The Big 12 is a conference in transition. It will soon be streamlined to ten teams, which might lead to a new name (it was once the Big Eight, so it is possible). Most pundits believe that the conference will actually be better off without Nebraska and Colorado. Both schools are powerful in football, but basketball remains an afterthought. Will the Huskers and Buffaloes make the most of their last shot at the Kansases and Oklahomas of the world? How will Kansas rebuild without the last connections to their national championship? Will Baylor and Kansas State be able build off their Elite Eight seasons? Let's take a look.
Baylor Bears
Scott Drew's Bears are coming off an amazing season which included a second place tie in the Big 12 and an Elite Eight run. But, this season, the Bears will have to replace Ekpe Udoh and Tweety Carter. While filling those shoes won't be easy, Baylor has highly ranked forward Perry Jones to step in. Adding him to the frontcourt with Quincy Acy (9.3 points, 5.1 rebounds) and Anthony Jones (6.2 points, 4.8 rebounds) will continue to provide the huge front line that coach Scott Drew prefers. In the backcourt, sharpshooter LaceDarius Dunn (19.6 points) will be asked to shoulder more of the load. The Bears lack a proven point guard, but if they can find some consistency with A.J. Walton or newcomer Stargell Love, they may be able to build on last season's magic.
Colorado Buffaloes
Coaching and conference changes were the major news for the Buffaloes in the offseason as coach Jeff Bzdelik left to take the Wake Forest job and the Buffaloes announced they would be leaving the conference for the Pac-10. Left to pick up the pieces is one of the top guard combos in the country. Senior Cory Higgins averaged 19.1 points and his running mate Alec Burks surprised everyone being the leading freshman scorer in the Big 12 (17.1 points). As good as the backcourt is, the rest of the team is a question mark. The frontcourt is led by Marcus Relphorde (11 points, 4.1 rebounds) and Austin Dufault (5.5 points, 3.1 rebounds). Colorado's biggest questions are going to be how the team adapts to a new coach and new plays and where they are going to find a rebounding presence. If they can figure out those questions, they can provide a good foundation for what could possibly be their last season in the Big 12.
Iowa State Cyclones
Just like Colorado, the Cyclones had a change in coach: they handed Fred Hoiberg the keys. The Cyclones lost a number of stars including Craig Brackins and Marquis Gilstrap. Assist machine, Diante Garrett (5.1 assists) will be asked to lead the Cyclones once again into another season of change. In the offseason, the Cyclones picked up Royce White, the troubled forward who had been released from Minnesota. If he can be cleared by the NCAA, he will be asked to take a major role for the team. The reality for the Cyclones is that this year will be a rebuilding year. With a new coach, a few new faces and the loss of a majority of their scoring and rebounding, Iowa State will only be looking to find its feet.
Kansas Jayhawks
Coming off a disappointing performance in the NCAA tournament, the Jayhawks are going to be looking to redeem themselves. Left with three large holes to fill after Sherron Collins, Xavier Henry, and Cole Aldrich departed, Kansas will look to some familiar faces as well as a newcomer for redemption. Forward Marcus Morris emerged as a force last season. He provided 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. The Jayhawks added a freshman phenom point guard in Josh Selby. Assuming he can get through the NCAA red tape, he will look to fill the Colins' shoes. Kansas will also look to see what they truly have in the frontcourt with sophomore Thomas Robinson and Arizona transfer Jeff Withey. With the star power of last season, those two didn't get much court time and the Jayhawks will look to see what they can provide. If Selby can get through the NCAA, look for the Jayhawks to emerge as a top 10 team.
Kansas State Wildcats
Like Baylor, the Wildcats are coming off a great season that included an Elite Eight run. Kansas State's biggest loss was Denis Clemente's graduation. To fill that hole, the Wildcats will look to Jacob Pullen to run the offense a little more, but hope that his scoring (19.3 points) doesn't drop while he increases his 3.4 assists. Kansas State will also look for more consistency from Curtis Kelly (11.5 points, 6.2 rebounds) in his senior season. The Wildcats will lean more on sophomore Wallace Judge, who showed flashes of brilliance all season, but never truly looked comfortable. In addition to the returnees, the Wildcats bring in forward Freddy Asprilla the number two rated junior college prospect. Kansas State is poised to build on last year's success. if they can fill the point guard position and keep the scoring pace on track, they will.
Missouri Tigers
Missouri was dealt a big blow when the NCAA ruled that freshman Tony Mitchell ineligible for at least the first semester. Sources around the team were pointing to Mitchell as the missing piece to coach Mike Anderson's puzzle. Instead, the Tigers will have to look to the promising returnees including last year's leading scorer Kim English (14 points per game) and Laurence Bowers (10.2 points). With the system that the Tigers play, the team relies more on fresh bodies than superstar players. Because of this, scoring and other stats are spread across more players and you don't see fantasy stars. Nevertheless, Missouri has high hopes for the season as they have added other talented freshmen Phil Pressey and Ricardo Ratliffe.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Like the Colorado Buffaloes, the Cornhuskers used the offseason to announce their plans for departure from the Big 12 conference. With their announcement, this season will be the Cornhuskers final tour of duty through the Big 12. Nebraska plans to do this with sophomore Brian Diaz who had some breakout games last season and averaged 8.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. In addition to Diaz, the Huskers will look to Christian Standhardinger (8.1 points, 3.8 rebounds), the German import, to lead the team in the frontcourt. The Huskers will look to Lance Jeter to lead the backcourt.
Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners saw the biggest change from last season to this as their core of freshmen stars all left school to head to the pros. Losing Keith Gallon was expected, but when Tommy Mason-Griffin decided to depart against the advice of everyone, coach Jeff Capel was dealt a tough hand. In addition to the loss of the freshmen, ace shooter Willie Warren decided to head to the pros as well. After picking up all of the pieces, the Sooners will look to freshman forward Romero Osby to emerge. In addition to Osby, there are several other newcomers that could emerge including Cameron Clark. As the season progresses, take a look at the Sooners for a possible fantasy pickup.
Oklahoma State Cowboys
The Cowboys lost super shooter James Anderson, but are still looking to improve on last season. Forward Marshall Moses almost averaged a double-double scoring 8.8 points and 8.1 rebounds on the season. Also in the frontcourt is Matt Pilgrim (8.2 points, 6.7 rebounds), who helps to make up a powerful front line. From the backcourt the Cowboys bring back Keiton Page (10.7 points) and crafty point guard Raymond Penn. Freshman Michael Cobbins, a 6-foot-8 forward, will also be expected to make a contribution for the Cowboys.
Texas Longhorns
The Longhorns lost a significant core of their production due to graduation and to the pros. Left to try to keep the Longhorns in the national picture are sophomores Jordan Hamilton (10 points) and J'Covan Brown (9.6 points, 2.4 assists) and senior transfer Jai Lucas. The jewel of the recruiting class is Cory Joseph, a 6-foot-3 point guard, who could have solved some of the Longhorns' problems last year. Texas also brings in 6-foot-9 Tristan Thompson who may end up being more of a long-term payoff. While last season ended up being a let down for the Longhorns, they never seem to truly fall off, so look for them to be on the national radar all season.
Texas A&M Aggies
Despite losing their top three scorers, the Aggies may be competitive due to a deep and talented frontcourt. The backcourt, however, remains riddled with questions. The Red Raiders certainly doesn't have anyone to replace high-scoring Donald Sloan, but senior B.J. Holmes may get a ton of minutes. The Houston native scored 9.3 points season and twice hit five threes in a game. Dash Harris led the team with 3.4 assists but scored just 4.9 points. The forward brigade will be led by David Loubeau, who averaged 9.2 points. Don't overlook freshmen Daniel Alexander and Kourtney Roberson. Alexander is a finesse player, while Robertson will provide some much needed beef inside.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
Coach Pat Knight will have the bulk of his 2009-10 roster back, so the Red Raiders seem poised to rebound after a 4-12 record in Big 12 play. The inside-outside combo of forward Mike Singletary and guard John Roberson should be one of the better twosomes in conference. Singletary, a 6-foot-6 senior, led the team with 15 points and 6.2 rebounds. He hit just 29.7% of his three-pointers, so he might be better off ceding perimeter shots to Roberson. The 5-foot-11 point guard nailed 41.3% of his threes and averaged 14.6 points and 5.4 assists (which leads all returning players). Guard David Tairu was also proficient from long range (46% on threes) and provided 9.2 points. Juco transfer Paul Cooper leads the newcomers and the 6-8, 260 pound forward should be able to bang with anyone in conference.