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Yesterday we previewed the first half of the mess that is replacing quarterbacks in the Big 12 (seven of the league’s ten teams lose their starter to graduation). Here are the final four on the list before we look at how K-State’s (unnamed) starting quarterback will once again be the best in the land.

Texas: Texas actually returns a starter in David Ash. I will not say Texas returns a starter I’d like to see under center for the Wildcats. Fact: Ash did pass for 50 more yards than Collin Klein. He was also not featured against the Wildcats last year. He missed the 42-24 thrashing while injured on the bench, leaving Case McCoy to throw two interceptions in that game. Texas quarterbacks do not scare me.

Texas Christian: TCU finds itself with a comparatively embarrassing glut of talent at quarterback. Trevone Boykin was thrust into the starting position last year and helped lead the Horned Frogs to a 7-5 regular season record and a close 17-16 loss to Michigan State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. However, Casey Pachall also returns after undergoing a rehabilitation program last year. Pachall has started 17 games and led TCU to an 11-2 record in 2011.

Texas Tech: Mike Leach’s air raid offense is technically gone, but the statistics weren’t for outgoing Seth Doege this year. Doege tied West Virginia’s Geno Smith for third in passing yardage this year and completed over 70 percent of his throws. Michael Brewer appears to be the frontrunner to replace him, though freshman Davis Webb will push Brewer all season.

West Virginia: While K-State certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Smith for one more rodeo (he was held to only one touchdown and two interceptions while averaging 4.5 yards/attempt when the Wildcats visited Morgantown), there’s no denying he was the most saught-after quarterback from the Big 12 this draft. Ford Childress and Paul Millard battled to play the role of replacement throughout spring training camp. A Florida State transfer, Clint Trickett, will also be available at the start of the season for a wide-open contest.

Click here for our review of the first half of the conference.

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When K-State takes the field against North Dakota State in late August this year, who will assume the starting quarterback spot remains an open question. What is known is that whoever starts under center, they will have a solid chance to earn all-conference honors in what should be a wide open race for quarterback of the year in the Big 12 in 2013.

The Big 12 lost more talent at the QB position than any other league this year: Collin Klein, Landry Jones, Nick Florence, and Geno Smith have all moved on. In fact, seven starting quarterbacks in the Big 12 last year were seniors and their departures leave a dearth of experience.  With so much turnover and turmoil, The Jug provides a quick look at what the conference has to offer (in two parts!), and what this means for K-State:

Baylor: Departing quarterback Nick Florence led the league in passing yards last year with 4,309 and completed 61.6 percent of his passes. He likely would have been picked up as an undrafted free agent should he have chosen to attempt a career in the NFL, but chose instead to continue his studies and will receive his master’s degree in December. The team has no proven quarterback returning, and junior Bryce Petty (ten attempts in 2012, seven completions) is expected step into the role.

Iowa State: Iowa State will be unveiling both a new quarterback and a new formation as the Cyclones have committed to running the pistol this upcoming season. With leading quarterback Steele Jantz gone and Jared Barnett announcing his transfer in January, Iowa State will look to either Sam Richardson or Grant Rohach. Richardson was third on the depth chart last year and did throw for 541 yards in four games. Barnett was featured in the game against K-State, completing just 16 of 36 passes.

Kansas: Starter Dayne Crist has exhausted his eligibility and was extended a mini-camp invite by the Kansas City Chiefs. However, Crist fell out of favor in the second half of the season and the team is happy to fully turn the reigns over to Jake Heaps. The transfer from BYU sat out last year and played in 22 games for the Cougars. Redshirt sophomore Michael Cummings will also see time, as he saw time in eight games last year (notably the second half against K-State when Crist was pulled after a disastrous start to the second half).

Oklahoma: Landry Jones entered the 2012 season a Heisman hopeful until his team was limited to under 20 points against K-State IN NORMAN while throwing an interception and fumbling away a football which K-State recovered in the end zone. Blake Bell, who saw a lot of goal line time last year due to his size and ability to punch through quarterback sneaks, will get the first opportunity to replace him. K-State fans will remember Bell for trying to run one of those infamous sneaks last year, only to fumble the ball (and a chance to win the game) away.

Oklahoma State: The Cowboys had a veritable merry-go-round of quarterbacks last year due to injuries. Clint Chelf, J.W. Walsh and Wes Lunt all return after having started at least one game each last year. They have been named co-starters. Lunt started the game against K-State last year as a freshman, but threw three interceptions and left with an injury in the third quarter. He also had 184 yards and one touchdown when Chelf came in to replace him. Chelf was 16/27 and had only one interception to his one touchdown pass, but neither player left Manhattan feeling good about the team’s 44-30 loss.

Edit: 12 hours after this post went up, it was announced that Wes Lunt would seek to transfer from Oklahoma State.

To read the second half our analysis, click here.

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The Big 12 Conference tournament is always a grind, and first round byes are valued not only because they ensure matchups against lower seeds, but players are more rested should one’s team travel deep into the bracket. Teams play every night until they lose, and assessing the likelihood of success often hinges on how fresh a team’s legs are. Nowhere was that more evident than the 2009-2010 team’s NCAA run. The Wildcats earned a #2 seed that year and swept aside North Texas and BYU in the first two games. Then, in the Sweet Sixteen, the Wildcats were forced into a draining contest against Xavier that required two overtimes and led CBS Sports to dub it “one of the best games in the history of the Sweet 16.” The game began at 8:30 and ended around midnight. Jacob Pullen logged 40 minutes in that game, Curtis Kelly had 43, and Denis Clemente 48 – only allowed two minutes of rest the entire night. 36 hours later, K-State lost to Butler in a game the Wildcats struggled to run down lose balls and fight for rebounds. Butler went on to face Duke in the National Championship, while K-State fans were left to wonder what if… following the Elite Eight loss.

For the University of Kansas, the semifinals got ugly as a 62-40 over Texas Tech lead with 10 minutes left ballooned to 91-63 by the end of the game. Only two KU players saw more than 30 minutes of action (Ben McLemore – 32 – and Travis Releford – 31). 14 players saw playing time, and 11 saw at least five minutes. Iowa State had a more difficult dispatching Oklahoma, winning 73-66. The Cyclones’ key players all logged more playing time.

On the other side of the bracket, Kansas State easily downed Texas 66-49, and had a solid rotation of big men with D.J. Johnson and Thomas Gipson each playing for 15 minutes and Jordan Henriquez 10. Gipson likely would have received more playing time, but was saddled with early foul trouble and finished with four on the night in limited minutes, opening the door for Johnson to see enhanced time while scoring a season high eight points. Johnson is still raw and it would be unwise to expect that sort of contribution on both ends of the court from him every night, but limiting Gipson’s playing time is a good thing if it doesn’t put the team in jeapordy. Henriquez was limited due to back problems, and his status going forward is shaky.

Another question mark is Will Spradling, who played 24 minutes while attempting to work back into the rhythm of the game following a bruised sternum suffered against Texas in late February. The injury has made breathing so painful Spradling had to miss two games, only played five minutes of a third, and was unable to practice. Although he was able to contribute 24 minutes Thursday night, fatigue may be an issue Friday and Saturday as his body is not used to being forced to recover. Atrophy sucks when your opponents are in prime shape.

Facing the Wildcats will be an Oklahoma State team that should have rested its starters early but failed to maintain a huge halftime lead against Baylor and ended up squeaking by, 74-72. In addition to minutes, time of game may be an issue here as well. Oklahoma State’s game did not conclude until around 10:45, meaning the Cowboy players probably got back to their hotel rooms around midnight – later if they ate somewhere other than the hotel after the game. This isn’t a pity party for OSU – K-State played a night game as well, and the Cowboys narrowly avoided overtime (largely due to a bad foul call against Baylor with 2.6 seconds left, but that’s an article for someone else to write). However, should Oklahoma State advance to the finals and be expected to play a KU squad that was already hydrating and resting their legs before the sun even went down Thursday, there’s an undeniable advantage built into the equation. Of course, that’s the advantage of being the #1 seed. If you don’t like it, win the conference next year.

Feb 5, 2013; Lubbock, TX, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bruce Weber shouts instructions to guard Rodney McGruder (22) in the second half at the United Spirit Arena. Kansas State defeated Texas Tech 68-59. Mandatory Credit: Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

Rodney McGruder was one of three Wildcats to be recognized by the league, while Bruce Weber was awarded Coach of the Year, during the Big 12′s annual regular season awards ceremony on Sunday. McGruder, who has found himself on several postseason watch lists, was expected to land on the Big 12′s First Team. The senior has led the team in both points (15.1) and minutes (32), and was also named a First Team All-Conference player by both ESPN and the Kansas City Star. His selection marks just the third Kansas State player to have received the recognition, joining Michael Beasley and Jacob Pullen.

In addition to McGruder’s accolades, Angel Rodriguez was awarded Second Team recognition on Sunday. The sophomore has brought consistency to play that showed flashes of brilliance last year, providing lockdown defense and constantly finding ways to create opportunities for teammates. Rodriguez is second on the team in points (11.5), and leads the team in assists (5.5) per game. His assist average is the second-highest in school history, trailing only Jim Roder’s 1983-84 record of 5.62. Additionally, Shane Southwell received All-Big 12 honorable mention. Southwell was expected to contribute more offensively this year, although his 8.3 points per game are accompanied by an amazing 45.5 shooting percentage from three. The tallest of the team’s four starting guards, Southwell has been largely asked to step up and guard bigger players this year while helping the Wildcats to the league’s best defense.

The least drama of the night was the selection of Bruce Weber as the league’s Coach of the Year. Kansas State was picked to finish 5th in the conference this year and came into the season unranked. The Wildcats were only 10-8 in 2011-12, watched head coach Frank Martin depart for South Carolina, and graduated two of the best players in recent memory in PG Jacob Pullen and F Curtis Kelly (Pullen is the only Wildcat to be named All-Big 12 First Team twice). In addition to losing its floor leader and best inside presence to graduation, three players transferred to other schools at the end of the year. In spite of all this, Weber managed to reach #8 in the country at one point in the season, finished #11, and won a share of the Big 12 regular season title along with KU. Despite the media’s low expectations, K-State finished 25-6 on the season with a 14-4 mark in conference play. Weber has had a healthy dose of talent to work with, but has also done a great job of squeezing every ounce of it out of his players. This team is marked by the same defensive tenacious that previous Wildcat teams trademarked, and there was little doubt of how deserving of the award he was.

The Wildcats are the number two seed in the Big 12 tournament, and will take on the winner of TCU/TX on Thursday.

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Kansas State, finishing their Big 12 slate of games with a 14-4 record, will be the number two seed in the Big 12 conference tournament. The tournament, hosted in Kansas City’s Sprint Center, kicks off Wednesday when West Virginia and Texas Tech face off. Texas and TCU will play the late night Wednesday game. WVU and Tech, with the number eight and nine seeds, will battle for the opportunity to take on KU in the second round, while K-State will face the winner of #7 Texas and #10 TCU.

Also on K-State’s side of the bracket are #3 Oklahoma State and #6 Baylor. Should the Wildcats defeat their first two opponents, they would advance to the Championship where they would likely play KU, although Iowa State and Oklahoma are both upset contenders.

The Wildcats would probably prefer to play TCU in their first game, as the Horned Frogs only won two conference games this year and finished the regular season 11-20. However, Texas Christian remains an odd entity with its victory over Kansas earlier this year, demonstrating potential to knock off anyone. Additionally, although K-State won both games by double digit margins, it had a difficult ever putting TCU away. Texas, on the other hand, went 7-11 in league play and finished 15-16. Although Texas appears to be a better team on paper, the Wildcats had a much easier time handling the Longhorns. Their first meeting was a 25-point victory,83-57, that was essentially over at halftime. They also won in Austin, 81-69. Both potential match ups should fall in K-State’s favor.

The next round of play could be more interesting. K-State finished the season 1-1 against Oklahoma State, with each team winning at home (73-67 in Manhattan, and 76-70 in Stillwater yesterday). The two teams match up well, and predicting the outcome of the game could be a crapshoot with each squad winning by six at home. However, a couple of factors should be considered surrounding their second meeting: Will Spradling is still injured, and should be healthier in five days, and K-State was definitely the recipient of a bogus foul call that halted a 6-0 run and allowed Oklahoma State the opportunity to get back in a game it was quickly falling behind in. And playing in Kansas City on a Friday night, the Wildcats are guaranteed to turn out more fans than Oklahoma State.

K-State went 2-0 against Baylor, with a monster 81-61 win in Manhattan and 64-61 squeaker in Waco punctuated by this last second shot by Rodney McGruder. Spradling completely missed the game in Waco, which suggests the Wildcats would have had an easier downing the Bears with him in the line up. However, Baylor is an extremely talented team – it defeated KU 81-58 on Saturday in a game the Jayhawks were never competitive in. This was an Elite Eight squad last year, and many predicted they wouldn’t miss a beat this year. When Pierre Jackson is on, this team has the talent to run with anyone, from Kansas to Indiana to Michigan.

In the end, who you want to face is a risk/reward proposition. It’s a function of your odds of winning combined with how much the win boosts your resume, in addition to what you have to gain/lose. K-State is looking like a likely #3 seed in the NCAA tournament. A two seed was possible, but the Wildcats needed to beat Oklahoma State yesterday and run through the Big 12 tournament. Since that can no longer happen, this team is playing to avoid falling, not rise. As such, Baylor is probably the preferable opponent. There may be a lot of talent on this squad, but their record (9-9, 18-13) is still a mediocre record. Oklahoma State (13-5, 23-7), on the other hand, is still the #13 team in the nation and has proven it can beat the Wildcats. National freshman of the year candidate Marcus Smart has only gotten throughout the season, and Le’Bryan Nash has frustrated K-State’s interior defense twice this season. Root for a rematch with Baylor in this one.

No matter what, The Jug is rooting for an opportunity against Kansas in the championship game. Sure, the path of least resistance makes the journey easier, but winning the tournament by defeating Oklahoma just wouldn’t feel the same. A loss to KU won’t help achieve the team’s goals, but as fans, we need that game. The final will be at 5 p.m. on Saturday, and hosted on ESPN. The Big 12 recently moved its championship game from Sunday to Saturday, believing the selection committee (which meets Sunday afternoon) failed to take into consideration winning the Big 12 tournament when awarding seeds.

Here’s ESPN’s schedule of events:

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Another week, another showing of domination at the top of the conference standings. The team with the better conference record won every game on Saturday (although Oklahoma and Iowa State were both 9-6 before facing off last night). In fact, Texas exploding for 92 points to beat Oklahoma at home on Wednesday was the only upset in ten games played last week. All of the excitement remains at the top of the conference, with K-State and KU still tied for first while Oklahoma State trails by a game; there appears to be clearer separation everywhere else. A quick look at the league’s current standings:

With only one week left before the Big 12 conference tournament, let’s look at how the teams are playing right now:

10. TCU
Texas Christian looks ready to run the table on last place from beginning to end, and the more the Horned Frogs lose, the crazier that win against the Jayhawks looks. TCU had an opportunity to bring Texas Tech down to its level, but lost 72-63 to solidify its basement dwelling status. This program has to get better in the future, with its placement in the Dallas metro area and ability to sell recruits on playing in the Big 12. None of that changes the product it’s put on the court this year.

9. Texas Tech
Texas Tech collected its third win of the year yesterday, but two of those victories came at the expense of lowly TCU. While Tech is on a one game winning streak, the Red Raiders have lost nine of their past ten. During that streak, they lost more games by 20+ than not.

8. Texas
We shouldn’t revel in this. We really shouldn’t. But Texas, with its unlimited financial resources and first pick of available recruits, hasn’t been relevant in either football or basketball for a long time now. Rick Barnes may return next season, but the coach’s seat sure is warming up.

7. West Virginia
West Virginia won both games against Texas this year to get the nod over the Longhorns, but this isn’t a season that Bob Huggins is proud of. This team can harass opponents, but can’t hit shots to save its life. Once a team finds its rhythm against the Mountaineers, it’s usually game over for WVU.

6. Baylor
Here’s your bold statement of the month so far: this is the most talented team that won’t make the NCAA tournament. That’s because in spite of Pierre Jackson and Isiah Austin offering one of the best point guard/center duos in the country, Baylor doesn’t appear to deserve a spot. Sure, they played K-State ridiculously close last night. The Wildcats also beat the Bears at home by 20. This is a team equipped to make a run, but that run may have to be in the NIT. Baylor plays travels to Texas Monday night, and will use the rest of the week to rest before hosting KU on Saturday for its final chance to do something impressive this year. Baylor will need to beat KU to finish the season with a winning record in conference play.

5. Iowa State
Iowa State is the unluckiest team in the nation. Three overtime games (one in double overtime). All losses. Two of those defeats were to KU, one of which included the most atrocious no-call of the year. James H. Hilton Coliseum remains one of the most intimidating venues in the Big 12, and the Cyclones host #15 Oklahoma State on Wednesday with a chance to get back on track after two straight losses.

4. Oklahoma
Oklahoma remains in a tier all to itself. Not talented enough to run with the conference’s big three, its still clearly better than the bottom six. This was reinforced by its 86-69 defeat of Iowa State on Saturday. With games against West Virginia and TCU left on the schedule, the Sooners should enter the Big 12 tournament with momentum.

3. Oklahoma State
The Cowboys will have a chance to prove it belongs in the same breath as the two schools from Kansas this week when it travels to Ames and hosts Kansas State. Since losing in double overtime at Kansas, the Cowboys have won three straight against the bottom half of the league. That loss was the only hiccup over the past five weeks.

2. Kansas State
The Wildcats could have dropped a spot here last night. After a fast start, Baylor seemed to outplay K-State the rest of the half in a game that KSU still went into the locker room up by one, but probably should have been down by four or five. However, K-State would go on to win its craziest game of the year to keep pace with KU for first in the Big 12.

1. Kansas
Sure, K-State holds the same record as KU and will technically share the Big 12 crown if both teams win out. But don’t let the records fool you – KU is playing better basketball right now. During the overtime game against Iowa State, Elijah Johnson contributed 39 points. And yesterday against West Virginia, Ben McLemore netted 36 of his own. The Wildcats should go far in the tournament, but this team has the players capable of taking over a game and bringing a national championship home.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Another week, another showing of domination at the top of the conference standings. KU broke the three-way logjam at the top by topping Oklahoma State in double overtime Wednesday night in a defensive slugfest, 68-67. That leaves KU and K-State tied at the top at 11-3 apiece, with KU holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. A quick look at the league’s current standings:

With only two week’s left before the Big 12 conference tournament, let’s look at how the team’s are playing right now:

10. TCU
The inexplicable victory over KU earlier this season let the Jayhawks seething, and the Horned Frogs caught KU at the wrong time yesterday. TCU was down 38-9 at halftime in its most embarrassing loss of the season so far – a bold statement given how TCU has been performing.

9. Texas Tech
One of Texas Tech’s two conference wins came against TCU, although that was back on January 5.  The two meet up again to determine who owns the cellar this Saturday in Lubbock. The Red Raiders were unable to get fans to come out Tech hosted K-State earlier this month, and the arena should have about as much energy as a high school game at tip-off.

8. West Virginia
Does West Virginia have a better conference record than Texas? Yes. Did the Mountaineers sweep the season series? Truthfully. However, it’s hard argue that WVU isn’t playing the third worst basketball in the Big 12 right now. West Virginia remains the only school with a player averaging double figure scoring – Aaric Murray leads the team with 9.2 per game, whose players are shooting 40.5 percent on the year – good enough for 297th in the nation.

7. Texas
Texas beats West Virginia solely on the basis its shooters can occasionally find the basket. While the victories weren’t impressive (at TCU, double overtime versus Iowa State), the Longhorns have still won two of their past four. There will be no NCAA tournament for this team, and even an NIT bid is unlikely, but Rick Barnes is showing a willingness to call his players out by name in making a late push for pride.

6. Baylor
Baylor made itself the most mediocre team in the league this year. There is nothing remarkable to say about this team, good or bad. Well, there is one bad – a loss to RPI #152 Charleston back on November 24. The Bears have been smacked with the most difficult remaining schedule in the conference – in addition to opportunities to distance themselves from Texas and West Virginia with visits to both teams, they most also host co-leaders Kansas and Kansas State. While Baylor is a 12 seed in Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology, they’ll have to work to keep that spot.

5. Iowa State
Following a mid-season slump the Cyclones have bounced back to win three straight with a homestand against KU Monday night. Both teams have evolved since, but recall that Iowa State kicked off league play by taking the Jayhawks into overtime at Allen Fieldhouse. Overall on the season, ISU is 2-3 against the RPI top 25 with victories over Kansas State and Oklahoma – teams that still clearly in a different category of talent.

4. Oklahoma
Although the spot is technically number four, Oklahoma is more team 3A in the conference right now. Since taking Oklahoma State to overtime in Stillwater, the Sooners have a pair of 15-point victories under their belt and have games against ISU, Texas, West Virginia, and TCU left. Write this team in for the fourth and final bye in the Big 12 tournament.

3. #14 Oklahoma State
The Cowboys have done a solid job of remaining ranked since league play started, and damn near defeated KU before succumbing in overtime on Wednesday. Maybe if they manage to down K-State and finish second, they can move up to the top two. However, while Oklahoma houses the third and fourth best teams in the Big 12, the best two still reside in Kansas.

2. #13 Kansas State
Although tied at 11-3 with KU, the Wildcats need some help to win the conference due to Kansas winning the season series. For the second straight game, K-State built a big second half lead but let its opposition chip away in the final minutes before putting Texas away, 81-69. Three games left that the Wildcats should win, then a big visit to Oklahoma State to conclude the season. Short of an uncharacteristic loss, this team looks to be a lock for a three or four seed.

1. #9 Kansas
This is the last team anyone wants to play right now – with the possible exception of Oklahoma State for the potential to break the 1-1 tie they have. However, it would be advisable for teams in any conference to avoid facing a Jayhawk team that only allowed TCU to score nine points in the first half on Saturday. If Kansas beats Iowa State on Monday night, expect them to coast to another regular season championship.

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Kansas State suffered a harsh loss to KU, but it wasn’t enough to shake the confidence of AP voters that ranked the Wildcats #13 in this week’s poll. A team that goes down 20 points in the first half and never comes back generally doesn’t find itself in the top 15 the next week, but a huge bounce back win against Baylor – 81-61 – certainly helped soothe the sting. The three spot drop from #10 the prior week was at the expense of KU, which moved up five spots to number nine overall in the nation. The team’s are separated by Louisville, Georgetown, and Arizona.

Trailing immediately is Oklahoma State, which climbed another three spots and are 14th overall on the heels of their league-leading seven game winning streak. The Cowboys beat Texas Tech and Oklahoma last week. Movement is virtually guaranteed next Monday thanks to a big match up in Stillwater Wednesday night. Kansas travels to Oklahoma State that night in a meeting of two of the Big 12′s teams tied for first place.

While OSU and KU fight for first place in the league, K-State looks to stand a great chance of maintaining their tie atop the Big 12. As of this writing, the Wildcats are leading WVU at halftime by the score of 33-20, but have the Mountaineers in serious foul trouble while doing an excellent job of rotating players in and out to keep everyone fresh. K-State must also travel to Texas on Saturday, but the Longhorns (11-14, 3-9) don’t look ready to put up a strong fight, despite recently getting guard Myck Kabongo back from a 23-game suspension. At 20-5 overall, with a 9-3 conference mark, K-State is off to one of its greatest starts in the modern era.

Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports

While Kansas State and KU both pulled off dominating performances last night, Oklahoma State was able to top Oklahoma in overtime to stay in the race for the regular season league championship. And while the three-way logjam remains at the top, another three teams are tied at 7-5 for fourth place in the conference. The Big 12 usually sorts itself out at some point, but it looks ready to go down to wire in determining order in 2012-13.

10. TCU (10-15, 1-11)
The fact that TCU’s lone win was at KU’s expense remains one of the most inexplicable of the season. In fact, according to Ken Pomeroy’s standings, it was the biggest upset of the season. David soon returned to form by incurring a 13-point loss to West Virginia, 27-point loss to Oklahoma, and 34-point loss to Iowa State yesterday. There really is no way to explain that victory over the Jayhawks.

9. Texas Tech (9-14, 2-10)
With the head-to-head win over TCU, the Red Raiders avoid a last place ranking. They haven’t done much else this season. The Red Raiders are last place in turnovers, which has led them to last in turnover differential (-2.6). Tech did show up yesterday against West Virginia, going on the road and playing the Mountaineers to 66-64. You know your team has problems when bragging rights are relegated to almost beating a mediocre team.

8. Texas (11-14, 3-9)
Sure, the Longhorns have three wins in the conference, but Saturday almost made The Jug drop UT to last after the dropped a 73-47 decision to KU. Between Texas, Texas Tech, and TCU, there is no state playing worse basketball than Texas (Big 12 traitor Texas A&M has a losing record in an awful SEC conference to boot). Texas is tied with Kansas for most offensive rebounds/game in conference play, but all those rebounds are coming from the extreme bounces of missed threes. Texas is last in the league with an awful .245 percentage from behind the arc.

7. West Virginia (13-12, 6-6)
Bob THuggins probably expected an easy transition from the Big East to the Big 12. While UConn, Syracuse, and the rest of those teams knock each other around, the Big 12 was supposed to be a collection of second-tier competitors. So it makes The Jug smile to see Huggins struggling to navigate the league in his first year. West Virginia got to six wins by beating TCU, Tech, and Texas twice apiece. With no wins against any other teams and no games left against the basement dwellers, the chances of this team entering the tournament conversation are absolutely toast. Not a single player averages over ten points on this team.

6. Iowa State (17-8, 7-5)
This is where picking an order becomes akin to throwing darts. The Cyclones are tied with Baylor and Oklahoma at 7-5, have played each team once, and won both games. They should be in the number four spot, but a double overtime loss to Texas last Wednesday wins you no love on this page. A trip to Baylor this Wednesday will help provide some clarity to these rankings – at least temporarily. Iowa State does lead the Big 12 with 75.7 points per conference game.

5. Baylor (16-9, 7-5)
Baylor has been a mildly pleasant surprise in the Big 12 given their lackluster out-of-conference. The Bears have done it with defense, and rank second in the league in several categories (scoring defense, opponent FG percentage, blocks, defensive rebounds). They’re also third in the conference with a +7.1 average scoring margin. Baylor has a tough remaining schedule to navigate that will either legitimize this team or expose it as a pretender.

4. Oklahoma (16-8, 7-5)
The Sooners had a shot at the number three spot by going into Stillwater and taking Oklahoma State into overtime yesterday afternoon. But almost doesn’t count, and OU remains tied for fourth overall. However, the Sooners have the easiest remaining schedule of the three 7-5 teams. ISU, Baylor, and Oklahoma place each other once more, but beyond those game OU has to play teams 7-10 once more apiece. This is the surest bet for a fourth-place finish you’ll see this early in the season for a long time.

3. #17 Oklahoma State (19-5, 9-3)
The Cowboys beat KU, lost to K-State, and one game left against each to prove they belong in the contention conversation. Markel Brown and Marcus Smart offer one of the best 1-2 punches in the Big 12, with both averaging over 16 points/game  in league play, good enough for second and fourth overall. In fact, OSU has four the top 12 scorers in the league, with Le’Bryan Nash at number 12 and Phil Forte at 15th. Everyone on this team is a threat, as the Cowboys have been infuriating defenses with their scoring options.

2. #10 Kansas State (20-5, 9-3)
It was a great ride. After several picked this team to be an NIT representative, the Wildcats rose to sole possession of the conference during KU’s three game losing streak. It all came crashing down with a bad loss in Lawrence. Bruce Weber’s team bounced back by beating Baylor last night by the almost same score as it lost to KU, winning 81-61. Jordan Henriquez, who had all but faded out of the equation, had one of his best games of the year with a line of 10 points, 10 rebounds and 5 blocks. This team is by no means going away, but with two losses against KU, the opportunities on the path to winning the regular season are limited. West Virginia visits next, so expect this team to sit at 10-3 when it goes down to Austin and knocks around Texas next Saturday.

1. #14 Kansas (21-5, 9-3)
Rarely does a team record both the best win and worst loss of the conference in the same season. Giving up TCU’s lone win has to be the Big 12′s worst loss. Beating K-State by 83-62 has to be the best win. Taking down Texas with a 73-47 win last night was also impressive. Yes, the Longhorns are down this year. Really down. But that’s an impressive margin by any definition. Oklahoma State hosts KU Wednesday night. Hold on to your hats, because this has the makings of an epic to determine which team keeps pace with K-State.

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With wins by Texas Tech and Baylor already in the books, the Big 12 came into Saturday looking to extend its bowl dominance. West Virginia got the league off on the wrong foot in a blustery, snowy Yankee Stadium, while TCU lost the nightcap, leaving only Texas with a win to leave the conference at 3-2 at the end of the week.

The Big 12 has failed to establish a friendly history with the Pinstripe Bowl during its three years of existence. In the inaugural year, Wildcat fans remember a last-second loss to Syracuse after receiver Adrian Hilburn saluting the crowd after a touchdown reception, incurring a 15 yard penalty and making the two point try too difficult to achieve. It snowed the entire game and left Kansans with a negative impression of New York winters. Little has changed in two years, as a flag-happy Pac 12 officiating squad nailed West Virginia with 10 penalties and a constant snowfall culminated in a 38-14 loss to Syracuse.

Shortly after losing a game it shouldn’t, a second Big 12 game it wasn’t supposed to win ended with Texas emerging victorious over the Oregon State Beavers. Although the teams were ranked #23 and #13, few believed the game would be that close as Oregon State looked too dangerous for Texas to handle. However, Texas forced three turnovers and outgained the Beavers by 50 yards, 36 of which came on a touchdown strike to Marquise Goodwin with 2:24 left to provide the final score of the game. Alex Okafor helped power the Longhorns to eight sacks and the win, 31-27.

During the nightcap, TCU jumped out to a 13-0 lead in the first half against a Michigan State team incapable of moving the football. The streak continued well into the third quarter, as the Spartans didn’t get on the board until 15:34 left to go in the game. However, it was TCU’s offense that failed to gain any momentum in the second half while Michigan State scored 16 of the game’s final 19 points for a 17-16 victory. While the Horned Frogs managed 288 yards to Michigan State’s 227, their two turnovers were the deciding factor as MSU did not turn the ball over during the course of the game.

Big 12 play starts again Monday night when Iowa State plays Tulsa in a Liberty Bowl rematch of a regular season game. Also to play are Oklahoma State against Purdue, Oklahoma versus Texas A&M, and, of course, K-State’s epic meeting with Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl.