A new (possibly recurring) feature here at CRFF that is exactly what the title suggests... upskirts a collection of the best and worst performances from around the Big 12 from this past weekend. There is no real definition of who is eligible for the awards of Best or Worst, it could be an individual, team, fan, mascot, or whoever else decides to do something noteworthy during a game involving a team from the Big 12, nor is there much definition to the terms "best" or "worst", nor is their any minimum or maximum number of awards to be given out each week, so really this explanation has rendered this entire post as meaningless. Well let's award some things anyway.
BEST OF THE BIG 12
Officiating
At was highlighted in this article, the Big 12 referees have been blowing the whistle a lot this season, like at the rate of a foul per minute. Well this weekend, 5 of the 6 games came in under that 40 foul/game average, and all the games together only averaged 34 fouls. As a result. there was actually some free flowing action on display instead of the constant start and stop that we have unfortunately become accustomed to. Look at the amount of personal fouls per team:
ISU:12, KU:7, BAY:24, TEX:15, OU:17, Mizzou:12, TAMU:16, TTU:20, OSU:20, NU:18, K-State:20, CU:27. Colorado ended up as the only team that went above the 20 foul/game average!
Kansas Wanting the #1 Ranking
According to quotes from Jawhawk players in this article (oh... and the name of the article itself), Kansas seems hungry to be the man. I always like this outlook. We think we are the best team, so give us the damn #1 next to our name. Contrast that with the superstitious outlook of Texas sophomore Jordan Hamilton who said, "We don't want number one. Enjoy number three and keep climbing that mountain" referencing the fall from #1 the Longhorns experienced last season. Don't be scared Jordan, follow the lead of Marcus Morris instead:
"I want to be ranked number one. I want to have that chip on our shoulder every time we go out. I want to get everybody's best shot because I think we can take it. T-Rob (Thomas Robinson) did go out, but we have other guys that can step up and I want that chip on our shoulders."
If we're number one I don't think we're going to be feeling ourselves. I think it means we need to play harder. I feel like we're ready. I feel like we're guarding better. I feel like we're practicing harder. I just think we're ready."
-Marcus Morris
WORST OF THE BIG 12
Kansas State's Shooting Percentages
31% from the floor, 30% from three, 58% from the line. The Wildcats only had one player shoot 50% from the floor (Samuels, 4-7), while the shooting stats for the rest of the players were, 2-6, 4-12 (Pullen), 3-9, 1-5, 1-4, 0-2, 0-1, 1-6. Yikes!
That is Jorge Diaz of Nebraska being hit in the nuts by his own teammate during their game with Oklahoma State on Saturday. It's like my little league Coach always told us when we were being blown out, "A win never feels quite as sweet when you spend the three hours after the game with an ice pack on your scrote. So let's get out there and take all the sweetness out of their win... what do ya say?" (he was not a good coach or person and is possibly fictional)