NCAA Basketball Tips

The Big 12 is known for the Kansas Jayhawks and an occasional run by the Kansas State Jayhawks or the Oklahoma State Cowboys but this season there are several teams that can burst on the scene and out of the shadows of the Jayhawks.

UNLV Runnin Rebels head coach Lon Kruger picked up stakes and joined the Oklahoma Sooners this season and his record with rapidly turning around a team will help the Sooners get on track quicker than most experts expect. The following are the five teams from the Big 12 that will make the NCAA Tournament acording to most college basketball handicappers.

No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks are still going to win the Big 12 but they are ripe for the picking this season. The Jayhawks lost six of their best eight shooters since their disappointing exit in the NCAA Tournament. Tyshawn Taylor, a 6-3 senior, is the only returning starter and he will need to lead this team from the outset.

No. 2 Texas A&M Aggies
Khris Middleton who averages 14.4 points per game and David Loubeau who is next best on the team averaging 11.8 points per game give the Texas A&M Aggies an edge over teams like the Missouri Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks but they need to play better in the clutch.

No. 3 Missouri Tigers
Senior Marcus Denmon will lead the Missouri Tigers this season and may consider him the best scorer in the Big 12.

No. 4 Baylor Bears
The Baylor Bears are a wild card. Sophomore, Perry Jones III is a player who can develop into a top five player in the country if the Bears rise to national prominence early in 2012.

No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners
Lon Kruger resurrected the UNLV Runnin Rebels and now he is looking to do the same with the once proud Oklahoma Sooners program. Look for the Sooners to surprise many of their rivals this season.

The USC Trojans will square off against the Kansas Jayhawks in NCAA College Basketball action on Saturday.

NCAAB Odds have not yet been posted.

These teams are not extremely evenly matched as the Jayhawks are ranked 4th in the nation. They have not yet lost this season and they have managed a record of 9-0 on the season. The Trojans are solid, but they have not nearly been perfect, going 6-4 to this point in the season.

The Trojans have struggled to score the ball and it is likely due to their poor passing. This team has only averaged 11.3 assists per game this season. They are 281st in the nation in assists. Without ball movement they struggled to shoot at a high percentage (they are shooting just .449 on the season) and they have only managed 68.9 points per game.

While the Trojans have struggled in those areas, the Jayhawks have been fantastic. Kansas actually leads the nation in assists per game with 20 this year. Their ball movement as provided for a lot of easy shots and they are also leading the nation in field goal percentage at 56 percent on the season. If they can continue with this sort of team play against USC they will be the heavy favorites to take this game.

While USC has not been great, it is important to realize that they have some great players and athletes on their team. With these athletes they have the potential to compete against any team if they are able to get things going.

USC beat 20th ranked Texas 10 days ago and that could be a sign of them turning things around and playing at a high level. This will be a real test for them on Saturday.