Big 12 Baseball Weekly Review- March 10th, 2008

by corn blight on Mar 10, 2008 8:18 PM CDT in Baseball Comment 7 comments

Getting this out a day later than I'd like, but weather pushed a lot of series back a day. Lots of four-game series being played due to the condensed schedule this season. It'll be interesting to see whether or not the season start date is changed next season. Not a lot of great match ups this week, with a lot of teams feasting on twinkies. In the big series of the week, Stanford travelled to Austin and took a series from the Longhorns.
The first release of the RPI's are available from Boyd's World today. Oklahoma State has the highest Big 12 RPI at 7, followed by Nebraska at 20. The next Big 12 team is Mizzou at 45.

Big 12 Baseball Weekly Review

Overall Big 12 win-loss records are updated on the right sidebar. Win-loss for the week is included below.

Big 12 Rankings this Week
National Collegiate Baseball Writers, March 10, 2008 - Texas, 10th; Baylor 12th; Missouri, 14th; Texas A&M, 23rd; Oklahoma State, 25th
Baseball America Top 25, March 10, 2008 - Missouri, 4th; Baylor, 10th; Texas, 19th; Oklahoma State, 23rd
Collegiate Baseball Top 25, March 10, 2008 - Baylor, 9th; Texas, 15th,; Missouri, 17th; Texas A&M, 24th; Oklahoma, 25th, Oklahoma State, 28th

If I refer to rankings below, I'll be using Baseball America's ranking.

Baylor

4-1

Tue., Mar. 4 Louisiana Tech 9, Baylor 6
Wed., Mar. 5 Baylor 7, Louisiana Tech 6
Sun., Mar. 9 Baylor 5, Mississippi State 4
Sun., Mar. 9 Baylor 16, Mississippi State 11
Mon., Mar. 10 Baylor 6, Mississippi State 3

A big week for Baylor as head coach Steve Smith picked up his 500th win. Baylor finally lost a game this week to La-Tech (RPI:56). They swept Miss. State (RPI: 172) over the weekend, finishing the series today. Nice win on the road for them. They're off to their best start since 1984. As a reward, they've jumped to tenth in the BA poll.

Kansas

4-0

Wed., Mar. 5 Kansas 13, Lemoyne 2
Sat., Mar. 8 Kansas 4, North Dakota State 3 (10)
Sun., Mar. 9 Kansas 13, North Dakota State 0
Sun., Mar. 9 Kansas 11, North Dakota State 9

Kansas needed something good to happen this week and that something good was a sweep over NDSU (RPI:241). The Jayhawks finally got their offense going - pounding out 41 hits over four games. Kansas has put together a six-game win streak.
Kansas gets non-Division I Tabor College and Missouri State (RPI:48) before heading to Texas to take on the Longhorns.

Kansas State

3-3

Tue., Mar. 4 Texas-San Antonio 5, Kansas State 4
Wed., Mar. 5 Texas-San Antonio 9, Kansas State 8
Sat., Mar. 8 Lemoyne 8, Kansas State 3
Sat., Mar. 8 Kansas State 11, Lemoyne 10
Sun., Mar. 9 Kansas State 10, Lemoyne 1
Sun., Mar. 9 Kansas State 4, LeMoyne 3

A mixed week for Kansas State. They lose two to UTSA (RPI: 131) and then go 3-1 against LeMoyne (RPI:209). The Wildcats are last in the Big 12 in team batting average at .232 (as of Sunday).
K-State plays a single game mid-week against Washington State, then welcome the Huskers to Manhattan for the Big 12 opener.

Missouri

3-0

Sat., Mar. 8 Missouri 5, Indiana State 1
Sun., Mar. 9 Missouri 9, Indiana State 8
Sun., Mar. 9 Missouri 6, Indiana State 2

Missouri swept Indiana State (RPI: 160) this past weekend. Indiana State is 1-8 on the year, their only win coming against South Florida.
Next week Missouri gets Toledo (RPI:59) at home for a series, and then starts Big 12 play the week after next.

Nebraska

5-0

Tue., Mar. 4 Nebraska 11, Nebraska-Kearney 2
Sat., Mar. 8 Nebraska 12, Northern Colorado 2
Sun., Mar. 9 Nebraska 3, Northern Colorado 2
Sun., Mar. 9 Nebraska 8, Northern Colorado 5
Mon., Mar. 10 Nebraska 7, Northern Colorado 0

Another good week for Nebraska sweeping Northern Colorado (RPI:69). The offense isn't exceptional, but the pitching has been better than expected. Newcomer Aaron Pribanic threw a complete game Monday, and the Huskers have put together a nine-game winning streak.
The Cornhuskers get South Dakota State for a mid-week game, then travel to Manhattan next weekend to start Big 12 play.

Oklahoma

6-0

Oklahoma 13, North Dakota State 0 Oklahoma 9, North Dakota State 3 (7)
Fri., Mar. 7 Oklahoma 12, Western Illinois 2
Sat., Mar. 8 Oklahoma 11, Western Illinois 6
Sat., Mar. 8 Oklahoma 7, Western Illinois 4
Sun., Mar. 9 Oklahoma 7, Western Illinois 4

Oklahoma had a heavy helping of candy this week, sweeping NDSU (RPI: 241) and Western Illinois (RPI: 277). They get some wins, they get some games in, these don't help OU's RPI, which is at 152.
More candy on the way as the Sooners meeting Northern Illinois (RPI:237) mid-week. Then they play Washington State (RPI:62) for a series next weekend.

Oklahoma State

2-2

Thu., Mar. 6 San Diego State Tournament - Oklahoma State 3, Loyola Marymount 2
Fri., Mar. 7 San Diego State Tournament - San Diego 7, Oklahoma State 2
Sat., Mar. 8 San Diego State Tournament - Oklahoma State 9, Santa Clara 5
Sun., Mar. 9 San Diego State Tournament - San Diego State 12, Oklahoma State 4

Oklahoma State used six pitchers and gave up 18 hits against San Diego (RPI:65) in their final tournament game. They're ranked third in conference in team batting average at .308, but sixth in pitching.
The Cowboys get Missouri state mid-week, then head to Baylor for an excellent early season Big 12 match up.

Texas

4-1

Tue., Mar. 4 Texas 16, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 7
Wed., Mar. 5 Texas 22, Texas A&M Corpus Christi 3
Fri., Mar. 7 Texas 5, Stanford 2
Sat., Mar. 8 Stanford 6, Texas 5
Sun., Mar. 9 Stanford 12, Texas 9

Texas proves they can destroy the bitty schools, hammering TAMU-CC (RPI: 188) 38-10 in two games. Then the Pac-10 comes to town and the Longhorns lose a series to Stanford (RPI:2). The Longhorns are last in the Big 12 in fielding. In the last game of the Stanford series, Texas scored eight runs in the final four innings, but hit into six double plays, two of those with the bases loaded. Bad luck or something else?
Texas heads to rival Rice (RPI:27) mid-week, then Kansas visits Austin next weekend for the start of Big 12 play.

Texas A&M

4-1

Tue., Mar. 4 Texas A&M 5, Nicholls State 1
Wed., Mar. 5 Texas A&M 14, Nicholls State 3
Fri., Mar. 7 Rutgers 10, Texas A&M 8
Sat., Mar. 8 Texas A&M 2, Rutgers 1
Sun., Mar. 9 Texas A&M 12, Rutgers 3

Decent output for the Aggies this past week, taking a series from a decent Rutgers (RPI:39) team. In the rubber match, Aggies Luke Anders had four hits and five RBI's, but that wasn't good enough to win him player of the week.
The Aggies play a two-game series with Centenary (RPI:154) mid-week, and the start Big 12 play off with Texas Tech in College Station.

Texas Tech

4-1

Tue., Mar. 4 Texas Tech 15, Central Arkansas 6
Wed., Mar. 5 Texas Tech 8, Central Arkansas 3
Sat., Mar. 8 Texas Tech 11, Northern Illinois 5
Sat., Mar. 8 Texas State 14, Texas Tech 3
Sun., Mar. 9 Texas Tech 8, Northern Illinois 5

Tech was supposed to play a four-game series against Illinois, but weather in Chicago kept Illinois from making the trip. Instead, Tech travelled to San Marcos, playing Northern Illinois (RPI:237) and Texas State (RPI:81). Texas Tech stands at 7-6 and with an RPI of 105.

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One man's opinion

FWIW (i.e. almost nothing) here is my Big-12 ranking:

Baylor - Swept a two game series at Miss State.

aTm - They move up, not so much due to taking two of three from Rutgers but rather because Texas continues to fall.

Texas - The Longhorns are now 2-4 vs. good teams.

Missouri - Sweept a visiting Indiana State team.

OU - They jump their in-state rival.

OSU - Went 2-2 in San Diego State tournament.

Nebraska - Swept Northern Colorado. Thought of moving them up past the Cowboys also.

KU - Jayhawks are on a six game winning streak. They move in front of K-State. Tough game on Wednesday at Missouri State.

KSU - Won three of four over visiting LaMoyne. Saturday was almost a disaster. The Wildcats needed to rally for six runs in the 9th.

TTU - They won two of three this weekend despite weather issues. They scored a lot of runs. I thought of moving them over K-State.

There are several big games today involving Big-12 teams:

Texas at Rice
Baylor at Oral Roberts
Missouri State at Oklahoma State
Dallas Baptist vs Oklahoma
Washington State at Kansas State

Oral Roberts gives visiting teams fits. Missouri State is off to a good start. Dallas Baptist looks to have another good team. The Big-12 will be tested today.

by James Quinn on Mar 11, 2008 12:49 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Record vs. good teams

To be fair, A&M is 1-0 vs. good teams with three losses to bad teams.

by Texas Wahoo on Mar 11, 2008 10:03 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Texas routed Rice tonight

Texas went to Rice and beat them in front of their families tonight, 9-1. That will help the Longhorn's recovery. KU will be in Austin this weekend. I am hoping for a single win.

Actually it was a very good night for the Big-12 as a whole. Baylor went down at Oral Roberts 7-6. Otherwise the Big-12 came out looking very strong tonight, winning all the other games. Big win for K-State over Washington State. Oklahoma State was merciless with Missouri State 19-10. Oklahoma’s pitching continues to impress, 3-1 over Dallas Baptist. TTU got a nice road win at New Mexico 8-6.

I see more comments then I would expect on some other national forums about the Big-12 being a significantly weaker conference than the Pac-10, ACC and SEC. I think people who make this claim simply do not have a good idea how deep and talented this conference is. There is a very good chance the conference will send seven teams to the tournament this year.

Texas Wahoo, I think you are under-estimating A&M's schedule. They beat Louisiana Tech, Arkansas and Rutgers three times. All those teams are pretty good. Ohio State was sold as a good team, but that might have just been more nonsense out of the insecure Big-10 crowd. True, no wins over powerhouses, but A&M has not played a powderpuff schedule.

by James Quinn on Mar 11, 2008 10:20 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rutgers

They actually went 2-1 against Rutgers - who is currently 3-6 overall. I just don't see Rutgers as a good team...

by Texas Wahoo on Mar 12, 2008 12:41 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Well, all this discussion will soon be academic

Big-12 play opens this weekend. The teams will settle it on the field. The only ranking that will matter soon will be actual wins and losses.

Baylor is getting beaten down by Oral Roberts. They lost yesterday and trail today 11-0 in the fifth. If I were doing a ranking next week Baylor would not be at the top.

by James Quinn on Mar 12, 2008 5:04 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

You Still think we're 7th?

I think our pitching has been phenomenal. Still, the Big 12 looks incredibly competitive. We've been taking care of business, but it'd be better to see more hitting, a little more power specifically.

Go Big Red!

by corn blight on Mar 11, 2008 11:37 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

The Big-12 is stocked!

Yes, I do think NU is still 7th, but this doesn’t mean I think they are not a good team. In fact, the Huskers seem to be a lot better than I expected them to be. The thing is, the Big-12 is absolutely loaded this year. In the pre-season I picked NU to finish 9th.

I don’t think at this point any strong argument can be made to put Nebraska ahead of Texas, Baylor, A&M and Missouri. So the discussion starts with them falling no higher than 5th. I think OU has played better so far, and they look to have a great pitching staff. The Pokes can hit, and seem to have a few pitchers now as well. So, there you have it.

Maybe I am wrong. I could see OU or OSU falling apart. I think Missouri will not live up to their hype, but the Tigers will still win about 40 games and make the tournament easily. I think UT might have an off year, but I think worst case scenario for them is a 4th place finish.

Plus, K-State has a good roster, even if it is not playing well yet. And you already know I think the Hawks have their best team on paper since Ritch Price arrived in Lawrence six years ago. The only team I think was basically DOA was TTU, and even the Red Raiders are giving me reasons to re-think that evaluation.

So 7th place in the Big-12 will be no easy chore. And it still might merit an invite to the NCAA tournament.

by James Quinn on Mar 12, 2008 9:28 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs