Big 12 Basketball Weekend Preview

At face value this weekend looks to be the calm before the storm. With Baylor taking on Kansas Monday and the next seven days holding the promise of several interesting matchups, this weekend's games leave a little to be desired on paper. But then again, we are talking about league play and teams should be settling in and sometimes strange things happen.

Iowa State @ #10 Kansas - 3PM CST - Big 12 Network

With the way the schedule sets up this weekend, this could be your game of the weekend. Certainly Kansas is a tough matchup for anyone in Allen Fieldhouse, but Iowa State has looked solid in the early going and took Missouri down to the wire in Ames.

Now there probably aren't a lot of people that will call for a Cyclone victory in this one, but Kansas has started slow in their last two conference games and the Cyclones are more capable of taking advantage of that if it happens again. Regardless of the outcome, this will be a good indicator in terms of how much we can expect from the Cyclones and for Kansas it is a bit of a trap game with Baylor waiting in the wings on Monday.

Texas @ #9 Missouri - 12PM CST - ESPN2

The Longhorns are 12-4 yet no one seems to concerned with Rick Barnes and his squad when it comes to any discussion surrounding the Big 12 title. It would certainly seem that their youth and inexperience is going to make for an uphill climb, but Barnes does recruit talented players to Austin and if things click they could present a problem.

Missouri on the other hand recovered from a loss in Manhattan with a win in Ames. The Tigers were almost bitten by the Hilton Magic bug but they kept the Cyclones at a safe distance and closed out a conference road game the way you would expect a potential contender to do. Texas at home is another opportunity to build some momentum and keep the Tigers just one step behind Baylor and Kansas.

Oklahoma State @ #4 Baylor - 2PM CST - ESPN2

At this point it would seem a pretty safe bet that Baylor is the real deal. All the negative talk about Scott Drew, talent without coaching and failed expectations in the past is slowly fading away. Saturday Baylor takes on a mediocre Cowboy squad that just doesn't have much going right now and really the Bears are a matchup nightmare for the Hobbit so the unblemished Bear record doesn't figure to change.

In all reality this is just one last Saturday primer before Baylor heads to Lawrence for Big Monday.

#18 Kansas State @ Oklahoma - 12:30PM CST - Big 12 Network

K-State heads back on the road after a pair of huge home games where they were able to split in games against Missouri and Baylor. Now the Wildcats get a little bit of a break against an Oklahoma team currently in a bit of a rebuild.

The storyline in this one is probably the coach of the Sooners Lon Kruger. Kruger is of course a Kansas State alum, former player and former coach. This is his return to the Big 12 conference and his first in conference game against HIS school. Since he last coached in the league as the Wildcat coach a lot has changed and coincidentally he is still on the wrong side of things.

Texas Tech @ Texas A&M - 12:45PM CST - Big 12 Network

This is your afterthought game of the week and it features a team in A&M that was voted as the top pick in the preseason. It's been a steady downhill slide for the Aggies in their final year in the Big 12, but you would think they could manage a home win over Tech. Tech probably represents the bottom or near bottom of the league, while A&M is probably in the middle. We'll see how well the game and the score reflect that.