Welcome to the Big 12, Cougar fans!
After UH dropped their first game in the Big 12 and first of the season, the Internet decided that UH fans needed to be welcomed properly. The trash talk was endless. Never mind the complete destruction of West Virginia to open Big 12 play. Never mind, Hilton Coliseum is a tough place to play. The narrative was that UH sucks because they lost a game. Ok, cool.
the daily #160 | 1/11/2024 | Archives
The same night, #1 Purdue got blown at Nebraska. Kansas fans overdosed on karma a day later as their #3 team lost on the road to UCF (who lost by 25 on Saturday). And #5 Tennessee lost at Mississippi State. The #1, #2, #3, and #5 all lost midweek. All on the road.
UH fans are having a ball giving Kansas fans the same crap they gave the Coogs. But the truth is, every road game is set up for a loss.
College basketball benefits because of the small roster. It means that more talent will be spread around to different programs. You aren’t going to have too many programs hoarding elite talent three-deep at each position, especially not with the transfer portal and with NIL. What you see, in turn, is that in the last couple of years, there haven’t been just one or two loaded teams that were going to run through the field uncontested. Teams will have to grind their way to a title and take lumps along the way.
That is even more true in the Big 12. Every single game is a war. This is how it has been in this league for several years, and it only got more challenging with the additions of UH, UCF, Cincinnati, and BYU. The beauty of this league is that a few losses don’t define your season. It forces teams to deal with adversity and improve. It also forces teams to have a short memory. Win or lose, another battle is lined up a few days later.
TCU at Schollmaier Arena on Saturday will be just as tough for the players as Iowa State. And that’s precisely what this program signed up for in the Big 12.
Cougars can’t overcome atrocious start in first Big 12 road game
