Player of the Week:
LJ Cryer, G, Baylor Bears
Baylor may be the hottest team in the country and LJ Cryer is a big reason for their success of late. The Bears have won 6 straight games and over those six games, Cryer has averaged 15.8 points. Those numbers took a jump this week though in Baylor’s two huge wins over Kansas and Arkansas. Cryer scored 22 against the Jayhawks and then 20 against the Razorbacks. Cryer is undersized at 6’ 1” but he’s an elite offensive player. NBA scouts may worry about his size, but his shooting ability, athleticism, and ball security are all NBA-level and should be enough for him to be drafted in the second round. Cryer has hit 10/21 threes over his past three games. Similar to Willie Nelson’s classic, “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain”, “LJ Cryer Has Been Making it Rain” on Baylor opponents!
Who’s Hot:
Erik Stevenson, G, West Virginia Mountaineers
What a week it was for Erik Stevenson and West Virginia. They started the week with a win in Lubbock where Stevenson scored 16 points grabbed 10 rebounds and added 4 assists. It was Stevenson’s first double-double of the season, and it came in a crucial conference win on the road. On Saturday the Mountaineers hosted 15th-ranked Auburn as part of the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Stevenson played the game of his life against the Tigers exploding for 31 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. It was one of the most impressive single-game performances I have ever watched as Stevenson was getting absolutely anything he wanted, and Auburn could do nothing to stop him. A top 15 non-conference win is going to look extremely good on the Mountaineers’ resume come Selection Sunday and with how loaded the Big 12 is there are going to be even more chances to add ranked wins to their resume.
Kevin McCullar, G/F, Kansas Jayhawks
I have been critical of McCullar lately, but he reached a different level this week. He had a double-double on Monday against Baylor and then again on Saturday against Kentucky. He also had a block and 2 steals in both games. His shooting needs improvement but he’s strong and plays really tough in the paint both on offense and defense. His size and speed at 6’ 6” are really good allowing him to guard multiple positions. He also handles and distributes the ball well making him more of a point forward. At best he is a mid-second-round pick this summer, but I think that he has upside if he can improve his scoring. I think he could end up finding a place as a defensive stopper bench player at the next level.
Who’s Not
Tre Mitchell, F, West Virginia Mountaineers
While it was a good week for West Virginia, Tre Mitchell had a tough week individually. He only scored 3 points against Texas Tech and then only 4 against Auburn. He was also kept off the glass in both games only grabbing 3 against Texas Tech and just 1 against Auburn. The good news is West Virginia was able to win both games with one of their best players struggling. Tre Mitchell has been great for most of the year, and he should find his way out of this slump which should make West Virginia a really tough team to play.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Red Raiders lost again to West Virginia dropping them to 0-8 in the Big 12. They did beat LSU in the Big 12/SEC Challenge which keeps their tournament dreams alive just a little bit longer, but the window is closing quickly. Being in the Big 12 you can turn your resume around pretty quickly by stringing together some wins but almost every game from here on out is a must-win for the Red Raiders. It’s tough to really say what the problem is for Texas Tech. They have played in a ton of close games with five of their eight Big 12 losses coming by six or fewer points. They have the talent to win games with players like Kevin Obanor, Pop Issacs, De’Vion Harmon, and Fardaws Aimaq but the wins just keep escaping them. The LSU win was a good start so let’s see if it sparks something for this Red Raiders team.
Each Ranked Big 12 Team’s Biggest Flaw
Kansas State Wildcats, 7: Team defense
Kansas State has one of the most explosive offenses in the country led by seniors Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson. I have no doubt that the Wildcats can hang with anyone in the country in a shootout, but I question their ability to defend. I think defense is the thing that has kept K-State from being an elite title contender in my mind. I think that the return of junior forward David N’Guessan will help the Wildcats’ defense a lot. In his first two games back since December the Wildcats have kept both teams under 60 points so maybe that was the missing piece but it’s a bit too small of a sample size to know for sure yet.
Kansas Jayhawks, 8: A true big man
The Jayhawks are a really solid basketball team with few weaknesses. I think they have the talent on the roster to defend their title, but I think they have one glaring flaw. They lack a true big man. When you think of past Kansas teams, they’ve had players like David McCormack and Udoka Azubuike who were big, tough, intimidating presences in the paint. Kansas lacks that player this year. K.J. Adams has filled that role on offense but at only 6’ 7” he lacks the size that McCormack and Azubuike provided and is not at all the same level of a defender. Freshman Ernest Udeh could fill that role eventually. He’s 6’ 11” with a massive wingspan but he just a freshman and is still developing and getting used to the college game.
Texas Longhorns, 10: A consistent second scorer
Texas is an incredibly deep team. They have 9 players that average more than 10 minutes per game but only one is a dominant offensive threat. Marcus Carr is averaging 17.3 points per game but there is a huge dropoff to the next-best scorer at 10.5. Carr has scored more than 11 points in 15 of 21 games this season. In those 6 games where he scored 11 or less though Texas is 3-3. .500 seemingly isn’t a horrible thing when your best player struggles but when you look closer you see two of those wins were 40+ point blowouts against the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff and Houston Christian University who both rank well outside the top 200. The losses came against Tennessee, Illinois, and Iowa State. All three are strong teams, the types of teams that Texas would have to face in order to make a title run. The good news for Texas is they have a ton of talent. Timmy Allen, Tyrese Hunter, Sir’Jabari Rice, and Dylan Disu are all great players who could step up if Carr is having an off night.
Baylor Bears, 11: Consistency from their guards
It is no secret that Baylor is going to go as far as their group of guards can take them. The Bears have the best guard trio in the country in Keyonte George, Adam Flagler, and LJ Cryer. All three average more than 14 points per game and are big-time shotmakers. When all three are hot, few teams in the country can hang with Baylor. But when they hit a slump Baylor can really struggle. We saw this when Baylor opened Big 12 play with three straight losses. This could be a huge problem in the tournament where an off night from the three would end the Bears’ season.
Iowa State Cyclones, 13: A go-to scorer
Iowa State is a really tough gritty team. They are not afraid of anyone and can clamp even the best offensive teams out there. Their defense is awesome and makes them a team no one is going to want to face in March. Because of this they often don’t have to score a ton of points to win games. However, there have been a few times when they have had to keep pace with better offensive teams and haven’t been able to. Teams like UConn, Missouri, and Iowa all put up over 70 points against the Cyclones and they just couldn’t keep up. Gabe Kalscheur and Jaren Holmes lead the team in scoring and are solid players but right now you don’t exactly trust them to be able to keep the team alive in a shootout. I think that both are capable of being a go-to scorer but haven’t shown the consistency to trust them in any situation. Again the Cyclones’ defense keeps scores low most of the time but if they went up against a Xavier or Arizona in March (both average over 80 ppg) they may struggle to keep up.
TCU Horned Frogs, 15: Injuries
TCU is an extremely experienced team. Their top nine players this year are all returners from last year’s squad that was a 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament. When fully healthy this team is a well-oiled machine. They are all very familiar with each other and are strong on both ends of the floor. The only problem is they have rarely been fully healthy so far this season. The Horned Frogs starting five has missed a cumulative total of 21 games so far this season and that number is going to continue to climb. Mike Miles and Eddie Lampkin are both out indefinitely with knee and ankle injuries respectively. TCU has enough depth to be a solid team when a couple of guys are missing but they need to be fully healthy to make the deep run they are capable of.