We’re starting to settle in to conference play, and this week helped further establish teams that should be playing in the NCAA tournament when March rolls around. With their blowout win over Baylor, West Virginia has established themselves as a legitimate threat to Kansas for the regular season title. Those three teams, Baylor, Kansas, and West Virginia, have all but guaranteed themselves a spot in the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, TCU, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and Kansas State find themselves in a good position to make the tournament, with TCU having the strongest resume, and Iowa State having the weakest. For Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas, however, the season is almost lost already, with a combined two conference with between the three teams. Oklahoma State could still find their way into the NIT if they can turn their luck around, as they’ve kept all of their conference games close, with the exception being when they played West Virginia. Luckily for the Cowboys, losing does not preclude a player from being our player of the week.
Player of the Week
Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State
The Oklahoma State Cowboys have yet to win a conference game but that doesn’t mean they aren’t playing well. Especially junior wing Jeffrey Carroll, who has proven to be a key piece in the Cowboys’ rotation. Carroll has been great for Oklahoma State lately, averaging 22 points in the team’s two games this week, including 23 in a close loss to Kansas. Carroll’s efficiency has been very important for the Cowboys, as he went 9-14 from the field in both games this week, as well as providing seven rebounds and three assists in both games. His three makes on three attempts from beyond the arc helped keep the Cowboys into the game against Kansas until the very end. Carroll’s emergence as a scorer is even more important because of the vanishing act that Jawun Evans has pulled (more on that later). Carroll’s biggest issue is his defensive ability, where he gets beat off of the dribble far too often. Fortunately for him, the entire team is bad enough at defense that his poor play on that end of the floor does not stand out. Carroll has been the Cowboys best player in conference play and will play an important role when they finally win their first conference game of the year.
Who’s Hot
West Virginia Mountaineers
While Kansas sits alone at the top of the Big 12 standings, West Virginia has been the most impressive team thus far. Bob Huggins has the Mountaineers’ press at its best right now, with the team leading the nation in steals per game with 12.7. Night in and night out, there never seems to be one particular player that is consistently leading West Virginia in scoring. That makes sense when you consider that seven players are averaging at least 7.5 points per game and none are averaging more than 12.1. Their ability to force turnovers leads to opportunities for easy buckets in transition and a lot of selfless play on the offensive end, proven by their 18.2 assists per game, good for sixth in the nation. Their defense was on display in their 89-68 victory over Baylor, when they shut down Johnathan Motley and Manu Lecomte. They were held to 15 points on 16 field goal attempts, a stark contrast for a duo that averages a combined 27.2 points per game. With that victory over the Bears, the Mountaineers are positioning themselves well in the conference. The most important games in conference will be the matchups between the top three teams in the Big 12, and West Virginia got off to a great start, earning the first victory between the teams this week.
Who’s Not
Jawun Evans, Oklahoma State
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. From being in the conversation to conference player of the year, to not even playing like the best player on his own team, Jawun Evans has had a rollercoaster of a season. Evans hasn’t shot better than 50 percent from the field since December 17th, and it’s showing in the team’s results. Oklahoma State needs Evans to play well to make a postseason tournament. Thankfully for the Cowboys, they’ve already played half of their games against the conferences big three and have an easier schedule the rest of the way. Evans will need to step up his play if they want to turn their season around. He only scored 15 points in the team’s 87-80 loss against Kansas, and did so while shooting 6-22 from the field. If he could’ve shot 50 percent from the field, or deferred to his teammates more often, the result could have been very different for both teams. In his last four games, Evans has taken at least 10 shots from the field, but his six against Kansas were the most he has made. Evans will need his shots to start falling if he wants to help Oklahoma State and get himself back in the conversation for conference player of the year.
Freshman of the Week
Jaylen Fisher, TCU
The TCU Horned Frogs have defied expectations this season and so has freshman point guard Jaylen Fisher. Fisher put his skills on display this week for the Horned Frogs, putting up very different stat lines in each game. In the team’s first game this week, TCU took on Texas and Fisher put his scoring ability on display, scoring 16 of TCU’s 64 points. He also made four of his eight attempts from beyond the arc, accounting for 12 of his points. Later in the week, the Horned Frogs took on Iowa State and Fisher showed off his passing ability, tallying 11 assists in the victory over the Cyclones. If Fisher can put together more complete games he has the chance to be TCU’s star player and lead them to a postseason berth.
Top Five Players Who Can Change Their Team’s Season
This week we’ll take a look at the five players who will have the biggest impact on the Big 12 standings. These players may not be the team’s best players, but they will be the ones that have the best chance for either an increased role, or players that put up big minutes but little production. For example, someone like Frank Mason won’t make this list. Even though he has a large role at Kansas, they’re already at the top of the standings, and he is already having a large impact on that.
5. Shaquille Cleare, Texas
With Tevin Mack being suspended once again, the Longhorns will need someone to step up, and that should be Shaquille Cleare. Cleare will need to help replace Mack’s 14.8 points per game. If he can do that, Texas should be able to find their way out of the cellar of the Big 12 standings.
4. Xavier Sneed, Kansas State
After a great start, Kansas State has lost three of their last four with tough matchups against two high-powered offenses coming up in Oklahoma State and West Virginia. They will need some increased scoring off of the bench, and Xavier Sneed is the best option to add that scoring. If Sneed can become a scorer off of the bench, the Wildcats will find themselves as the fourth team in the Big 12 at the season’s end.
3. Phil Forte, Oklahoma State
With Jawun Evans struggling Oklahoma State needs their backcourt to pick up the lack of scoring production. Phil Forte would be the primary beneficiary of Evans deferring more, especially because of the strength of his three-point shooting. Forte can light it up from beyond the arc when he’s at his best and he should have the opportunity to do so while Evans struggles. Forte’s play will have a large impact on if Oklahoma State can secure an NIT bid.
2. Monte Morris, Iowa State
Sitting at 3-3 in the conference, Iowa State will need to 11 or 12 wins if they hope to make the NCAA tournament. Monte Morris has to start producing more offense if Iowa State wants that to happen. Morris needs to start scoring at a higher clip to get the offense rolling, and he’ll need to do that by shooting more from deep. Even though he’s already averaging 3.8 three-point attempts per game, he’s shooting 41.5 percent from deep and should try to get that average closer to six to help jolt the offense.
1. Jo Lual-Acuil, Baylor
Jo Lual-Acuil was a tremendous paint protector for the Baylor Bears to start the season, but he has almost disappeared as a difference maker at the defensive end of the court. Lual-Acuil has only blocked three shots in the Bears five conference games to this point. He especially struggled against West Virginia, when he didn’t block a single attempt facing a team that loves to attack the basket. Lual-Acuil is the most important player in the three team race to win the Big 12 and his ability to alter shots will decide if Baylor is able to compete when they face Kansas and West Virginia this season.