Is the Big 12 really as good as we think it is -- the best conference in the land, to be exact, -- or is it just a bunch of similarly decent, not exceptional, teams beating up on one another?
It's certainly worth asking after a wacky Saturday afternoon in which West Virginia needed overtime and a whistle to beat TCU at home and Iowa State followed it up with a confounding 78-73 loss at Texas Tech.
Because here's the reality: the Big 12's big eight (Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas and West Virginia) were a pedestrian 12-11 against the RPI top 50 in the nonconference. The "signature" wins? Utah, Georgetown, Michigan State, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa (twice), Butler, Tulsa (twice) and NC State.
Of those 12 teams, only one -- Utah -- is even in the Top 25 right now.
So what exactly are we seeing here? We're seeing good players with good coaches put together some entertaining games. But outside of the Big 12 bubble, how will it stack up?
That question will be answered with finality come March, but it bears considering now, as the conference continues to receive accolades and praise and rack up its own spots in said Top 25.
But here's the Cyclones' dirty little secret: They've played only four true road games this year and now have lost two of them. Just how much magic is in Hilton Coliseum will be determined here as the season winds down, with six games on the road coming up for Iowa State.
Here's the other reality: Iowa State's best wins outside of the league came against Alabama, Arkansas and Iowa. So let's see, Alabama last week lost by 22 to Kentucky, and Iowa lost to Wisconsin by 32 -- and the Badgers didn't have their starting point guard.
ESPN O'Neil
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/po
It's certainly worth asking after a wacky Saturday afternoon in which West Virginia needed overtime and a whistle to beat TCU at home and Iowa State followed it up with a confounding 78-73 loss at Texas Tech.
Because here's the reality: the Big 12's big eight (Kansas, Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas and West Virginia) were a pedestrian 12-11 against the RPI top 50 in the nonconference. The "signature" wins? Utah, Georgetown, Michigan State, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa (twice), Butler, Tulsa (twice) and NC State.
Of those 12 teams, only one -- Utah -- is even in the Top 25 right now.
So what exactly are we seeing here? We're seeing good players with good coaches put together some entertaining games. But outside of the Big 12 bubble, how will it stack up?
That question will be answered with finality come March, but it bears considering now, as the conference continues to receive accolades and praise and rack up its own spots in said Top 25.
But here's the Cyclones' dirty little secret: They've played only four true road games this year and now have lost two of them. Just how much magic is in Hilton Coliseum will be determined here as the season winds down, with six games on the road coming up for Iowa State.
Here's the other reality: Iowa State's best wins outside of the league came against Alabama, Arkansas and Iowa. So let's see, Alabama last week lost by 22 to Kentucky, and Iowa lost to Wisconsin by 32 -- and the Badgers didn't have their starting point guard.
ESPN O'Neil
http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/po
