I have been absent from the forums lately due to the holidays and lack of computer, but its time to throw out a semi lengthy post and update everyone on my thoughts to this point. Simple answer, amazed at the turnaround of this team. I feel that K-State typically (including Frank era) looks ugly through the non-conf though finishing with a non-conf that is hard to complain about and picks it up very quickly in the Big 12. This year was slightly different. We started out ugly, more so then normal and expected, but my goodness we turned into a TEAM that looks the part of a solid NCAA tourney team. This happened within the non-conf (which is different then usual) and helped us finish these games with a very nice resume. I wont expect a single person to cry foul at the double overtime loss to a solid Big East team (I thought WVU would be a mid level BE team this year, but after the Baylor game.. they could end up looking real good). If we can go through our first 4 games of league play and come out of that at 2-2, I would start expecting around 12 league wins to finish out with 23 wins before league tourney. That should get us in no problems. Below are my updated Predictions:
Tier 1 -----------------------------------
#1: Baylor – Undefeated, solid wins so far, talented all the way around.
#2: Missouri – Undefeated, solid wins so far, somehow Haith has them looking real good.
Tier 2 -----------------------------------
#3: Kansas – No way would I put a Self coached team lower then 3rd even though they look to be 4th or 5th. I expect them to start strong in league play with some unexpected losses.
#4: K-State – This is a safe placement. If this was power rankings, no question we would be higher, but this is end of season predictions. This team is DEEP and playing strong.
Tier 3 -----------------------------------
#5: Texas – Quite non-conf, but the talent is all over this team. I have no doubt they finish in the top half of the league.
#6: OU – What??.. yes they are looking good. Give credit to Kruger, because he is developing a team to compete with anyone. Heck.. they might make the tournament.
Tier 4 -----------------------------------
#7: A&M – They play solid D, just have problems scoring. That will hurt against high powered offensives listed above. Bubble team looking from the outside in I am afraid.
#8: OSU – Tough start. If you look at box scores alone, they should be below ISU, but if you look at the talent on the team, they should be higher. I can see Ford implementing a brand new offense (similar to what we did last year) and turn this disappointment around a bit.
#9: ISU – This is a testament to our tough league. I am going to get owned on this prediction because no way they will finish this low… I just don’t know who to move down. Just so you see it from me, they could finish as high as 6th in the league.
Tier 5 -----------------------------------
#10: Tech – No competition for this spot. They continue to struggle.
