Big 12: Hoop coaches seeking relief

Didn’t take long for some Big 12 basketball coaches to go pulling the covers over their head. The league appears headed for an 18-game conference schedule when the Big 12 is trimmed to 10 schools in 2011.

And some coaches already are decrying the inhumanity of it all. Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said Monday that 18 league games is a “grind … it’s hard on a basketball team. Non-conference scheduling may change.”

A&M played a decent non-conference schedule last season, if two road games (SMU and Washington) and four neutral-court games (Clemson, West Virginia and Minnesota, all in Anaheim, Calif., and New Mexico in Houston) can be considered decent. The Aggies also played home games against Angelo State, Samford, Prairie View, Akron, North Texas, the Citadel, Northwestern Louisiana and North Dakota.

Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon looks on during an NCAA college basketball practice at the Big 12 Conference men's tournament in Oklahoma City, Tuesday, March 10, 2009. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam) ORG XMIT: OKRH124

Not to pick on the Aggies. Every school plays some opponents like that.