Big 12 basketball notebook: Coaches talk expansion

However, all of the coaches who discussed expansion said it's something the administration worries about, not the coaches.

Currently, the few Big 12 coaches who talked about expansion said they liked the current 10-team league and the round-robin that it created.

“I'm kind of a traditionalist,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “You get a true champion that way. The flip side of it is everybody else is expanding. You've got to wonder where everything's' going.

“But I'm trying to figure out how we can guard the pick and roll right now. I haven't really had time to think about those things.”

Kansas coach Bill Self thought the conference is a good size and doesn't need to expand to a large league for the sake of expanding, unless the universities and programs would “be a great addition.”

“I don't think there's necessarily strength in numbers, unless it's the right numbers,” Self said.

When the point was brought up by a reporter that football teams don't like the 10-team league because it doesn't allow for a true conference champion, which could possibly mean expansion of the Big 12, Huggins replied, “Well if football doesn't like it, we're probably going to expand.”

SHOTS MISSED, NOT MADE

Shooting and scoring across college basketball is down to its lowest levels in a few decades.

On Saturday, Northern Illinois, a Mid-American Conference team, set an NCAA record for fewest points scored in a half in the shot-clock era.

In the first half, the Huskies scored four points.

Low scoring across the Big 12 Conference was a big topic of discussion during Monday's Big 12 coaches' call. Here's how some of the coaches weighed in:

Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger: “Defenses are getting a lot better. ... Players are stronger, quicker, cover more ground. ... I don't think kids shoot the ball as well anymore from midrange as they used to.”

Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford: “We've talked about it ourselves as a staff that it's just amazing. Low scorers and low halves different people are having. This is a very physical game. I know the refs and people aren't wanting it to be, but it is becoming more physical and team's are more aggressive. ... I don't' think kids spend as much time in the gym shooting like they used to. I don't have an answer for it, really.”