KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -Kansas State didn’t stand much of a chance against Missouri. Even with their best record in 61 years and their longest winning streak in a decade, the Wildcats were facing the most inhospitable place in college basketball.
Mizzou Arena? No. Anywhere on the road in the Big 12.
Living up to its billing as one of the nation’s toughest conferences, the Big 12 has become the Big Nasty for road opponents, boasting a 114-1 record at home through Tuesday.
Think of it as the 1985-86 Boston Celtics or the 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens, only spread across 12 teams and seven states.
“It’s mind-boggling,” Colorado coach Jeff Bzdelik said.
Of the 13 largest conferences in Division I, only one has fewer than 15 combined losses and five have more than 20. The ACC is the nearest to the Big 12’s home dominance and it’s still 11 games behind in the loss column at 97-12.
t least 11 games and the two longest in the nation: Kansas at 51, Missouri with 30. The entire conference has fewer home losses than seven teams in the Big East, six in the Pac-10, five in the Big Ten and four in the SEC.
The only Big 12 team to slip up? Iowa State, against Northern Iowa on Dec. 2. Northern Iowa’s Ali Farokhmanesh hit a 3-pointer with 36 seconds left and the defending Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament champions beat the Cyclones 63-60.
That’s it. The rest are all W’s.
M coach Mark Turgeon said.
The early season schedule has more than just the usual pushovers. Yes, there’s plenty of teams such as Alcorn State, Farleigh Dickinson and Belmont for the Big 12 to beat up on.
But mixed in with those are some tougher home games.
Texas beat Michigan State in Austin, while Kansas beat both Michigan and California. Texas Tech won at home against Washington and Oregon State, Oklahoma beat Arkansas and Arizona in Norman. The list goes on – and has continued into conference play.
Opening its season last Saturday, the winning has continued for the conference.
Missouri pulled off an impressive win at Mizzou Arena, beating Kansas State 74-68 to end the Wildcats’ 10-game winning streak. Oklahoma State routed then-No. 22 Texas Tech 81-52. Baylor ended a 30-game losing streak to Oklahoma that dated to 1977 with a 91-60 blowout. The Sooners bounced back from that loss to beat Oklahoma State 62-57 in overtime on Monday – at home, of course.
M on Tuesday and Colorado followed with a 78-71 upset of No. 22 Baylor in Boulder.
That puts the Big 12’s mark at .991, more like Ozzie Smith’s fielding percentage than a winning percentage.
“That just shows what a great league we have,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “Every place has always been tough to play, but this year it’s been at a whole other level.”
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