Wendell Barnhouse is a nationally-known and respected columnist who has spent over 20 years covering collegiate athletics. He has reported from 23 Final Fours and more than three dozen bowl games and has written about the Big 12 and its schools since the conference's beginning. Barnhouse will be updating the Big 12 Insider on happenings and behind-the-scenes information about the conference.
Condolences
Our thoughts and prayers go out to two Big 12 head coaches who lost parents over the last few days.
George Pinkel, the father of Missouri football coach Gary Pinkely, died Saturday morning at the age of 83 in Columbus, Ohio.
The mother of Colorado basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik died Thursday in Chicago. She had been hospitalized since November. After coaching his team against Missouri Saturday, Bzdelik left immediately after the game to join his family.
"He knew it was coming and that's why he handled it like he did. He did a great job of not letting it be a distraction for anybody, and most people didn't even know," Colorado assistant coach Steve McClain said after Saturday's game. "It's one of those things all of us deal with in life."
Men's basketball notes from Saturday
* Kansas has 1,992 victories in its history and needs eight more to join Kentucky as the only program with 2,000 victories. North Carolina has 1,997 victories.
* Oklahoma freshman Tommy Mason-Griffin is shooting .519 from behind the arc (27-for-52) in eight Big 12 games. He is 19-for-35 (.542) on 3-pointers in his last five games.
* Oklahoma's 80-71 victory over No. 9 Texas was the Sooners' first triumph over a ranked team this season. OU has won 11 consecutive games at Lloyd Noble Center and 31 of its last 32 at home.
* Oklahoma's Ryan Wright had his first career double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds. The rebound total is a career high.
* UT's Damion James, Dexter Pittman and Dogus Balbay combined to score 20 points against Oklahoma. Their combined scoring average coming into the game was 34.1.
* Texas is shooting 61 percent from the free throw line, which puts them near the bottom of Division I (344 teams). In their four losses, the Longhorns are 47-of-96 (48.9 percent) from the line.
* In his last two games - both road victories for Kansas State - guard Denis Clemente is 11 of 17 on 3-pointers. He made 6-of-8 Saturday at Iowa State and scored a season-high 30 points. Clemente has scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games for the first time this season.
* Oklahoma State has lost three consecutive games for the first time under coach Travis Ford. He is in his second season as the Cowboys' coach.
* In its three consecutive losses, Oklahoma State has been out-gunned from the 3-point line. The Cowboys are 13-of-53 on 3-pointers (24.5 percent) during the three-game skid while their three opponents are a combined 32-of-76 (42.1 percent).
* After going scoreless in Texas Tech's first game with Oklahoma State, Red Raiders junior point guard John Roberson scored a season-high 28 in Saturday's victory. Roberson also became Texas Tech's career assist leader with 436.
* Baylor, which lost in College Station Saturday, was attempting to win at Texas and at Texas A&M in the same season since 1971.
Women's basketball notes from the weekend
* Oklahoma's Danielle Robinson has made 35 straight free throws, a school record. Against Oklahoma State, her 16-of-16 outing from the line matched the best single-game free-throw shooting performance by percentage in Big 12 history. No one else on the conference list had done better than 14-of-14.
* Oklahoma State's Andrea Riley has scored in double figures in 81 consecutive games. She has 2,523 career points, which puts her second in Big 12 history behind Courtney Paris of Oklahoma, who scored 2,729 points. Riley needs 206 points to pass Paris.
* Colorado has lost 17 consecutive games to ranked opponents.
* At the 11:01 mark Saturday night in Waco, Baylor's Brittney Griner had scored 24 points while Colorado had scored 23. The Baylor band started chanting, "Brittney's winning!"
* Texas has made 156 3-pointers this season, the third-most in a season in school history.
* Kansas, playing its first game without injured senior Danielle McCray, evened its record in Lawrence against Kansas State to 24-24. It was Jayhawks coach Bonnie Henrickson's second victory over the Wildcats.
* Kansas had a season-high eight blocked shots and freshman Carolyn Davis had a career-high four rejections.
They said it
Iowa State coach Greg McDermott, whose team has lost five of its last six to fall to 13-10 overall, 2-6 in the Big 12:
"We just have lapses in concentration, that are really short lapses, but they can be devastating."
Kansas State Frank Martin on the defections and season-ending injuries that have contributed to Iowa State's woes:
"My heart goes out to (coach Greg McDermott) and those kids that are still wearing the uniform, because to deal with the injuries ... and then turn around and have some selfish guy quit on his team, and for them to still be playing as hard as they're playing and as well as they're playing, that's a credit to those guys."
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair on his team pushing undefeated Nebraska until the final minutes in Lincoln:
"When you've been to the Sweet 16 the last two years and played the Dukes and Tennessees and Oklahomas, there is no fear. I hope we came a little bit of age because we didn't let adversity get to us."
Texas A&M coach Gary Blair on undefeated Nebraska:
"This is a team that has a great chance of getting to that Final Four, Elite Eight, Sweet 16."
Kansas junior center Cole Aldrich after the Jayhawks struggled before pulling away in the second half to beat Nebraska Saturday:
"That might have been maybe the dumbest we've played in a while. ... You gotta find ways to win."
Baylor coach Kim Mulkey on Brittney Griner's second triple double of the season:
"Look how far Brittney Griner has come since she's been here. I can only imagine when she becomes a senior like Morghan Medlock. The thing that will always help Brittney Griner is that she has the most wonderful disposition to be coached. She doesn't think she's a prima donna or the next best thing to sliced bread. She just comes out here and wants to get better every day."
Texas Tech's Mike Singletary on the Red Raiders holding Oklahoma State's James Anderson to 10 points after he scored 28 points in the Cowboys' victory:
"We played him a little more physical this time. That kind of got in his head. When he went to the rack, he got fouled pretty hard. He's a good player. But whenever you get fouled like that, it gets in your mind."
Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale on Danielle Robinson, who scored 36 points, made a Big 12 record 16-of-16 free throw attempts, had nine rebounds and six assists in the Sooners' Bedlam victory over Oklahoma State:
"I don't know that I've seen a finer performance from a point guard than what you saw from Danielle today. The numbers are gaudy - and they speak for themselves - but it was her leadership, the way she ran our team, the decisions that she made. ... That's what great point guards do. If you want to talk about who's the best in the country, you've got to include her."
Colorado's Alec Burks, the Big 12's top freshman scorer, had a career-high 27 points against Missouri, his home state:
"It's just another team with another name on the jersey. I just happen to be from there. Nothing special for me, just a game."
Texas Tech coach Kristy Curry on Texas:
"They are playing their best basketball right now. When you go back and watch the film of them against Baylor and Oklahoma, their balance is incredible right now and they are playing really high level."
Kansas loses Danielle McCray to knee injury
Kansas' hopes of making the NCAA Tournament took a major blow when senior Danielle McCray suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice Thursday. Coach Bonnie Henrickson said Friday that McCray tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.
"She's driving off an on-ball screen," Henrickson told the Topeka Capital-Journal. "We do it every day. Unfortunately, I've seen it before. At first I thought it could have been her ankle. The problem is, when it happens, they don't scream like that."
Earlier this season, the Jayhawks lost freshman point guard Angel Goodrich to a torn ACL in her right knee. Goodrich missed the 2008-09 campaign after tearing her left ACL in practice before last season.
McCray, selected as the preseason Big 12 Conference women's player of the year, was averaging 19.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. Kansas is 13-7 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12.
After scoring 1,934 points in 116 career games, she ranks second in KU history in 3-point field goals made (205) and attempted (544), third in 3-point field goal percentage (37.7), fourth in field goals made (710) and attempted (1,654), fourth in free-throw percentage (78.8), eighth in minutes played (3,446) and 10th in free throws made (309).
will miss the rest of the season because of a knee injury.
Coach Bonnie Henrickson said Friday that McCray tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in practice on Thursday. She's the second starter Kansas has lost for the year to a knee injury, joining point guard Angel Goodrich.
The 5-foot-11 McCray is among the best players in Kansas history, with 1,934 points ranking her third. Kansas is 13-7 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12.
Links from Wednesday's games
ESPN.com's Mechelle Voepel reports on No. 4 Nebraska's blow out defeat of No. 10 Oklahoma State Wednesday night and how the outcome left Cornhuskers' coach Connie Yori speechless.
In their first game after returning to the top spot in the polls, Kansas overcame horrid free throw shooting to win at Colorado.
Neil Woelk of the Boulder Daily Camera writes that the Colorado continues to learn one of the harshest lessons in life: battling from the bottom is the toughest task in sports.
When Missouri went cold for nearly 11 minutes in the second half, Texas A&M took advantage to end the Tigers' 32-game home winning streak.
After an Oklahoma rally cut the Texas lead to two points, the Longhorns responded with a 14-1 spurt to assure a huge road victory over the Sooners.
Griner has record-setting night
Baylor freshman Brittany Griner had 26 points Wednesday night as she helped the Lady Bears to a much-needed 65-47 victory at Kansas State. The victory was all the more impressive considering that junior Melissa Jones missed her fifth game in the last seven because of a stress reaction in her leg.
Griner, who had dunked earlier this season in non-conference play, recorded the first dunk in a Big 12 game with a one-handed jam with 4:53 remaining. She had missed a dunk earlier in the game. The 6-8 post also broke Oklahoma's Courtney Paris' single-season record for blocked shots. Griner has rejected 122 shots.
"With Brittney, it started in last night's practice," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said in her postgame radio interview. "It wasn't the fact that she dunked, wasn't that we won the game. She took a role in practice where she really showed a lot of leadership. She was vocal, she was talking to her teammates. She's realizing, freshman or not, it's OK to challenge my teammates, it's OK to be a leader."
Baylor had a season-low seven turnovers and shot 51 percent.
VanLengen to debut talk show on women's sports
Brenda VanLengen, who has been an analyst on Big 12 women's basketball telecasts since the Conference began competition, will debut a sports talk show Friday on Sportsradiokc.com. The show, which can be heard via the Internet, will air from 1-2 p.m. each Friday and will focus on women's sports in Kansas City, the Big 12 region, and beyond.
"Sports talk radio, in general, has virtually ignored women's sports. I'm really impressed with the team at Sportsradiokc.com and their desire to reach out to fans who appreciate the athleticism, the skills, the strategies and star power of women's sports," VanLengen said.
One of the guests on Friday's debut show will be Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe.
Kansas-Kansas State telecast a ratings success
Saturday was a record-setting day in Manhattan, Kans.
ESPN announced Wednesday that last Saturday's overtime game between Kansas and Kansas State averaged a 2.2 rating. That made the telecast the highest-rated and most-viewed Big 12 regular-season conference game on ESPN since 1997. It was also the highest-rated and most-viewed Saturday game on the network since March 2008.
"Kansas and Kansas State treated college basketball fans across the country to one of the best games of the year and the audience numbers certainly reflected that," Senior Manager of Programming for ESPN Nick Dawson said. "The passion and atmosphere for GameDay and the game serve as an example of what makes college basketball exciting."
Earlier in the day, 8,159 fans jammed into Bramlage Coliseum for ESPN's College GameDay. That was a record attendance for the program.
"I can't say enough about the passion our fans have shown this athletic season," said Athletics Director John Currie said. "The atmosphere during Saturday's game was the best I have ever experienced at a college basketball game and I'm excited that the rest of the country was able to witness the enthusiasm our fan base has for the Wildcats."
Kansas prevailed, 81-79, in the 268th meeting of the Sunshine State rivalry.
OU to honor Wayman Tisdale Saturday
The University of Oklahoma athletics department will honor the life and playing career of Wayman Tisdale when the Sooners play host to Texas at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Tisdale, a first-team All-American as a freshman, sophomore and junior, is regarded as Oklahoma's greatest player and he is the school's leading scorer and rebounder. He died of cancer last May at the age of 44.
Tisdale was a successful jazz bassist after his NBA career ended and the ceremonies will have a musical theme. His band will hold a pre-game concert from 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. in Lloyd Noble Center. The National Anthem will be performed by Tom Braxton, the saxophonist from Tisdale's band.
A special preview of the upcoming documentary "The Wayman Tisdale Story" will be shown on the LNC video board at halftime and will be followed by a special music tribute.
Tisdale's wife, Regina, and children, as well as other family members and former teammates and coaches, will be in attendance and recognized Saturday.
Hard to believe
The old saying goes "Believe none of what you read and half of what you see."
In this Internet, information-blasting-from-a-firehouse, that phrase is outdated. Your Humble Correspondent wonders if there's a stronger word for "none." Like "double-none" or "none to the 10th power." Because when you say, "believe none of what you read" it's hardly strong enough condemnation for what continues to pass as reporting.
Monday there were two "reports" posted on Internet sites. Web site stories that are "hot" and "newsy" get passed around like yearbooks at graduation. Both "reports" got far more attention than either deserved.
SportsByBrooks.com wrote that the NCAA Tournament expanding to 96 teams was a "done deal." SportsByBrooks' Twitter feed Monday also had this: "First ever smokin' hot photos Pete Rose girlfriend Kiana Kim."
Ms. Kim's photos apparently are legitimate. The NCAA Tournament expansion being a "done deal" - maybe not so much.
NCAA senior vice president Greg Shaheen told FOXSports.com that, "Nothing is a done deal."
On Jan. 6, SportsByBrooks reported that Art Briles would be Texas Tech's new coach. On Jan. 10, Texas Tech introduced its new football coach ... Tommy Tuberville. (FOXSports.com is a six touchdown favorite in a fantasy matchup with SportsByBrooks.com.)
Also, BenMaller.com reported that "University of Pittsburgh athletics are moving to the Big Ten Conference, according to sources close to the school. ... Some athletes were informed of the move over the weekend, a little birdie tells me. ... Pitt will become the 12th school in the Big Ten, with an official announcement expected by Thursday. This means you'll be seeing a Big Ten football title game. ... No word on who will replace Pitt in the Big East."
All that sounds incredibly legit. So, the official announcement (supposedly) comes Thursday. Plus, according to the Mayans, the world ends in 2012. So enjoy the year or so as a Big Ten member, Pitt. Also, keep in mind that the Big Ten has never moved quickly regarding expansion and that if there's any announcement before the start of the next football season (if then), YHC will be stunned.
Ben Maller, by the way, is a Fox Sports Radio Network host. He works the 1 a.m. to 6 a.m. weekend time slot. That would seem to free him for plenty of source developing and reporting during the week. It could be his sources were found on Twitter.com; according to Tweets, "Pittsburgh athletic department officials held closed door meetings with all of the University's student athletes last week about the potential move."
E.J. Borghetti, associate athletic director/media relations for Pitt, has posted this Twitter message concerning speculation that Pitt had agreed to join the Big Ten Conference. "Now hear this: rumors on Internet message boards should be read for amusement purposes only, and not consumed as responsible journalism."
The new rule is that there are no rules. If it is written and posted somewhere on a web site, it can be read by anyone and taken as fact by anyone who is foolish enough to believe what they read ... at least until the post is removed.
If/when the NCAA Tournament expands to 96 teams, SportsByBrooks.com can take credit for breaking the story. If Pitt indeed joins the Big Ten, we all bow and praise BenMaller.com. If the reports are incorrect, no harm, no foul, right? It's only the Internet.
YHC, though, wishes an old newspaper adage still applied: Being first and correct with a story is worth 100 times more than being first and incorrect.
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