Player of the Week
Jared Butler, (Baylor)
Jared Butler put on an absolute show for the Baylor Bears as they beat down on the UT Martin Skyhawks. Leading Baylor to a 9-1 record and being the 10th best team in the country, he adds a lot to his team to make them one of the most formidable opponents in the country. Against UT Martin, he shot 50% and scored 19 points in his 31 minutes played. While his numbers are not as electric as some of the other people this week, he is such an important player on a very good team. This season I can see Baylor going far under this sophomore’s leadership, averaging 17.6 points per game and 1.7 steals. He can show up on both sides of the court and I expect nothing more than for Baylor to extend their 8 game win streak.
Who’s Hot
Derek Culver, (WVU)
Absolute domination in all aspects from Derek Culver as West Virginia beat Nicholls. He shot 6-9 from the field and 4-6 from the line to give him 16 points. Not to mention he pulled down 16 rebounds, 6 being on the offense side of the ball. West Virginia is also 9-1, but they have a much less impressive resume than Baylor. He also showed out in his most recent game against Youngstown State. He shot 7-10 from the field and scored 15 points with seven assists and seven rebounds. While he didn’t blow up any stat lines, he played very consistently. Derek Culver will be fun to watch as the season goes forward, especially since they play Ohio State on the 29th and Kansas on January 4th. These are two huge tests that will be tough games for the Mountaineers.
Chris Clarke, (Texas Tech)
Even though Texas Tech squeezed by Southern Miss the other day, Chris Clarke was in his bag and playing up to the hype. He is a great leader that did not get nervous when Texas Tech found themselves up two with three minutes left. Clarke made a few key assists to close out the game and finished shooting 5-10 from the field, 4-4 from the free throw line and 14 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. He showed off the aggressiveness that you want to see out of an oversized guard like Clarke.
Tyreese Haliburton, (Iowa State)
Even though Iowa State lost a heart breaker to their in-state rival Iowa, Tyreese Haliburton really showed up for the Cyclones. He shot 10-17 from the field and finished the game with 22 points. He also finished with five assists and five rebounds playing every minute of the game, but his contribution to the game could not get his team a win. Against Purdue Fort Wayne most recently, Haliburton scored 22 points and shot 8-12 from the field. Haliburton is a great leader and is doing everything he can to help a lackluster Iowa State team win some games.
Who’s Not
Desmond Bane, (TCU)
Even though TCU beat Lamar University 79-50 the other day, Desmond Bane, the lifeblood of TCU, had a less than great game. In 32 minutes, he shot 3-11, 0-4 from behind the arc, and only had six points. He is usually a solid shooter averaging 16.1 points a game and 46.5% from the field. Against Xavier, Bane did score 14, but he 5-16, and the Horned Frogs lost to the Musketeers. The past two games he has been shooting below average and I would love to see how he bounces back from this uncharacteristic slump.
Xavier Sneed, (Kansas State)
Xavier Sneed really had a rough game in Kansas State’s loss to Mississippi State earlier in the week. He played 37 minutes, but his performance did not warrant the time spent in the game. He shot 2-11 from the field, 1-4 from three and had four personal fouls, putting him in foul trouble late in the game. Against Saint Louis on the 21st, Kansas State lost a game they were expected to win. Sneed only scored 11 points and had two assists. While he did shoot 3-6 from beyond the arc, he couldn’t help the Wildcats to a win. Kansas State is not one of the more impressive teams in the Big Twelve, but Sneed is usually expected to put up big numbers.
Top Five Team Colors
1. Texas
First of all, I love when colleges have their “special colors” like Carolina Blue for UNC and Maize, a special yellow used by Michigan. Going with this trend, I love that Texas’s colors are Burnt Orange and White. It gives Texas some originality and gives them extra pride behind the special shade of orange. The Longhorn community even goes as far to naming their community website “Burnt Orange.”
2. Baylor
Green and yellow is one of the more unique color schemes in college sports. Obviously, you can find a few out there that share the same colors like Oregon and Vermont, but I was hard pressed to find many other schools that share these colors. Even though Baylor has experimented in the past with different shades of green (neon jerseys?) and shades of yellow, Baylor has committed themselves to a very enjoyable color palette.
3. Texas Tech
Texas Tech’s main two colors are scarlet and black, and it is really slick on their jerseys. It is fairly unique, not many colleges out there embrace black as one of their primary colors, but Texas Tech does it very well. They have a great color scheme that really pops on their home white jerseys and their away scarlet ones. We even get the occasional black jerseys that shows off their primary color.
4. Iowa State
Even though Iowa State’s cardinal and gold is a little overdone in major college sports with Minnesota, Arizona State, and many other schools, I love this color scheme. It is a really classic look and just reminds me of major college sports.
5. TCU
Even though TCU has the same basic color scheme as Kansas State, TCU has a lot more color variations and utilize them in their basketball jerseys more. The purple and silver is a great color combination and while it is used in other schools, no one really takes advantage of the purple like TCU does. They have really clean looking purple away jerseys, and their home jerseys are plain white with nice looking purple accents.