Midseason report cards: Texas Tech receives honors while Kansas needs to be better

Coming into conference play I could not tell whether or not Kansas State could be the team they were last season. The Wildcats won a couple of close games in non-conference play, but they also lost games they should have won and had to go to overtime with teams they should have beaten easily.

The Wildcats were projected to finish sixth in the conference this season, but I think they will be better than that. This K-State team is young and scrappy and can play defense in tight moments. There is still more they need to learn and do going forward, but I would say they are better than a C average, so they get a B- for being above .500 in conference play.

TCU is a good team...I think. The Horned Frogs show glimpses of greatness and that they can make a run in the NCAA Tournament. However, they have also shown that they could be a first or second-round exit yet again, ending the year in disappointment yet again.

The Horned Frogs were projected to finish fifth in the Big 12 which right now is most likely going to prove true. However, showing the grit to stay in the game and beat Baylor in triple overtime is what helped earn them a B grade over a B- grade. With the third-ranked offense and the twelfth-ranked defense, TCU will still have a lot of work to do going forward.

This might be a shock to people, but I think the great Kansas Jayhawks are officially showing they are human as well. The Jayhawks are very comfortable playing at home, but they are showing they are very vulnerable on the road, especially on defense.

Kansas has the fifth-ranked offense which is good, but it is not the typical dominant Jayhawk offense we are used to seeing. Even worse is that they have the tenth-ranked defense in the Big 12. For a team that was picked to win the Big 12, they seem to have a lot of studying to do to achieve that.