Oklahoma Sooners Basketball

Sooners Begin Conference Play With Win Over Mountaneers - Conference Still Belongs To Kansas

Oklahoma started Big 12 play on Saturday with a 67-57 win over conference newcomer West Virginia. It marked a huge step of improvement for Lon Kruger's group in his second season. Last year the Sooners only won one conference game on the road and in just the first Big 12 game of 2013 they've already matched that total.

By M. Hofeld@CCMachine Jan 7, 2013, 4:27pm CST

OU is one of eight conference schools that began league play over the weekend, and obviously one of just four winners. Kansas State may have made the biggest impression with a comfortable win over Oklahoma State but don't discount Baylor's win over Texas either.

However, the team to beat within the conference has yet to play a conference game but it is clearly evident that the Big 12 is Kansas' to lose. Here's some quick recaps from this past weekend's action on the hardwood.

Texas 79

(8-6, 0-1 Big 12)

Baylor 86

(9-4, 1-0 Big 12)

Recap: Texas overcame a nine point halftime deficit to send the game into overtime by outscoring the Bears 37-28 in the final 20 minutes. However, the extra period would belong to the Bears by an 18-11 advantage.

MVP: Baylor forward Cory Jefferson scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Temple 62

(10-3, 3-1 away)

(6) Kansas 69

(12-1, 8-0 home)

Recap: The Jayhawks won their 11th game in a row and will enter into conference play this week (vs. Iowa State) as the hands on favorite to win the Big 12. After jumping out to an early 22-10 lead in the first half, the Jayhawks fell behind Temple 54-50 with just under seven minutes left in the game. Kansas responded by outscoring the Owls 19-8 down the stretch.

MVP: Kansas Forward Kevin Young scored 16 points and grabbed 10 boards.

(22) Oklahoma St 67

(10-3, 0-1 Big 12)

(25) Kansas St 73

(12-2, 1-0 Big 12)

Recap: After playing neck-and-neck for the first half the Wildcats were able to separate themselves from Oklahoma State due to Rodney McGruder's five three point shots in the final minutes. Kansas State also beat OSU 35-27 on the boards.

MVP: KSU guard Rodney McGruder scored 28 points (26 in the second half) and grabbed 5 five rebounds.

Oklahoma 67

(10-3, 1-0 Big 12)

West Virginia 57

(7-6, 0-1 Big 12)

Recap: West Virginia built a 12 point second half lead but the Sooners ultimately took control of the game by outscoring the Mountaineers 38-22 over the final 20 minutes, thanks to a 16-2 run to close out the game.

MVP: Oklahoma forward Romero Osby scored 21 points and grabbed 9 rebounds.

Texas Tech 62

(8-4, 1-0 Big 12)

TCU 53

(9-5, 0-1 Big 12)

Recap: The Red Raiders welcomed TCU to the Big 12 by snapping the Frogs three-game winning streak. The two teams played evenly through the second half but a seven point halftime deficit was too much for TCU to overcome.

MVP: Texas Tech forward Jordan Tolbert scored 11 points and had 9 rebounds.

Big 12 Power Rankings

Rank	M. Hofeld	Rich DeCray	Jordan Esco
1.	Kansas	Kansas	Kansas
2.	Kansas State	Kansas State	Doesn’t Matter
3.	Baylor	Baylor	Doesn’t Matter
4.	Oklahoma State	Oklahoma State	Doesn’t Matter
5.	Texas	Oklahoma	Doesn’t Matter
6.	Oklahoma	Iowa State	Doesn’t Matter
7.	Iowa State	Texas Tech	Doesn’t Matter
8.	West Virginia	Texas	Doesn’t Matter
9.	Texas Tech	West Virginia	Doesn’t Matter
10.	TCU	TCU	TCU