Updated January 5, 2007 8:13 AM

Big 12 Men's Preview Capsules

By RICHARD CROOME
Eagle Sports Writer

BIG 12 RACING FORM Eagle staff writer Richard Croome predicts the Kansas Jayhawks will defend their Big 12 regular season title, while the Aggies will earn a school-record second-place finish. Below is his full league breakdown for the 2007 season: PRED. TEAM 2006 FINISH 1 Kansas 1st (tie) 2 Texas A&M 4th 3 Oklahoma State 7th (tie) 4 Texas 1st (tie) 5 Missouri 11th 6 Texas Tech 7th (tie) 7 Baylor 12th 8 Kansas State 7th (tie) 9 Nebraska 6th 10 Oklahoma 3rd 11 Iowa State 7th (tie) 12 Colorado 5th

Kansas Jayhawks

Coach: Bill Self (291-131 overall; 84-26 in fourth year at KU)

Record: 12-2

Ranking: AP No. 9

Last year: 25-8, 13-3 (T-1st), lost in first round of NCAA to Bradley.

Players to watch: Julian Wright (6-9, soph.) averages 12.3 points and 8.1 rebounds, Kareem Rush (6-5 soph.) 13.4 and 5.4, Mario Chalmers (6-1 soph.) 12.3 points and 4.0 assists

Best win: 82-80 overtime win vs. then No. 1 Florida.

Worst loss: 78-71 at home to Oral Roberts.

Our take: The sky's the limit for this team if it gets any production out of big man Sasha Kaun. Wright can do it all, and the combinations Self can throw out on the floor are endless. Wright and Rush were co-preseason Big 12 MVPs. Two freshmen, 6-9 Darrell Arthur and 5-11 Sherron Collins, have been big help. Dismissal of 6-11 C.J. Giles hurt inside depth and athleticism.

Texas A&M Aggies

Coach: Billy Gillispie (85-53 overall; 55-21 in third year at A&M)

Record: 12-2

Ranking: AP No. 11

Last year: 22-9, 10-6 (4th). Beat Syracuse, lost to LSU in the NCAA Tournament

Players to watch: Acie Law IV (6-3 sr.) leads team in scoring at 15.1 ppg and assists at 5.8 per game; Joseph Jones (6-9, jr.) 13.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg; Antanas Kavaliauskas (6-10, sr.), 12.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg; Josh Carter (6-7 soph.) 13.0 ppg, 2.8 3-pointers a game and 10th in nation in 3-point percentage at 53.

Best win: 87-58 at Auburn.

Worst loss: 64-52 at LSU.

Our take: Can beat you inside and outside or with defense. One of the three disciplines (defense) is there all the time. Add one of the other three and it's a victory against most. If they have all three going, they can beat anybody. Law should contend for Big 12 player of year, while Jones and Kavaliauskas make for arguably the best big-man combo in the conference. Junior guard Dominique Kirk is among the best in Big 12 defensively.

Oklahoma St. Cowboys

Coach: Sean Sutton (first year)

Record: 14-1

Ranking: AP No. 12

Last year: 17-16, 6-10 (T-7th); lost in first round of NIT to Miami

Players to watch: Mario Boggan (6-7, sr.) 21.7 ppg, 7.5 rpg; JamesOn Curry (6-3, jr.) 18.9 ppg, 2.8 3-pointers per game; Terrel Harris (6-5, soph.) 11.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg.

Best win: 95-89 vs. Pittsburgh in Oklahoma City.

Worst loss: 79-77 to Tennessee in Nashville.

Our take: Were thought of highly but have played even better than most figured. Boggan is one of the league's best - he had 36 points on Tuesday - and Marcus Dove is a shutdown defender. Consistency from the point is their biggest concern. Curry is bouncing back from disappointing sophomore campaign. Have had only nine players play from an 11-man roster.

Texas Longhorns

Coach: Rick Barnes (403-213; 201-79 in ninth year at Texas)

Record: 10-3

Ranking: AP receiving votes

Last year: 30-7, 13-3 (T-1st); beat Pennsylvania, North Carolina State and West Virginia, lost in Elite 8 to LSU in NCAA Tournament

Players to watch: Kevin Durant (6-9, fr.) 21.6 ppg, 8th in the nation, 9.9 rpg; A.J. Abrams (5-10, soph.) 16.3 ppg, 4.0 3-pointers per game, 2nd in nation; D.J. Augustin (5-11, fr.) 13.5 ppg, 6.6 apg, 6th in nation.

Best win: 76-75 vs. LSU in Houston.

Worst loss: 87-77 vs. Gonzaga in Phoenix.

Our take: Talent, talent, talent. Lack of experience hurts them on the defensive end. Augustin at the point overlooked sometimes because Durant is considered one of top two freshmen in country.

Abrams is dangerous from behind the arc. Could be the Kansas of last year in how much they should improve by March.

Missouri Tigers

Coach: Mike Anderson (89-41 overall; first year at Missouri)

Record: 11-2

Ranking: None

Last year: 12-16, 5-11 (11th)

Players to watch: Matt Lawrence (6-6, soph.) 14.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg; Stephon Hannah (6-1, jr.) 13.7 ppg, 5.6 apg; Kalen Grimes (6-9, jr.) 10.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg.

Best win: 86-64 at home vs. Arkansas.

Worst loss: 79-62 at Purdue.

Our take: The Tigers have done a 180-degree turn when it comes to getting after it. No place on the court is safe with Anderson on the sidelines. Hannah is likely the best of the junior college transfers in the conference. He gives them offense from the point when everything else breaks down. Only senior on the roster is former Texas A&M Aggie and A&M Consol-idated Tiger Marcus Watkins.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Coach: Bob Knight (880-354; 116-65 in fifth year at Tech)

Record: 11-4

Ranking: None

Last year: 15-17, 6-10 (T-7th)

Players to watch: Jarrius Jackson (6-2, sr.) 21.4 ppg, 10th in nation, 3.9 rpg. and 12th in nation with 51.9 3-point shooting percentage; Martin Zeno (6-5, jr.) 16.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.7 apg; Charlie Burgess (6-1, jr.) 10.5 ppg.

Best win: 70-68 at home vs. New Mexico. It was coach Bob Knight's record setting 880th victory.

Worst loss: 74-66 at home vs. UNLV.

Our take: With the hoopla of Knights' record 880th victory behind them, the Red Raiders can concentrate on 2007. The guard trio of Jackson, Zeno and Burgess is excellent, but this team must get something from 6-9 Darryl Dora. Zeno at 6-5 leads the team in rebounding with 5.1 a game.

Baylor Bears

Coach: Scott Drew (51-67; 31-56 in fourth year at Baylor)

Record:10-3

Ranking: None

Last year: 4-13, 4-12 (12th)

Players to watch: Aaron Bruce (6-3, jr.), 12 points and 4.7 assists a game; 6-9 soph. Kevin Rogers (6-9 soph.) leads the team in scoring at 13.3 and rebounding, 6.7.

Best win: 87-82 vs. Colorado St.

Worst loss: 64-59 at home vs. South Carolina.

Our take: Dangerous in that they can shoot the 3. Rogers has made presence felt, which should give the long-range shooters more room. Bruce, Big 12 freshman of the year in 2005, has become more of a distributor with others able to score.

Kansas State Wildcats

Coach: Bob Huggins (577-203, first year with KSU)

Record: 10-4

Ranking: None

Last year: 15-13, 6-10 (T-7th)

Players to watch: Cartier Martin (6-7 sr.) 15.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, Bill Walker (6-6, fr.) 14.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg; David Hoskins (6-5, jr.) 13.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg.

Best win: 72-66 over New Mexico in Las Vegas.

Worst loss: 78-54 at New Mexico.

Our take: Strong starting five with addition of Walker, who has played five games after graduating from high school in mid-December. Walker was a Top 10 recruit in the 2007 class before graduating early. Martin has always been a scorer, and new coach Bob Huggins didn't win all those games at Cincinnati without knowing something. KSU doesn't get much help from its big men, although 7-3 Jason Bennett does block 2.5 shots a game.

Nebraska Cornhuskers

Coach: Doc Sadler (78-59 overall; first year at NU)

Record: 10-2

Ranking: None

Last year: 19-14, 7-9 (6th)

Players to watch: Aleks Maric (6-11, jr.) 18.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 8th in nation with 65.8 shooting percentage; Ryan Anderson (6-4, fr.), 14.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg; Charles Richardson (5-9 sr.), 8.4 ppg, 6.8 apg, 4th in the nation.

Best win: 73-61 over No. 20 Creighton.

Worst loss: 75-73 at Rutgers.

Our take: Coach Doc Sadler has the Huskers heading in the right direction, but because NU hired him in August, he must wait to build a roster - just like his boss at UTEP (Billy Gillispie) had to do at A&M. Anderson has been a good find, and Maric, who played for the Australian National Team, is one of the league's top returnees. Richardson is one of the better players at taking care of the ball.

Oklahoma Sooners

Coach: Jeff Capel (87-45; first year at OU)

Record: 8-4

Ranking: None

Last year: 20-9, 11-5 (3rd); lost to UW-Milwaukee in first round of NCAA Tournament.

Players to watch: Longar Longar (6-11, jr.) 13.9 ppg, 7.7 rpg; Michael Neal (6-3, sr.) 10.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg.; Austin Johnson (6-3, soph.) 10.6 ppg, 3.9 apg.

Best win: 69-42 vs. SMU.

Worst loss: 74-71 vs. Purdue in Hawaii.

Our take: Took a big hit in losing three best players from last year. Neal must produce. He has yet to find 3-point magic he had last year. Taylor Griffin has improved as team's big man. Top recruit Keith Clark is out with torn ACL in right knee. Guard Tony Crocker, from San Antonio, is team's third-leading scorer (10.6).

Iowa State Cyclones

Coach: Greg McDermott (230-142 overall; first at ISU)

Record: 9-5

Ranking: None

Last year: 16-14, 6-10 (T-6th) Players to watch: Mike Taylor (6-2, jr.) 16.0 ppg, 4.6 apg; Wesley Johnson 12.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg (6-7, fr.); Rahshon Clark (6-6 jr.) 9.1 ppg, 7.8 rpg

Best win: 68-63 at Minnesota.

Worst loss: 70-57 at Northern Iowa.

Our take: Addition of freshman Johnson and JC transfer Taylor have helped ease the pain of Curtis Stinson and Will Blaylock leaving early. New coach Greg McDermott needs more production from lone experienced veteran Clark. Taylor was suspended early in the season for academic reasons. Johnson already honored as player of week in Big 12.

Colorado Buffaloes

Coach: Ricardo Patton (181-146 all at CU)

Record: 4-6

Ranking: None

Last year: 20-10, 9-7 (5th) lost to Old Dominion in first round of NIT.

Players to watch: Richard Roby (6-6, jr.) 18.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg; Dominique Coleman (6-3, sr.) 10.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg; Xavier Silas (6-5, fr.) 10.1 ppg.

Best win: 60-59 at Utah.

Worst loss: 84-46 at home to Air Force.

Our take: The world hasn't been kind to CU basketball since A&M dismantled them in the Big 12 Tournament last season. The Buffs got beat badly in the NIT and lost 12 seniors - then a few days into this season's preseason workouts, their coach announced he was leaving at the end of the season. Their results have mirrored their troubles. Roby has NBA talent and the fact that he stayed could make CU dangerous at home, although his shooting is down at 34 percent.