BEVO BEAT Kansas barely edges Texas in preseason Big 12 men’s poll Posted October 9th, 2014


This time last year, Big 12 men’s basketball coaches thought Texas was one of the league’s worst teams. Now, league coaches believe the Longhorns have the best chance at knocking off long-time champ Kansas.

Texas earned three first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll released Thursday. But the Jayhawks had four more total votes and barely edged out the Horns for the top spot.

It’s clear that Big 12 coaches feel Texas, on paper anyway, has the best chance at ending Kansas’ streak of 10 straight league titles. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams.


Both Kansas and Texas have standout incoming freshmen. Kansas’ Cliff Alexander will be compared to Texas’ Myles Turner all season long. Both were listed in the top 10 nationally by multiple recruiting services.

Oklahoma, led by junior guard Buddy Hield, was picked to finish third in the league. Kansas State and Iowa State were fourth and fifth, respectively.

The Longhorns open the season on Nov. 14 at home against North Dakota State in the opening round of the 2K Classic benefitting Wounded Warrior Project.

2014-15 Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll

Team (First-place Votes) Points 1. Kansas (6) 78 2. Texas (3) 74 3. Oklahoma (1) 67 4. Kansas State 53 5. Iowa State 51 T6. Baylor 36 T6. West Virginia 36 8. Oklahoma State 27 9. TCU 15 10. Texas Tech 13

News on Bevo Beat is free and unlimited. Access to the rest of Hookem.com is included with an Austin American-Statesman subscription in addition to Statesman.com and the ePaper edition. Subscribe today at statesman.com/subscribe.