance with back to back losses to Georgetown and Wichita State. Iowa State has one of the best wins this season, beating Seton Hall 76-66, but they already have three losses including those same Seton Hall Pirates in the Battle for Atlantis. Texas has a seemingly very strong win on the road over Purdue, but the Longhorns haven’t inspired much confidence outside of that game. Georgetown easily handled Texas, and the Longhorns even struggled with lowly McNeese State.

Oklahoma and TCU have been solid yet unspectacular. Oklahoma looks like the better of the two so far with senior forward Kristian Doolittle playing at an extremely high level. Still, both of these teams look like they will be near the bubble for most of the season.

Overall, the conference is filled with teams brimming with potential. We haven’t seen things come together for anyone outside of Kansas and Baylor to this point, and with time running out in out of conference play, things will need to stabilize quickly if the Big XII is looking for more than six NCAA tournament bids.

Home/Big 12