Pick'em Session 2: January 7

[swok34]

oh yea.....this week is much easier
:rolleyes:

Kansas State at Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State
Texas at Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech
Kansas at Nebraska


and a bonus....I'll let YCN decide how he wants to handle it.
Mon., Jan. 9
Big 12/Big Ten Challenge
Oklahoma at Ohio State

[brolewis]

I want to cleanse myself of this last pickem, so I'm picking quickly:
Missouri - I'll never be underestimating THEM again, especially at home!
Iowa State - Budke needs more time
Baylor - I'm not even entertaining the idea of back-to-back losses, especially since we're at home, but it all depends on which team shows up.
Oklahoma - Hottest team in the Big 12 right now
Texas Tech - I don't care how much Tech is struggling, a young Aggie team at USA? Tech will come out on top, but probably not by much.
Nebraska - Coin toss, but I give props to the home team (plus, I'm a little gunshy of picking the away team after tonite)

"Gimmie"
Since Ohio State is at home, I'm going to go with them. Nothing against Oklahoma, but I think a Top 10 team is hard to beat at home.

[wwi_flying_ace_17]

oh yea.....this week is much easier
:rolleyes:

Kansas State at Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State
Texas at Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech
Kansas at Nebraska


and a bonus....I'll let YCN decide how he wants to handle it.
Mon., Jan. 9
Big 12/Big Ten Challenge
Oklahoma at Ohio State

MU
ISU - I see them pulling away in the end
BU - Wouldn't want to face a KMR team after they played so poorly; this should be a ticked off Bears team
OU
A&M
NU - I think KU will keep it close, but NU wins at home

OU - Ohio State isn't doing nearly as well as I thought they would be doing. If they could win at Hilton, they should win in Columbus

OU beating CU is the only conference game I felt really confident in. I can't even explain why I picked Missouri and A&M to win.

[YCN]

Swok, one of how many (4) non-conference games remaining?

In Pick'em, the guy who compiles the stats gets to be almost like Adolph Hitler, except not NEARLY so mean.

As recent tradition suggests, the OU at Ohio State game is what we call a gimme, as in "Gimme that cheap win!"

If you pick that non-conference game correctly, you either score a win, or one of your losses turns into a correct pick. Don't even think about missing on this chance to cheat someone out their honest skill advantage.

That's right, if someone picks every single conference game right, and you miss a conference game, but pick the winner of the game in Columbus Ohio, then you match that person's score.

It might not seem fair to them, but to heck with that. This is Pick'em, and the rules are the rules. Don't mess with me, or I'll make EVERYONE lose.

Just kidding. :)

BTW, I've never even come close to winning this game. I'd change the rules for that, but I'm afraid I'd have to creatively cheat to make myself win. No matter what the rules might be, I see no chance in the near future of a YCN win.

[Jennifer]

Kansas State at Missouri
Home teams rules

Iowa State at Oklahoma State
G-Iba is tough, but ISU is tougher

Texas at Baylor
Baylor gets back on track while Texas still trys to sort themselves out

Colorado at Oklahoma
Boomer Sooner! Colorado has no match for the Paris sisters

Texas A&M at Texas Tech
Wow. This is a tough one, but I'm going for the home team.

Kansas at Nebraska
Home team again. Kansas' Top 25 entry is short lived.

Oklahoma at Ohio State--Homer pick!

[sybarite]

Kansas State at Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State
Texas at Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech
Kansas at Nebraska

Missouri---but, this won't be easy. They won't sneak up on K-State.
Iowa State---until OSU can win anywhere.
Baylor---two angry teams, but Baylor is probably more irate.
Oklahoma---can almost fall asleep on this one.
Tech---but, they may struggle in this one. A&M gets to show it is for real.
Nebraska--but, only because they are the home team.

OU is too quick for Ohio State.

[Waylontheman]

Baylor-KMR is going to be fired up and so is the crowd. Look for Angela to redeem herself.

MU-KSU is young and on the road.

ISU-seem to play good on the road this year.

OU-Enuff said.

A&M-Played TTU tuff at home and this team is for real.

KU-Yep I said it-I bleed Crimson and Kansas Blue and I know Devaney isn't going to be real nice to go on the road. We slow Hardy down.

OU at Ohio State-Columbus is nasty and I hate Foster. But CP bangs Davenport around and gets it done. OU in OT.

[ISU 40]

Kansas State at Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State
Texas at Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech
Kansas at Nebraska

Missouri- they are on a role after the win over Baylor

Iowa State- going with my home girls. Medders hopefully will be back, but State can win this one without her.

Texas- I'm going to pick this as an 'upset'. Both want to bounce back after loses but Texas will want it more and leave Waco with a win.

Oklahoma- after the showing they put on at Hilton, they are now my pick to win the conference

Tech- They too will bounce back from a loss.

Nebraska- Kansas is really surprising me this year but I think Nebraska will take down the Jayhawks, like they took down Baylor last year.

North and South will split this week- one for OU and one for ISU
:isu:

[TexasLR]

Missouri- beating Baylor .. thats all that needs to be said
Iowa State
Baylor
Oklahoma
Tech- atleast they better
Kansas
Oklahoma

[Peaceplease]

missouri
iowa state
baylor
oklahoma
tech
kansas


oklahoma over ohio state

[YemenBear]

Kansas State over Missouri

Oklahoma State over Iowa State

Baylor over Texas

Oklahoma over Colorado

Texas Tech over Texas A&M (after much debate)

Nebraska over Kansas

Ohio State over Oklahoma

[TXSNOS]

Kansas State at Missouri (Kansas State)
Iowa State at Oklahoma State (Oklahoma State)
Texas at Baylor (Baylor)
Colorado at Oklahoma (Oklahoma)
Texas A&M at Texas Tech (Texas Tech)
Kansas at Nebraska (Nebraska)

Mon., Jan. 9
Oklahoma at Ohio State (Ohio State)

[H2H]

Kansas State at Missouri :ksu: maybe Mizzu has changed, but I'm not ready to give it to them yet after one win. (credit to tigers, but the Bears were like Bear Cubs)

Iowa State at Oklahoma State :isu: They won't got 1-11 2 games in a row

Texas at Baylor :bu: could go either, but right now I'm taking the home team

Colorado at Oklahoma :ou: Home team

Texas A&M at Texas Tech :tamu: after watching Tech last night, they have trouble scoring and A&M can turn up the heat.

Kansas at Nebraska :nu: Coin flip and take the home team. Again I'll take a wrong guess. :)

Ohio St.

[TTU79]

Missouri
Iowa State
Baylor
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Nebraska

Oklahoma

[Gator]

I should subject myself to further humulation after a 3 for 3 week? Sheees!

Kansas State at Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State
Texas at Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech
Kansas at Nebraska

Oklahoma at The Other OSU

[finalanswer]

Kansas State at Missouri - :mu:

Iowa State at Oklahoma State - :isu:

Texas at Baylor - :bu:

Colorado at Oklahoma - :ou:

Texas A&M at Texas Tech - :ttu:

Kansas at Nebraska - :nu:

[catfan28]

Kansas State at Missouri (home court power-Mizzou)
Iowa State at Oklahoma State (OSU offense struggles-ISU)
Texas at Baylor (Bounce back game-Baylor)
Colorado at Oklahoma (Not even close-OU)
Texas A&M at Texas Tech (best game-Tech)
Kansas at Nebraska (home girls win late-NU)

Oklahoma at Ohio State (great game-go with OSU)

[Dale8R]

Missouri
Iowa State
Baylor
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Kansas

ADD
OKLAHOMA for extra game

[BEAR SKIN]

Kansas State at Missouri -- Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State -- Iowa State
Texas at Baylor -- Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma -- Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech -- Texas Tech
Kansas at Nebraska -- Kansas

Mon., Jan. 9
Oklahoma at Ohio State -- Ohio State

[carolann]

Kansas State at Missouri - Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State – Oklahoma State
Texas at Baylor - Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma - Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech – Texas A&M
Kansas at Nebraska - Nebraska

Oklahoma at Ohio State - Oklahoma

[wbbcatfan]

Kansas State at Missouri :ksu:
Iowa State at Oklahoma State :isu:
Texas at Baylor :bu:
Colorado at Oklahoma :ou:
Texas A&M at Texas Tech :ttu:
Kansas at Nebraska :ku:

Big 12/Big Ten Challenge
Oklahoma at Ohio State :ou:

[wacokid]

Got to have an upset. Right? Sure had one Wednesday!!

Missouri
Iowa State
Baylor
Oklahoma
Texas A&M (my upset...I am usually the one upset)
Nebraska

Jan 9th
Oklahoma over Ohio State

[Bball Girl]

Kansas State at Missouri - Mizzou
I think the Tigers are too tough at home for the Wildcats to win...I wasn't overly impressed with KSU's offense last night, they'll have to get it going against Mizzou

Iowa State at Oklahoma State - Iowa State

Texas at Baylor - Baylor
Texas is almost as out of sync as Tech right now, but they've risen to the occasion before with the Baylor game but Baylor will be too much to handle at home

Colorado at Oklahoma - Oklahoma

Texas A&M at Texas Tech - Tech
Tech has too much pride to lose to TAMU at home they LRs have to start the game fast or TAMU's going to run them ragged

Kansas at Nebraska - Nebraska
The tossup - Tails I pick Nebraska

Oklahoma at Ohio State - Oklahoma
OSU has 1 (RPI wise) Top 25 win against BC in OT and after that it's a win against #67 USC. They lost to LSU and Purdue.





(We have another "bonus" in Feb when Texas takes on UConn)

[breid]

Kansas State
Iowa State
Baylor
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Kansas
Oklahoma

[vickie1ok]

Kansas State at Missouri (Kansas State)
Iowa State at Oklahoma State (Iowa St)
Texas at Baylor (Baylor)
Colorado at Oklahoma (OU)
Texas A&M at Texas Tech (Texas Tech)
Kansas at Nebraska (Nebraska)

Mon., Jan. 9
Oklahoma at Ohio State (OU)

Geez, this isn't any easier, is it? Any one of the above picks could be wrong. How is that for parity?!? Well, maybe not CU at OU, but only because it is at OU. And my pick on the OU/OSU game is a homer pick. When it's a toss up in my mind, I'll go with my girlies. ;)

Wow, this is going to be a roller coaster of a ride all season.

[labcoatguy]

Kansas State at Missouri: Kansas State, if only for the RPI advantage
Iowa State at Oklahoma State: Even though OSU did manage to slaughter Prairie View A&M ( :rolleyes: ), I'm gonna have to go with Iowa State.
Texas at Baylor: Three losses in a row for Texas sounds slightly more improbable than two losses in a row for Baylor.
Colorado at Oklahoma: Oklahoma.
Texas A&M at Texas Tech: Texas A&M, because I like road teams for some reason this week.
Kansas at Nebraska: Kansas, for the same reason

Oklahoma at Ohio State: Oklahoma; call me a homer, but if Purdue can do it, so can :ou:.

[walkaway]

Kansas State at Missouri Hmm. Catfight. I'm going to pick the bigger kitty. ;) :mu: 'sides I think we wore the :ksu: down a lot last night ...

Iowa State at Oklahoma State ... This is where the Cowgirls ride away ... :isu:

Texas at Baylor ... Goin' with my heart here :ut: 'cause my head says no way KMR drops 2 in a row...

Colorado at Oklahoma :ou: By a lot ...

Texas A&M at Texas Tech We can't lose 'em ALL this year, can we? :ttu: by 3 or less; A&M's feeling really good, but they might be a little tired ...

Kansas at Nebraska :ku: There's a vibe in the land of "rock, chalk, jayhawk" this year ...

[Jimi]

Kansas State at Missouri :ksu:
Missouri is very much improved but I think the purple freshman get their nerves back under control and outnumber the Tigers who will have to fight off firepower from every position including the bench. The Cats are balanced and scrappy. I gotta go with my homies.


Iowa State at Oklahoma State :isu:
Lets see how Coach Budke and his charges do against the Mad Scientist and his defensive alchemy. I say Wild Bill Younglas goes to bed happy.


Texas at Baylor :bu:
Its hard for me to predict against Texas in this game but its even harder to believe Baylor does not regroup at home.


Colorado at Oklahoma :ou:

Texas A&M at Texas Tech :ttu:
aTm is scary but I am not prepared to accept the idea that Coach Sharp and the Lady Raiders are going to lose this game at home.


Kansas at Nebraska :nu:
Bonnie ball has the chance to prove they can win on the road against a team that believes they will win. KU is scaring me, but They will get Nebraska's complete focus in the Bob. This one could be fun as can most of our games Saturday.


Oklahoma at Ohio State :ou:
Well I had to take OU. I don't have an Ohio State logo. ;)

[Bob_Ballew]

Kansas State over Missouri
Iowa State over Oklahoma State
Baylor over Texas
Oklahoma over Colorado
Texas A&M over Texas Tech
Nebraska over Kansas

Ya'll may think I'm nuts, but I should be 6-0 right now. I was going to pick an upset by Missouri, simply because I felt like the Lady Bears were going to be looking to the Texas game when they headed for Columbia. I'm sticking with my instincts this time and I'm going with the Aggies in Lubbock. :eek:

[05Longhorn]

Kansas State at Missouri :ksu:
Iowa State at Oklahoma State :isu:
Texas at Baylor :bu: (Hope I'm wrong about this one, but BU is gonna be fired up after their last game!)
Colorado at Oklahoma :ou:
Texas A&M at Texas Tech :ttu: (This is a toss up for me, but I think Tech pulls out the W)
Kansas at Nebraska :nu:

Big 12/Big Ten Challenge:

Oklahoma at Ohio State Ohio State

[Row6Seat10]

Missouri over Kansas St
Iowa State over Oklahoma St
Baylor over Texas
Oklahoma over Colorado
Texas Tech over Texas A&M
Nebraska over Kansas

Oklahoma over Ohio St

[mizzoufan]

I'll give it a try although with the Big 12 this year anything could happen.

K State @ Missouri - Missouri - The win over Baylor will have the Mizzou ladies confident that they can win against K State this year. Hopefully, K State's dominance over Mizzou in recent years will end.

Iowa St. @ Oklahoma State - Oklahoma State. This one could go either way so I'll go with the home team.

Texas @ Baylor - Baylor - I think Baylor will get back on track quickly. I would hate to be Texas and have to play them this weekend!!!

Colorado @ Oklahoma - Oklahoma - Courtney Paris will be too much for Colorado.

Texas A & M @ Texas Tech - Texas Tech

Kansas @ Nebraska - Nebraska - I know KU has the winning streak going but I want to see them win one on the road before I go out on a limb with them.

[#1OUWBBFAN]

Missouri-Picking the home team + they should be pumped after beating Baylor

Iowa State-OSU is struggling

Baylor-I would pick Baylor over anyone this game (Tenn, Duke, LSU it doesn't matter) Did you listen to KMR in the post game show? She said that 3 and 1/2 of her players had not shown up for the game. Sounded like she was going to find them. I wouldn't want to have been on that plane ride home.

Oklahoma-At home and Colorado is struggling

Texas Tech-At home but A&M is going to upset a lot of folks this year

Nebraska-Picking the home team

Oklahoma-Homer pick

[35TangoTango]

Kansas State at Missouri - not a believer yet
Iowa State at Oklahoma State - here we go picking road teams again
Texas at Baylor - Bears will punish the hords
Colorado at Oklahoma - this is the locki
Texas A&M at Texas Tech - or else
Kansas at Nebraska - Home team, best team; they won't let Chipper down


Oklahoma at Ohio State - strictly a homer pick

[Jimi]

Ya'll may think I'm nuts, but I should be 6-0 right now. I was going to pick an upset by Missouri, simply because I felt like the Lady Bears were going to be looking to the Texas game when they headed for Columbia. I'm sticking with my instincts this time and I'm going with the Aggies in Lubbock. :eek:
You are definately certifiable my friend! But then again they do say there is a fine line between being a sports fan and insanity. :cool:

[swok34]

Kansas State at Missouri - I'm sticking with the home team :D

Iowa State at Oklahoma State - Wow, this could be a tough pick, I'll go with Wild Bill and his flock of 3 point slingers.

Texas at Baylor - whatcha bet those 3 1/2 players show up today + 2 1/2 of Sophia trumps a whole lot of freshmen, especially in Waco.

Colorado at Oklahoma - it's just not even predictable about what kind of game this is going to be with this OU team. Just please don't bring any rust home. Coach M & M is at an advantage having played OU and being more familiar with a former in-state foe....but, I don't think it's enough.

Texas A&M at Texas Tech this one's in the safe confines of the USA.

Kansas at Nebraska - wow, think the Kansas team will get bus-sick having to travel so far? I'm sticking with the home team. I learned last week what happens when you pick against home in the Big XII :D


Oklahoma at Ohio State - the Courtney-Jessica show on Big Monday for all the world to see. Wow. I sure hope the OU team (except CP) that played on December 21 on TV stayed back in Year 2005 :D :ou:

[BenEClone]

KSU over MU
ISU over OSU
BU over UT
OU over CU
A&M over TT
KU over NU

OSU over OU

Some of these feel strange, but, I'll stick with Realtime. Though it is changing quickly as we enter the conference, it was 5-1 in round one.

[ChipperF1]

Kansas State at Missouri....... Two teams who started on the first track. This will take 45 minutes to decide. The question is, can Missouri maintain the focus to win a nip-and-tuck duel with a heady KSU team.
I'm going with Mizzou, in overtime out of talent, but this game could end up different because of some serious Purple Grit.

Missouri 71, Kansas State 69 (OT)

Iowa State at Oklahoma State.....ICBM State couldn't get the payload out of the silos against Oklahoma. They will have a target-rich environment against the Cowgirls.

Iowa State 84, Oklahoma State 56

Texas at Baylor..........Both these teams at 0-1?????? WOW! The Longhorns need a female Vince Young to take hold of this team. (Paging Tiffany Jackson, please)
Baylor's backcourt started shaky last year, but could play defense. In their last 4 outing, they've gotten lax back there.
I'll go with Baylor mainly because Sophia. She'll comes to the party, whereas Texas' go to stalwarts seem to be in a daze.

Baylor 72, Texas 62

Colorado at Oklahoma........Courtneyzilla attacks Boulder, but having Chelsi Welch on fire is the biggest key.

Colorado 85, Colorado 50

Texas A&M at Texas Tech.....Gary Blair gets his first big scalp as TAMU's coach. If TAMU can score 60 points against that TTU defense they'll win the game.
Memo to Marsha Sharp: Offense. Look into it.

Texas A&M 62, Texas Tech 56



Kansas at Nebraska....The ConocoPhillips TropArtic Game Of The Week
Kansas is 12-and-0 and showed it wasn't Jabroni enhanced by going aces wild with Texas. The Jayhawks have a lot of freshman talent surrounding the U.S.S. Crystal Kemp, who at least has a battle group around her. Kemp has a way of getting her shots against Nebraska and against a porous Husker interior. Kelsey Griffin may get the main assignment. Better eat your Wheaties Kelsey.
But this game will be won or lost on the perimeter and the key will be Kie, as in Kiera Hardy. The Jayhawks have to contain her. If Hardy gets hot, that will energize the Nebraska crowd, who will be sizable and fueled on $1 tickets and hot dogs.

Youth and energy vs. Experience and a big crowd yields a toss up. The X-factor will be coaching. Bonnie Hendrickson is the better strategist of the two. This will be a serious test of Connie Yori's strategic acumen.

In analysis of this game, I see a furious battle...and I see overtime.
Nebraska 78, Kansas 72 (OT)...Hardy 31 points, 11 assists.



and a bonus....I'll let YCN decide how he wants to handle it.
Mon., Jan. 9
Big 12/Big Ten Challenge
Oklahoma at Ohio State.....The Monitor vs. The Merrimack, uh Courney vs. Jessica. See two great young big girls go at it. The question is, which backcourt shows up?
I'll take Oklahoma in a close shave. Oklahoma 65, Ohio State 63

[soonerfan68]

Missouri vs. KState - Missou is still riding the high from beating the Nat'l champs.
Oklahoma State vs. Iowa St. - Ok State will get their breakthrough game on this one.
Baylor vs. Texas - Texas is just not there yet.
Oklahoma vs. Colorado - OU will have 5 players in double figures.
A & M vs. Texas Tech - this one's tough...but I'm going with Tech.
Kansas vs. Nebraska - Kansas will get a reality check here.

OU vs Ohio State - Oklahoma will get the win still riding the Welch bus....

[soonerborn]

Kansas State
Iowa State
Baylor
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Nebraska

Bonus
Oklahoma

[Guns Up!]

Missouri
Iowa State
Baylor
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Nebraska

Ohio State

[BBallFanatic]

Kansas State at Missouri :mu:
Iowa State at Oklahoma State :isu:
Texas at Baylor :bu:
Colorado at Oklahoma :ou:
Texas A&M at Texas Tech :ttu:
Kansas at Nebraska :ku:


Oklahoma at Ohio State - OSU

[wcbfan]

Kansas State @ Missouri - :ksu:

Iowa State @ Oklahoma State - :isu:

Texas @ Baylor - :bu:

Colorado @ Oklahoma - :ou:

A & M @ Tx. Tech - :ttu:

Kansas @ Nebraska - :nu:

OU @ OSU - OSU

[horntooter]

Missouri
Iowa State
Baylor
Oklahoma
Texas Tech
Nebraska

Oklahoma

[Wodehouse]

Kansas State @ Missouri
Iowa State @ Oklahoma State
Texas @ Baylor
Colorado @ Oklahoma
Texas A&M @ Texas Tech
Kansas @ Nebraska

Oklahoma @ Ohio State

[bigred]

Missouri wins over the purple cats

Iowa State lassos the hapless cowgirls

Baylor is mad and takes Texas to the cleaners

OU whips the Buffs unmercifully

Tech wins over A&M

Nebraska throws hotdogs at the Jayhawks, and the Hawks choke. Anyone know Mr. Heimlich?

Ohio State wins at home over OU. The other OSU is a good team.

[BearLady]

Kansas State at Missouri :mu:
Iowa State at Oklahoma State :isu:
Texas at Baylor :bu:
Colorado at Oklahoma :ou:
Texas A&M at Texas Tech :ttu:
Kansas at Nebraska :nu:

Oklahoma at Ohio State :ou:

[AngelSong20]

Mizzou - not overly impressed with KState
ISU - don't expect this to be all that close even
Baylor - still think this comes down to who sucks less
OU - haven't seen much from CU yet
Tech - surely someone will be able to make a shot this time
KU - should have picked them over Texas but went with bf, not happening this time!

OSU - may be another who sucks less, but OU hasn't shown they can show up for big games yet...

[YCN]

OSU - may be another who sucks less, but OU hasn't shown they can show up for big games yet...Other than winning under SC at the Hilton for the first time ever, breaking a 22 game home winning streak, and winning twice at The Pit this year against #20 New Mexico (#10 RPI, #6 SOS), a team that has gone 27-3 at home in the last two years, I'd say you were almost right.

And of course, beating Southwest Missouri at their house, er excuse me - Missouri State - doesn't count for much either.

Oklahoma is currently at the top of the Big 12 in the RPI rankings (#8), and has played the 5th toughest schedule in the nation this year.

[Cory]

Kansas State - PUI?
Iowa State - Medders
Baylor - madder
Oklahoma - twins
Texas Tech - home
Kansas - Kemp
.
.
.
Oklahoma - Gimme

[Bball Girl]

Other than winning under SC at the Hilton for the first time ever, breaking a 22 game home winning streak, and winning twice at The Pit this year against #20 New Mexico (#10 RPI, #6 SOS), a team that has gone 27-3 at home in the last two years, I'd say you were almost right.

And of course, beating Southwest Missouri at their house, er excuse me - Missouri State - doesn't count for much either.

Oklahoma is currently at the top of the Big 12 in the RPI rankings (#8), and has played the 5th toughest schedule in the nation this year.

Forgive me for NOT being impressed with the SOS rankings: #1 is Old Dominion with the sterling record of 2-7.

Having said that...AngelSong...you're a Tech fan, Tech and Texas are the two teams not playing up to their potential this season.

[YCN]

Forgive me for NOT being impressed with the SOS rankings: #1 is Old Dominion with the sterling record of 2-7.SOS in unrelated to season record. Part of my point is that OU is 11-3 against the 5th toughest schedule in the country. The average record of the 10 teams that have played the toughest schedules in 9.1 wins and 3.3 losses, and those teams include Tennessee, Connecticut, Arizona State, NC State, OU, New Mexico, Texas, George Washington, Old Dominion and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

That's pretty good company, if you ask me. The only ones in the top 10 of the RPI are the first six on the list.

[AngelSong20]

Bball girl, couldn't agree more with you if I tried about Tech and Texas. But I've been saying all along that no one in the conference looked invulnerable and explained why.

Actually, I really thought that OU might have it, and I'll be really glad to be wrong about that pick. I will agree with YCN that the win at ISU was good, and the NM and ISU games COULD herald a new era for OU. But at the same time, I have to remember the UConn game, and the SDS game, and the MSU game -- like I said, I won't be too surprised if OU proves me wrong on this one, NM very well could have been a turning point.

As for Baylor, I said from the very beginning of the season that I was underwhelmed, and I haven't seen anything to change that view yet. The GA game was a great comeback, but then we see what GA has done, and it loses a lot of shine. Then there was UCLA, another where Baylor did enough to win but certainly not in spectacular fashion. Go back and look through the threads, and you will see the one where I pointed out that Baylor would not be tested much during the non-con and wondered if they would be the dominant force in conference that people were expecting.

Sorry, there is no clear dominant force in the Big 12 right now, and I'm not convinced that this is because we are just all so good. There are several teams that I think could be right on the cusp, so the season will be interesting. I think it will come down to not who is good right now, but who is able to make the necessary improvements and adjustments during the conference season. Should be a very interesting year to say the least.

[YCN]

Oklahoma's third loss was at Illinois, not SDS. It's really the only truly disappointing loss of the season. The other two were top 10 type losses, and although losing at home to Michigan State hurt, That was on 12/18, and there's a lot of improvement shown since that date, as well as a different starting lineup.

OU looks quite a bit quicker than Ohio State to me, which is much of the reason why OU won twice in Albuquerque. LSU was quite a bit faster than Ohio State as well, and you can see the result in Columbus.

[Cyclones Rule]

Kansas State at Missouri :ksu:
Iowa State at Oklahoma State :isu:
Texas at Baylor :bu:
Colorado at Oklahoma :ou:
Texas A&M at Texas Tech :ttu:
Kansas at Nebraska :ku:


Mon., Jan. 9
Big 12/Big Ten Challenge
Oklahoma at Ohio State Ohio State

[AngelSong20]

I wasn't talking about the third loss, I forgot about the Indiana game, thanks for reminding me! I meant the squeaker in Cali, either SF or SD or something like that. I agree with you, the others were Top 10 losses, which is why I question if OU is showing up for big games yet. I think this game may tell us a lot about how far OU has come (although OSU looks far from invincible themselves!)

[YCN]

OU beat Iowa (last year's last unbeaten team) and San Francisco. The San Francisco game was the squeaker. I think they fouled out Courtney in a hurry in that game. OU was struggling with finding chemistry, Leah was lost at shooting forward, we were a mess back then. We ARE talking November here.

Nobody claimed that OU was going to be world beaters early in the season. Pointing to OU's wins in November as a sign of weakness isn't really very convincing. Baylor lost to Nebraska in January last year, and the Huskers didn't make the dance. I guess that means that Baylor wasn't really that good last year.

[YCN]

I wasn't talking about the third loss, I forgot about the Indiana game, thanks for reminding me! I meant the squeaker in Cali, either SF or SD or something like that. I agree with you, the others were Top 10 losses, which is why I question if OU is showing up for big games yet. I think this game may tell us a lot about how far OU has come (although OSU looks far from invincible themselves!)

BTW, OU is 2-1 against the top 25 right now. That's better than all but a few teams in the country.

[JohnHenry]

My apologies, brothers and sisters. I have been somewhat distracted of late, by a number of concerns - not the least of which was THE GREATEST FOOTBALL GAME EVER and THE GLORIOUS ROSE BOWL TRIUMPH OF THE TEXAS LONGHORNS, your 2005 BCS COLLEGE FOOTBALL NATIONAL CHAMPIONS.

First since the year I's born. So there has been much rejoicing in the ol' 512 of late. When Vince scored the winning TD, I went ALMOST as nuts as I did back on Nov. 26 when I witnessed the Longhorns Volleyball team finally whip those dadgum Cornhuskers in a 5-game thriller at the Greg. Almost...

Now I can turn my attention to more pressing matters like world peace and the troublesome state of my beloved Texas women's basketball team.
So here's my picks:

Kansas State at Missouri - well, well, well...if it isn't ol' Cindy Stein, come to serve us another cautionary tale. I had her dead and buried last year, then resuscitated her for reasons that I can't really explain, and now she's gone totally nuts and actually started her season with lots of wins AND beaten somebody imnportant, which is a little unheard of up there in Mediocre-ville, Missourah. But I told you guys this Tiger team might have a little somthin' this year. Experience and togetherness appear to be driving this bunch, along with the law firm of Brooks and Bond, who aren't exactly talentless, in the backcourt. The Wildcats are also coming off of a conference-opening win, albeit at home over a joyless and floundering Tech team. Deb is cobbling together what may eventually be a pretty fair replacement for the Weckercats; McIntyre and Coggins should be able to answer the Tiger's backcourt, and i'm liking Gipson's game when she brings it, but the lack of Wheeler may catch up with them here, as it likely will at several points in the next 9 weeks. I like Mizzou if they're focused but I think Deb's squad makes them earn it.

Iowa State at Oklahoma State - Wild Bill and the Twistahs don't care much for spankings like the one OU gave them, and Medders is the type of player who goes off after a humbling loss like that. The Cowgirls take it on the chin, in a season that will feel like one long and complicated wisdom tooth removal for Budke. Kudos to players like Destanie Sykes for sticking it out and plowing through 3 rough and ugly years for this program. I hope to see OSU show a little promise at home but I'm not holding my breadth for the upset against a rebuilding but still dangerous (and always well-coached) Cyclone squad.

Texas at Baylor - No, there's no logical reason why I should do this, other than my hopeless sentimentality and the fact that Nina Norman likes to stick it to the Bears. A long shot considering how non-existent the Horns chemistry has been so far, but what the hell, eh? We ain't dead yet...

Colorado at Oklahoma - bring an umbrella, and a brush guard. Maybe the Buffs can find a way NOT to get run over by Sherri's 18-wheeler (can you see Coale driving a truck? I'd pay money...)

Texas A&M at Texas Tech - tap the brakes, Gary - you ain't there yet. .....and get it together, Marsha. Wave some smelling salts, tequila, whatever they got up in that God-forsaken playa and rev up the give-and-gos, pull-ups and spot-ups for your shooters. They deserve better.

Kansas at Nebraska - tell me what'd I say....about the Jayhawks? And it's the old hands who stuck around to see what Miss Bonnie had to offer (not the 'freshmen') who are making it happen in Lawrence. And sorry, Chipper - if Kemp and Co. can pummel TJ like that, I don't hold out much hope for the scrubbery the Huskers use for a post game (yes, I know the Horns hasn't been up to snuff either...). The KU backcourt has plenty of tools to handle miss Hardy and I think they will....

[Robin]

Kansas State @ Missouri
Iowa State @ Oklahoma State
Texas @ Baylor
Colorado @ Oklahoma
Texas A&M @ Texas Tech
Kansas @ Nebraska

Oklahoma @ Ohio State

[beachbum]

KSU over Missouri
ISU over OSU
Baylor over TEXAS (Say it ain't so! It pains me to cast that vote)
Oklahoma over Colorado
TxTech over A&M
Nebraska over Kansas

Bonus:
Ohio State over Oklahoma

[BearLady]

What I wouldnt' give to read a JohnHenry article in the paper every single day! :)

[ISUbballfan]

Kansas State at Missouri - Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State - Iowa State
Texas at Baylor - Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma - Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech -Texas Tech
Kansas at Nebraska -Kansas


and a bonus Mon., Jan. 9
Oklahoma at Ohio State - Oklahoma

[spooky]

Kansas State at Missouri - Missouri
Iowa State at Oklahoma State - Iowa State
Texas at Baylor - Baylor
Colorado at Oklahoma - Oklahoma
Texas A&M at Texas Tech -Texas Tech
Kansas at Nebraska -Nebraska


and a bonus Mon., Jan. 9
Oklahoma at Ohio State - Ohio St.

[YCN]

I've delayed making my picks because it's been hard to decide who I think will win. I'll feel lucky to get more that four of these correct.


Kansas State at Missouri

This game is almost impossible to pick. the Wildcats, with a radically altered roster and lineup, have been one of the pleasant surprises in the Big 12 by starting out 11-1 against a fairly soft non-conference schedule, before getting a home win over a struggling Lady Raider team that can't find an offense.

But K-State also has double-digit wins over Wyoming on the road, and against a good St. Joseph's team and RPI top 25 team Louisiana Tech at home. They have played with competence which belies their experience as a team. And they've owned Missouri lately in this series.

However Missouri has been a different team since losing back-to-back at Arizona State and at Arkansas State. However, until Wednesday night, those good wins have come against a really weak lineup of teams, even though the Tigers did get a fair road win at Pittsburgh.

But beating Baylor clinched it for me. I don't care if "3-1/2 players" didn't come to play, Baylor just hasn't been losing to anyone for nearly a year. And after BU came back to lead, Missouri never panicked and rallied to win the game.

This is a team with some talented veterans mixed with newcomers that hasn't had much success or fun for some years now, and they are playing their very biggest rival on the planet, and the highest pinnacle of confidence of each and every one's college career. So that's why I like the Tigers, although my confidence with this pick is still very low.


Iowa State at Oklahoma State

Speaking of not having much fun, I think the Cyclones raise the fun quotient much higher in this road test against a lacking Cowgirl team that hasn't given anyone much reason to think they will have much of a season this year. While Iowa State hasn't beaten even one top 50 team to date, all three of their losses have been to top 25 talent, with only the OU game not being reasonably close.

OSU has a losing record to date against Division I teams, but they can claim a home win over a top 100 team in UNC Wilmington. They also played a good Tulsa team tough in a double OT home loss. But the Cowgirls have also lost to 3 teams outside the RPI top 100, with two of those losses coming at home. With their point guard out things can only get worse against Big 12 competition.

I see the second of many routs over OSU today.


Texas at Baylor

Texas has been battered by the second toughest schedule in the country, losing twice at home to top 25 teams New Mexico and Duke, getting blown off the court against the Vols, and losing their last two at Rutgers and again at unbeaten Kansas. They haven't really torn up any good teams they've played this year, but except for Tennessee they haven't had any ugly losses. They feel far overdue for a breakout performance against a top team.

Baylor had won 30 straight before being shocked by a heroic Tiger performance in Columbia on an off night for several players. Perhaps complacency had set in, but Baylor is the defending champion with a array of weapons with which to attack teams, including the peerless Sophia Young.

They are playing at home against a wounded Texas team that is missing Earnesia Williams and Carla Cortijo far more than they should have any right to expect. With their absence has come a far greater burden on star freshman Erika Arriaran to shoulder a heavy load, and while she'll be a star player in time, she's not Jamie Carey just yet.

Even with the injuries and pressure of a severe schedule, you still feel like Texas should pop off a great game at any time. But the chemistry just doesn't feel quite right. Tiffany Jackson has less help than last year, and her numbers thus far have been disappointing for a player of her caliber.

I can't ever remember another game this early in the conference season that felt like a must-win-at-all-costs game like this one today. Any team that falls two games back will have a daunting task attempting to climb back to the top of the standings, given the obvious depth of talented teams this year.

While I still believe Baylor will win at home, anything could happen, and this is my co-Game of the Week in the Big 12. Again, I don't have great confidence in this pick.


Colorado at Oklahoma

The Buffs have some talent on their team, they are still very raw, with little depth and a discouraging lack of talent at the guard position. Much help will arrive next season. While the team has good size, their posts are very thin and stand zero chance of stopping the bigger posts in the Big 12 from bullying them for buckets and boards pretty much at will this year.

I see zero chance of an upset, because I can't see how the Sooners could play so bad and the Buffs so good that the gap could be bridged in this game, especially not playing in Norman. OU should win in a rout.


Texas A&M at Texas Tech

Oh geez, another piece of cake game to pick - NOT. After a narrow loss in Manhattan, the Lady Raiders are desperate to get a win to move within one game of getting even on the season, and to keep from falling far behind in the conference race. And the Aggies are on a 10-game winning streak, including a win over RPI #14 Washington. Their confidence is high, and the team is playing cohesive and claustrophobic basketball against their opponents.

Tech has struggled to find the offense needed to win games in the clutch, even though their 7 losses have been by an average of 4.6 points a game. The chemistry seems off for the Lady Raiders, they just haven't found any solution for who will step up and get the job done offensively when they need points. Tech has played a much tougher schedule than A&M, although I still think most people are underrating the Aggies.

This is probably an NCAA tournament quality team that Gary Blair has forged. And I love the way he's utilized his roster, playing an average of almost 14 players per game for the entire season. Their box scores are fun to read, because this list of participants is usually huge.

There's been a big talent infusion to this A&M team in the last couple of years, and I think they are ready to challenge for the first division. Sure, Tech's at home and has played a top 10 schedule. But we can see the holes there and wonder what Coach Sharp can do to plug them, or if she can.

This is a statement game for both teams today, but it's only a must-win game for Tech. And as good as A&M is becoming, they are still a year or two away from being in the top rung of conference teams. This game is as vital as can be for Tech, and desperation can do amazing things for the effort of a team.

If Tech loses today, they are in for a very long and painful season. With a win today, they buy additional time to work out their difficulties. As much as a want to go with the Aggies, I have to give the edge of desperation to the Lady Raiders.

And I have ZERO confidence in this pick...


Kansas at Nebraska

I'm already worn out, and I still have to explain my pick in my other co-Game of the Week between the Jayhawks and Huskers.

Kansas is unbeaten and just did a great job of legitimizing their season by schocking Texas in their last outing. And after a rocky start for Nebraska, the Huskers have reeled of 7 straight wins, all of them in impressive fashion.

This is just an outstanding example of the great games in the Big 12 today. Both teams have to believe that they have a legitimate shot to be the best team in the North this year, and thus possibly conference champions. Kansas is playing intelligent basketball that belies their experience, buoyed by the strong leadership of seniors Crystal Kemp, Erica Hallman and Kaylee Brown.

Just the opposite of Gary Blair, Bonnie Henrickson has forged her success this season using limited substitutions, and lately has played on 6-7 players each game. It's a good example of how constrasting styles can be successful with opposite ideologies.

I've been impressed with Nebraska across a wide range of players, and this team right now is playing with verve, heart and hustle, with a liberal dose of talent for good measure. Kiera Hardy, already one of the conference's best players, has improved offensively this year and has made a gigantic jump defensively, helping key a smothering pressure defense that really has the Husker fans excited for their prospects this year. I think they are entirely justified in their thinking. This is a darned good team this year, one that I'm almost 100% certain is going Dancing. Kelsey Griffin has been an overnight sensation, and might be one of the two best freshmen in the conference, and one of the better ones in the nation this year. Jessica Gerhart is the third in a triumvirate of scorers combining for over 44 points per game this year, just nine points less than Nebraska's opponents have been scoring per game this year. But production is spread wide through this roster, and this is going to be a tough team to beat this year. While they started a little rough, when they caught fire they really caught fire, and their are formidable, for any team. Nebraska has 8 players scoring 4 or more points per game, including the other two starters, Chelsea Aubrey and LaToya Howell; and their top reserves TK LaFleur, Danielle Page and Elena Diaz.

But one key thing I see about this game. This will be a big and raucous crowd greeting Kansas in Lincoln today, and Kansas, while 12-0, is playing away from home for the first time this year.

Of all the games that should be close today, I have the greatest confidence in this pick. Nebraska will win going away, and if they rattle the Jayhawks early, it could get ugly. Nebraska 73, Kansas 49.


I won't say much about Oklahoma at Ohio State, except to say that I believe the better team is going to win.

[elfdenmom]

Missouri
OSU
Baylor
Ou
TTU
KU

[finalanswer]

Ohio State over OU Monday. Forgot to pick it earlier.