Here's what we know so far. I haven't taken a deep dive into three point shooting, free throw prowess, etc.
A quick look at the Big 12 opponents for ISU.
Oklahoma State (7-4)
No wins that are impressive in any way. Played #20 CU close (11 point loss) and was pounded by Ohio State at home by 18. Because I’m biased I like their win against Wyoming (Heather Ezell’s squad). Top scorer is a freshman (Heard). Just gained Hannah Gusters (former Baylor and LSU player) at post. Five players average double figures.
Kansas (7-4)
Impressive close loses to #9 Virginia Tech (1 point) and #6 UConn (8 points). Also a close loss to ATM. Beat Nebraska, but that’s about it on the win side. Five players averaging double figures led by Nichols 14ppg. They go deep as every player on the team averages at least 7 minutes.
BYU (10-3)
Not a single impressive win in their slate. They lost to a pair of teams OSU beat - Wyoming and Missouri State. Gustin leads the way in points scored (17) and rebounds (16) per game. Three players in double figures and not much depth. I suspect they are going to take it on the nose once the conference season starts.
WVU (11-0)
They have one good win against #25 Penn State, but outside of that its a schedule of the weak sisters. It shows in the scores as WVU has scored a bunch of points. Just not impressed other than they’ve won games they should win. Quinerly is averaging nearly 20ppg and gets her hands on nearly 4 steals a game. They play about 8 deep.
Baylor (11-0)
They have wins against two ranked teams beating #4 Utah (7) and #24 Miami (18). They are ranked 10th right now. The rest of their schedule are weak sisters, but they start conf play at Texas. That will tell us something about both teams right out of the gate. Andrews is their top scorer at 13ppm which tells you they get points from several folk. Five double figure scorers and they go all the way to the end of the bench for depth, but there isn’t much production after the first seven.
Texas Tech (11-2)
They are up to their usual in scheduling one of the weakest schedules in the Big 12. Lots of inflation here. It has shown up in their last two games (both losses) as they fell to a decent Tulsa team and an undefeated Oregon State squad. Maupin leads the way scoring with 15ppg. Shavers does the same. They are the only two double figure scorers on the team. All but two players average double digit minutes so they are substituting in waves. Just not a lot of point production after the first two.
TCU (11-0)
What happened to the perennial bottom dweller of the Big 12? The past couple of years they could hardly get out of their own way. 11-0? How? They’ve adopted Tech’s scheduling methodology by playing teams like Prairie View and Omaha. So…we don’t really know much about how good they really are. It’s earned them a spot at the edge of the top 25 though. Led by Conner with 23ppg and Prince with 10 rpg. They play 8-9 deep, but scoring drops off a cliff after Conner and Prince (20 ppg).
UCF (9-1)
Another Tech type schedule. Maybe easier with team like Bethune and Campbell in there. I’m not sure what you learn playing teams like that, but we’ve seen some of those on our schedules in the past…just not ten of them. They are led by Peterson with 20ppg and Akot with 10rpg. They spread their minutes pretty evenly through nine players with three primary scorers. Only average 69ppg. with that weak schedule.
Oklahoma (6-5)
How the high flying Sooners have fallen. Have lost five of their last six games. O.K., a couple of those were against decent teams (NC and Princeton), but the latest was an embarrassing loss at home to Southern. There’s a real mystery going on here. Vann leads the way in scoring (14ppg) and rebounding (8rpg). Four players including Ms Joens are averaging in double figures. One of those is Iowa’s own Sahara Williams. They spread their minutes around as nearly every player (all but 1) average double digit minutes. Contributions drop off after the first five.
KSU (12-1)
They’ve been looking very impressive and it’s nice to see Lee looking very healthy. She’s always been an impressive player to me. KSU split two games against Iowa (winning in the cesspool known as Carver Hawkeye) and beat North Carolina. Also beat Wisconsin. Otherwise cannon fodder on the schedule. Beat the same Southern team that just beat OU by 32 points. Ouch. Lee leads the team in scoring (21ppg) and rebounding (8rpg). The team typically plays eight deep with players that have been around forever (Gregory, Sundell, and the Glenn twins) doing damage.
Texas (12-0)
I’ll miss Texas nearly as much as I miss ATM after they run away next summer. That being said, this is one scary team. They only have two good wins (#11 UConn by 12 and Arizona by 13). Have yet to be challenged this year as the rest of the schedule is practice squad stuff. They are loaded for bear talent-wise, but we’ve seen their egos melt down before. They are led by Jones (16ppg and 7 rpg) and Harmon (8 assists per game). Eleven players average double digit minutes, but with their schedule that is easy to understand. Against good competition that cuts down to seven deep. Harmon and Booker are their volume shooters.
Houston (9-2)
I’ll just get to the point. This is a not a good team. Some of the scores look impressive, but they have yet to play anyone with a pulse. On the plus side, Houston or TTech get to start the season off with a win as they play each other first. They are led by Blair (16ppg) and go ten deep in the rotation. Three double digit scorers.
Cincinnati (8-3)
The Bearcats three losses are to ranked teams. The closest was a 17 point loss to #3 Colorado. The rest of their wins have been convincing against very average teams (I feel like I am repeating myself as most teams schedule light). They are led by Hayes at 12ppg and 9rpg. They play 11 deep (all with double digit minutes), but the scoring falls off quickly.
A quick look at the Big 12 opponents for ISU.
Oklahoma State (7-4)
No wins that are impressive in any way. Played #20 CU close (11 point loss) and was pounded by Ohio State at home by 18. Because I’m biased I like their win against Wyoming (Heather Ezell’s squad). Top scorer is a freshman (Heard). Just gained Hannah Gusters (former Baylor and LSU player) at post. Five players average double figures.
Kansas (7-4)
Impressive close loses to #9 Virginia Tech (1 point) and #6 UConn (8 points). Also a close loss to ATM. Beat Nebraska, but that’s about it on the win side. Five players averaging double figures led by Nichols 14ppg. They go deep as every player on the team averages at least 7 minutes.
BYU (10-3)
Not a single impressive win in their slate. They lost to a pair of teams OSU beat - Wyoming and Missouri State. Gustin leads the way in points scored (17) and rebounds (16) per game. Three players in double figures and not much depth. I suspect they are going to take it on the nose once the conference season starts.
WVU (11-0)
They have one good win against #25 Penn State, but outside of that its a schedule of the weak sisters. It shows in the scores as WVU has scored a bunch of points. Just not impressed other than they’ve won games they should win. Quinerly is averaging nearly 20ppg and gets her hands on nearly 4 steals a game. They play about 8 deep.
Baylor (11-0)
They have wins against two ranked teams beating #4 Utah (7) and #24 Miami (18). They are ranked 10th right now. The rest of their schedule are weak sisters, but they start conf play at Texas. That will tell us something about both teams right out of the gate. Andrews is their top scorer at 13ppm which tells you they get points from several folk. Five double figure scorers and they go all the way to the end of the bench for depth, but there isn’t much production after the first seven.
Texas Tech (11-2)
They are up to their usual in scheduling one of the weakest schedules in the Big 12. Lots of inflation here. It has shown up in their last two games (both losses) as they fell to a decent Tulsa team and an undefeated Oregon State squad. Maupin leads the way scoring with 15ppg. Shavers does the same. They are the only two double figure scorers on the team. All but two players average double digit minutes so they are substituting in waves. Just not a lot of point production after the first two.
TCU (11-0)
What happened to the perennial bottom dweller of the Big 12? The past couple of years they could hardly get out of their own way. 11-0? How? They’ve adopted Tech’s scheduling methodology by playing teams like Prairie View and Omaha. So…we don’t really know much about how good they really are. It’s earned them a spot at the edge of the top 25 though. Led by Conner with 23ppg and Prince with 10 rpg. They play 8-9 deep, but scoring drops off a cliff after Conner and Prince (20 ppg).
UCF (9-1)
Another Tech type schedule. Maybe easier with team like Bethune and Campbell in there. I’m not sure what you learn playing teams like that, but we’ve seen some of those on our schedules in the past…just not ten of them. They are led by Peterson with 20ppg and Akot with 10rpg. They spread their minutes pretty evenly through nine players with three primary scorers. Only average 69ppg. with that weak schedule.
Oklahoma (6-5)
How the high flying Sooners have fallen. Have lost five of their last six games. O.K., a couple of those were against decent teams (NC and Princeton), but the latest was an embarrassing loss at home to Southern. There’s a real mystery going on here. Vann leads the way in scoring (14ppg) and rebounding (8rpg). Four players including Ms Joens are averaging in double figures. One of those is Iowa’s own Sahara Williams. They spread their minutes around as nearly every player (all but 1) average double digit minutes. Contributions drop off after the first five.
KSU (12-1)
They’ve been looking very impressive and it’s nice to see Lee looking very healthy. She’s always been an impressive player to me. KSU split two games against Iowa (winning in the cesspool known as Carver Hawkeye) and beat North Carolina. Also beat Wisconsin. Otherwise cannon fodder on the schedule. Beat the same Southern team that just beat OU by 32 points. Ouch. Lee leads the team in scoring (21ppg) and rebounding (8rpg). The team typically plays eight deep with players that have been around forever (Gregory, Sundell, and the Glenn twins) doing damage.
Texas (12-0)
I’ll miss Texas nearly as much as I miss ATM after they run away next summer. That being said, this is one scary team. They only have two good wins (#11 UConn by 12 and Arizona by 13). Have yet to be challenged this year as the rest of the schedule is practice squad stuff. They are loaded for bear talent-wise, but we’ve seen their egos melt down before. They are led by Jones (16ppg and 7 rpg) and Harmon (8 assists per game). Eleven players average double digit minutes, but with their schedule that is easy to understand. Against good competition that cuts down to seven deep. Harmon and Booker are their volume shooters.
Houston (9-2)
I’ll just get to the point. This is a not a good team. Some of the scores look impressive, but they have yet to play anyone with a pulse. On the plus side, Houston or TTech get to start the season off with a win as they play each other first. They are led by Blair (16ppg) and go ten deep in the rotation. Three double digit scorers.
Cincinnati (8-3)
The Bearcats three losses are to ranked teams. The closest was a 17 point loss to #3 Colorado. The rest of their wins have been convincing against very average teams (I feel like I am repeating myself as most teams schedule light). They are led by Hayes at 12ppg and 9rpg. They play 11 deep (all with double digit minutes), but the scoring falls off quickly.
