Kansas
Once again, the Jayhawks are absolutely loaded with talent, and despite C.J. Giles' off-court issues and Sasha Kaun's injury, Kansas should dominate most of its early-season opponents. The game against fellow projected #1 Florida on November 25th should be a doozy. The Jayhawks were one of the most explosive teams in America over the second half of last season, and have added freshman phenoms Sherron Collins and Darrell Arthur to the back and front courts, respectively. There will be challenges in the Big XII, but the Jayhawks are in the weaker "North" division of the conference, and by the luck of the schedule, they get other conference favorites Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Texas all at home. Jayhawk fans shouldn't have to worry about a third straight first-round exit, as KU will cruise to first-round date with a 16 seed on Selection Sunday.
Texas A&M
It's nearly impossible to over-credit Billy Gillispie with the incredible turnaround in College Station. The rest of the nation may be surprised to see A&M's name come up as a protected seed on Selection Sunday, because it's been close to a decade since the Aggies have been relevant. But hoops insiders know this team is loaded with returning talent, including Acie Law, Martellus Bennett, and Joseph Jones. Gillispie even beefed up his non-conference schedule, with games against Saint Louis, at UCLA, at LSU, and against Winthrop. There's still a lot of sugar, but he avoids having Bracketography's worst non-conference schedule award named for him this year.
Texas
Most analysts absolutely love freshmen D. J. Augustin and Kevin Durant, part of a seven-member (!) incoming class that replaces last year's talented starting five of Buckman, Tucker, Gibson, Aldrige, and Paulino. I'm no different, except that I don't see the 'Horns being a top-twenty caliber team. They shouldn't be in any danger of missing the NCAA's with the great home-court advantage in Austin, but a high seed isn't likely. I'll get a closer look at them when they travel to Phoenix to play Gonzaga in the Naismith Classic. The rest of the non-conference schedule is no joke, either, with games home games against LSU and Arkansas and road games at Tennessee and Villanova.
Kansas State
Bob Huggins is on the sidelines. That's all you really need to say about this team. The Wildcats were in the NCAA discussion after non-conference play last year, but fell off once the Big XII season began. "Huggy Cat" will keep his troops competitive for the full season this year, with Cartier Martin and Jermaine Maybank being the senior leaders. It looks like Bill Walker is now coming in mid-year, having been admitted to the school in late October, and he'll provide another scoring punch to keep teams from keying on any one player. The non-conference schedule is weak by Huggins' standards, but there are a lot of road dates, including Cal, USC, and Xavier. A terrible in-conference game against Chicago State could precipitate a disastrous late-season drop in RPI, however.
Oklahoma State
The major question for this team is the same as last year: can JamesOn Curry carry them? He was surrounded by talent his freshman year and excelled as a role player. Last year as the lead dog, he was just that at times, a dog. But it's a new year, and there's reason for optimism. The Cowboys' early schedule is atrocious, with seven cupcakes in eight games, but it beefs up in a hurry with the next three on the road against Syracuse, Ball State, and Tennessee before a home date with Pitt. I'd pick the Cowboys to win that game at Gallagher-Iba, but will they have enough gas left in the tank? Nevertheless, they'll get plenty more chances at quality wins playing the the Big XII "South" division once conference play begins.
Texas Tech
As I stated in the Bracket Blog, enough cannot be said about the impact that Jarrius Jackson's dismissal will have on this team. Defense and rebounding will become even more important that usual for Bob Knight's team, because it's going to be tough for the Red Raiders to out-score anybody. The non-conference schedule is no great shakes either, with an early season trip to El Paso, a game at Arkansas and a home date with Bucknell in mid-December being the only real matchups of note. TTU will be one of the last teams in the NCAA field, if they make it at all.
Oklahoma
David Godbold and my favorite name in all of college basketball, Longar Longar, return for first-year coach Jeff Capel. And if Michael Neal can stay hot from the outside as he was at times last year, the Sooners could make a surprise NCAA, or at least an NIT, run.
Iowa State
The Cyclones were well-positioned for an NCAA run after last year's non-conference season before a disastrous stretch of losses at Hilton Coliseum did in their chances. This year, the non-conference schedule isn't quite what it was in 2005, but games at in-state rivals UNI and Iowa, along with Ohio State, will give an indication of this team's competitiveness without Stinson and Blaylock.
Baylor
Because of the NCAA sanctions imposed on BU last year, it was tough to get a gauge of the team's performance based only on conference play. This year's Bears are being talked about as one of the real sleepers in the Big XII, with Aussie Aaron Bruce providing most of the firepower.
Colorado
Richard Roby decided to come back, which is good news for Buffs fans, but all of the controversy surrounding Ricardo Patton is not a healthy environment in which to win basketball games (just ask Indiana).
Nebraska
Once again Nebraska will be competitive in conference play, but Lincoln will always be a football town.
Missouri
I'd "buy" Mizzou on the college hoops stock market right now, because Mike Anderson will quickly return this team to relevance after the disastrous Quin Snyder era. For it to happen this year might be a bit too much to ask, however.
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