Teh Clownez" are back, but when will WE be?

How is K-State and Texas A&M doing this year, throw in Texas as well. Teams that are supposed to good in the Big 12 that just aren't.

Texas is improving and there is still talent at K-State, but overall the conference lacks major depth.

Baylor is overhyped and can't shoot or dominate with their size and Kansas has some issues with depth. Kansas is playing short-handed after having some freshman ruled ineligible, I don't see them going deep in the NCAA.

Missouri is probably the best team in that conference and it would be interesting to see how they matchup against the top team in the BIG.

I don't think the BIG is as good as people play it out to be, but it is still better than the Big 12. There is a serious dropoff after KU, Mizzou and Baylor.

22 Kansas State 252 14-4

#22 isn't bad I would say. Texas is very young, they don't suck.
 
Wow, you don't pay any attention to recruiting do you?

Two top 150 players coming in next season with what appears to be some other athletic guards that will be role players.

ISU took a different route to rebuild and it has worked to a point this year in a very down Big 12.

The idiots are out in full force today.
Missouri, Kansas, Baylor = Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan

How is the Big 12 down this year? The middle of the Big 10 may be a little stronger than the Big 12, however from top to bottom I dont think you can make an argument the Big 10 is better.
 
I may have missed something but when was Nebraska a Big 12 bubble team? They were perenial bottom feeders in the Big 12. That statement just isnt accurate.

They won 19 games last season, but lost to ISU and Colorado late when a lot of people had them dancing last year until that point. After that all talk of them to the NCAA was over.
 
The idiots are out in full force today.
Missouri, Kansas, Baylor = Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan

How is the Big 12 down this year? The middle of the Big 10 may be a little stronger than the Big 12, however from top to bottom I dont think you can make an argument the Big 10 is better.

Yes you can, look at any conference rankings. They are all in agreement that the B10 is the best conference in the country.
 
Anybody else find it hilarious how we now use the same argument that ISU fans used all of football season about the best conference in the country crap.

Holy irony Batman!!!
 
Another person ignorant to who Fred is/has recruited. Why the hell wouldn't you want instant gratification? Winning makes it even easier to recruit. ISU had 5-6 prospects at today's games. All HS kids.There is recruiting information on the internet. I suggest using that resource to expand your knowledge.
College Basketball Recruiting Schools - ESPNBasketball Recruiting - Georges Niang - Player Profiles - ESPNNiang is a top 100 and 4 star recruit. The others are 2* recruits. But I don't try to provide facts to CyFans because they don't go by facts, they go by bias. All of CyFans recruits are blue chips and although Iowa has a top 20 class I see quite frequently CyFans say Iowa's class is "not good". Pretty good considering Iowa isn't very good and according to CyFans, "trash".

Going off Rivals which is head and shoulders above ESPN, ISU has two top 150 players and Okoro was listed in the group of ten that just missed out on the list. By the end of the recruiting cycle, all three of those guys could easily be ranked in the top 150.
 
Yes you can, look at any conference rankings. They are all in agreement that the B10 is the best conference in the country.

It may say that, but the BIG isn't that great this year, that said, I still think it is a tougher conference than the Big 12.

There are few upsets in the Big 12, obviously ISU winning today is an upset. Kansas/Mizzou winning against Baylor were not upsets.

People want to point to Baylor and what they have done and them being elite, but they aren't. When teams force them to play very organized basketball they struggle, look at them at home today against Texas.

Baylor could be one of those high seeds that get knocked off very early.
Kansas has depth issues and it showed when Robinson and their Center got in foul trouble today.

Missouri is the best team in that conference because they play within themselves and their gaurds are all good, even the ones that come off the bench. The have been able to force teams to play their game, yeah they got knocked off at KSU, it is tough to go undefeated in any conference today.

I would like to see the top three teams in each conference play and see who wins. Kansas beat OSU this season, with Sullinger or not it is very tough to win at KU.

The NCAA tournament may be the only judge of what conference is better, but even then seeding plays a part of record. There is no good way to compare leagues unless there is a challenge like the ACC/BIG challenge, or the Big 12/Pac 12 challenge.

I would love to see some sort of rotation with all the power six conferences playing each other. Two challenges per season or something.
 
Joining this discussion a little late..

I think both Fran & Fred are both doing a good job so far. Fred took the route of grabbing some transfers with a little baggage.. A risk/reward scenario, which is paying off for them so far, so ISU is "getting there" a little faster than we are.

But you can see that Fran is upgrading the talent in our program slowly but surely.. Many more players coming in next year, which is the key class, and by all accounts should be a nice upgrade.

We'll get there, but it takes a little more time recruiting HS players as opposed to Juco's, transfers, etc. who already have D1 experience and can contribue sooner, and at a higher level, than most true freshmen typically do. But in the end, I think we'll like where Fran is taking us (fingers crossed).
 
Baylor could be one of those high seeds that get knocked off very early.

I haven't seen them play, but when they were still undefeated, I looked at their schedule and noticed that they hadn't played ANYBODY... Now that league play has started, the losses have started to accumulate a bit.

They will still likely end up with a fairly nice seed, but their "hot start" might've been a bit of a house of cards.
 
Joining this discussion a little late..

I think both Fran & Fred are both doing a good job so far. Fred took the route of grabbing some transfers with a little baggage.. A risk/reward scenario, which is paying off for them so far, so ISU is "getting there" a little faster than we are.

But you can see that Fran is upgrading the talent in our program slowly but surely.. Many more players coming in next year, which is the key class, and by all accounts should be a nice upgrade.

We'll get there, but it takes a little more time recruiting HS players as opposed to Juco's, transfers, etc. who already have D1 experience and can contribue sooner, and at a higher level, than most true freshmen typically do. But in the end, I think we'll like where Fran is taking us (fingers crossed).

Agreed 100% with your take here.

You look at the transfers for ISU they are upperclassmen, minus White/Clyburn. These are guys that have played and ISU is getting some solid recruits, this year he will have two top 150 kids come in.

We look at Fran and he has done it different. He could have easily told some players to look elsewhere and then took on transfers either JUCO or what have you.
So when I look at Iowa they will have a Jr. class with Marble/McCabe/Basabe, guys that have been around and will be heavily leaned on. Add in Oglesby/White/Olaseni who will have a year under their belt and that is six experienced guys to compliment the incoming freshman. The freshman have what Iowa is missing in a lot of ways.

Iowa fans will like where the program is heading and there maybe a nice surprise in year three. My prediction has been NCAA tourney and I will stick with it.

The gloom and doom that was shown if Iowa's two "best" players were to struggle this season was amazing, well they have and Iowa is still on pace to finish above .500, there is a little more talent there and they play as a team.
 
How were they a Big 12 Bubble team? You are talking about a program that has never won a NCAA tournament game, and has won 5 road games in 3 years (one of those at Iowa this year).

Big 10 is a better conference for sure this year, but I think the Big 12 is decent enough.
I'm so glad we can be the ones to give these bottom dwellers a lift in their spirits once in a while. Nebraska in b-ball, Minnesota in football. Gives me a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
 
Can someone explain why only one school between ISU and Iowa can be back? I see no reason why they both can't get back into relevancy.

For now, really neither school can claim to be back. My definition would be two NCAA appearances and finishing in the top half of the conference 2 out of 3 years. That would probably mean that you are back.

As far as I know, there is no NCAA rule that says if one is back the other is not.
 
It may say that, but the BIG isn't that great this year, that said, I still think it is a tougher conference than the Big 12.

There are few upsets in the Big 12, obviously ISU winning today is an upset. Kansas/Mizzou winning against Baylor were not upsets.

Missouri is the best team in that conference because they play within themselves and their gaurds are all good, even the ones that come off the bench. The have been able to force teams to play their game, yeah they got knocked off at KSU, it is tough to go undefeated in any conference today.

The Big 10 is the best conference and it's not even close. That said, I disagree here. Ok State beat this Mizzou team who is supposedly the best in the conference last week, and there were a lot of Iowa fans on here talking about how ISU should have been embarrassed for having to beat OSU on a last second shot.

The difference in the Big 10 and Big 12 this year is that the middle for the Big 10 is slightly better, and there isn't a team in the Big 10 as bad as A&M and Tech. Tech is just terrible. A&M has talent, they are just playing like they want Kennedy fired.

As far as the transfer thing goes, Fred has said repeatedly it was a way to get talent in the program quickly as a bridge to high school talent. They are making that switch now. After next year there won't be a single transfer on the roster, JUCO or otherwise. As far as the 2014 team goes, I am happy with the guys we have committed and on campus already to be the core. That will obviously be a pretty big class though.
 
The Big 12 has 3 top 10 teams. After today, it will probably be 3 top 15 teams. That's not bad.

Iowa has 2 really good wins this year (Michigan and Wisconsin). Those are really, really good. Don't get over excited about beating Minnesota.

Iowa State got their first really good win against Kansas today. In my opinion, Kansas is better than either Michigan or Wisconsin. Of course, you should note that Iowa State lost to Michigan at Michigan this year. Plus 1 for Iowa.

Iowa State has yet to lose a game by more than 10 points. Iowa has lost several by more than 10 and got blown out against 2 conference teams.

Hopefully, Iowa State can win a few more and their top 5 win will actually mean something. Unlike some other team's good wins.
 
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