Eddie Sutton's theory goes something like this: There's nothing he'd rather do, and his players certainly don't have anything better to do.

The semester break might be the Oklahoma State coach's favorite time of the year. He can run the Cowboys through two practices a day and craft them as they enter league play. He doesn't have to worry about the NCAA's 20-hour per week practice limit, because school isn't in session and he can really teach.

	While OSU's offense could use some work, Ivan McFarlin and the Cowboys have gone 8-1 behind their solid defensive work.

"When they moan and groan I have to tell them that when I was in school, Mr. Iba would practice us three times a day," Sutton said. "We'd practice from 9 to 12, 2 to 5 and 7 to 10.

"They don't have anything else to do. They can look at a lot more film, a lot of teaching can take place and shooting can improve."

So until OSU classes resume on Jan. 13, the Cowboys should simply feel fortunate that Sutton only runs two practices.

"This is always when he steps up his intensity," Cowboys guard Victor Williams said. "He's been really hands on. He loves this time of the year, he can really get out on the floor and use his basketball mind."

While teams such as Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas have hogged the spotlight in the Big 12 so far this season, the Cowboys are quietly logging victories. A year ago, Oklahoma State cruised up the national rankings during a 13-0 start, this season's group is unranked despite starting the season 8-1 -- something that's just fine with Sutton.

"Those polls mean something at the end of the year, but they don't mean anything at this time of the year," Sutton said. "I guess the only thing it means is that the players get to watch themselves on ESPN highlights if they're ranked."

Defense has carried the Cowboys thus far this season. Only one team has scored more than 61 points against an Oklahoma State team that's giving up 59.8 points per game. Allowing teams to shoot a mere 36 percent from the floor, Oklahoma State leads the Big 12 in field goal percentage defense.

"We've got a bunch of athletic guys who can run and jump," Williams said. "We try to attack them, we've been attacking the offense before they can attack us"

An old-school guy, Sutton likes the defense and he knows it will keep the Cowboys in games, but what he's concerned about -- and plans to concentrate on over the next two weeks -- is offense.

The weakness of this Oklahoma State team is that points are difficult to come by at times, especially in the half-court.

"If we played HORSE with most people, we wouldn't win to often," Sutton said. "I don't think we shoot it nearly as well as other people."

While Oklahoma State has been successful in the non-conference schedule despite its offensive limitations, Sutton knows things will become more difficult when Big 12 play begins.

"The game becomes more of a half-court game," Sutton said. "You can't run as much, because people won't let you. You've got to get a basket once in a while from inside.

"When we get in the halfcourt, we have to be able to score."

Sutton would like to see more production out of Jason Miller and more inside points from Andre Williams. He'd also like to see better offensive timing.

"It's everybody," Victor Williams said. "We as guards aren't looking down there when they're open so we need to do a better job of that. But the big guys need to keep working to get open."

In Monday's game with Arkansas, there were signs of life from the Cowboys' offense. In a 71-45 victory that ended up being rather routine, Oklahoma State shot 56 percent from the floor. It was the best offensive performance of the season.

"Our shot selection was a lot better," Sutton said.

Still, things are going to be more difficult when league play begins.

"We have five teams in the top 25 and all five deserve to be there," Sutton said. "But the biggest thing is that the bottom half of the conference is better. Baylor is better, A&M is better, Nebraska is better, Iowa State and I'm not sure Colorado is not better. I don't think there are going to be any easy pickings, especially when you're playing on the road. Last year there were games when you had a pretty good idea you'd be able to win."

Victor Williams, like most college players, tries to watch as many games as he can and even he's confused.

"I don't know if you can really pick anybody that's separated themselves," he said. "Four losses might win the conference this year.

"We feel we're in the top half of the conference. When we play good basketball, we can compete with anybody, but we're not going to be able to go into no game and know you're going to win."

Games of the Week

The Sooners OU vs. Mich. St., Saturday OU vs. UConn, Tuesday While many major conference schools are getting in that final pre-conference cupcake, Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson is taking a little different approach. First will be a game with the Spartans that has all the potential of being a physical war. Then he follows it up with a second consecutive game against a top 25 team. After that? Only the Big 12 schedule. Missouri at Iowa Saturday The Hawkeyes have been better than expected this season and enter the game having won at Tulsa last week. For Missouri, the game is the first true road game of the season. It will also test the Tigers to see how much they've improved since losing to Illinois. Louisville at Ohio State Saturday The Buckeyes losses are pretty much a who's who this season: Alabama, Pittsburgh and Duke. A win here would provide good momentum entering Big Ten play.

Big Ten
In the big picture, Michigan and Iowa weren't expected to be a factor. The Wolverines had too much turmoil and too little to play for, while the Hawkeyes had too few bodies to be a legitimate threat.

While much can change when Big Ten play begins next week, both Michigan and Iowa have exceeded expectations over the last month.

Michigan began the season 0-6, losing to both Central and Western Michigan along the way. But somewhere in that half dozen game skid, something began to click. Since then Michigan has won five consecutive games -- including a win over Vanderbilt and a victory at UCLA -- and will likely get above .500 before conference play starts.

Highly touted freshman point guard Daniel Horton has been part of the reason for Michigan's improvement. With victories, Horton has become more consistent and has averaged 16 points and 5.2 assists per game during the winning streak.

"It's amazing what confidence can do for a few players and for our team," Amaker told the Ann Arbor News after the UCLA victory.

With Horton becoming more of a steady offensive threat, senior LaVell Blanchard has had a little more room to operate. Not surprisingly, his numbers have increased with the victories as well and is averaging 20.6 points and 7.8 rebounds over the last five games.

"I think we showed everybody in the country that we're not as bad as they think we are," Horton told the newspaper. "The program's not going down like everybody thinks."

In Iowa City, Steve Alford has had to deal with limited numbers and significantly less talent than he's had since becoming the Hawkeyes coach. But entering Saturday's game against Missouri, Iowa is 8-2, losing only to Iowa State and Florida State.

While the Hawkeyes have somewhat scheduled for success, Iowa recorded a huge victory when it came from behind to win at Tulsa, 67-63. It was a game Iowa was expected to be overmatched in, but the Hawkeyes were able to compete.

With not enough scholarship players to practice 5-on-5 in practice, Alford's group has a small margin for error (things as little as a flu bug or a few sprained ankles can huge) but Iowa appears in position to exceed expectations

Senior guard Chauncey Leslie has become the type of scorer Iowa needs. After averaging 6.1 points per game in his first season since transferring from junior college, Leslie is averaging 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.9 assists this season and scored 21 points in the upset of the Golden Hurricane.

It won't take long to figure out just where Iowa fits in on the Big Ten landscape, however, as the next six games are extremely challenging. After Iowa's non-conference finale Saturday against a very talented Missouri team, the Hawkeyes open Big Ten play at Northwestern (where they lost last season), play Michigan State and Illinois at home, travel to Wisconsin and then host Ohio State.

Next Mid-Con Kings?
As conference play begins, Scott Sutton's Oral Roberts team is the clear favorite to end Valparaiso's run as the best team in the Mid-Continent.

The Golden Eagles have a nice group of perimeter players, led by quick guard Tyrone Tiggs and shooters Luke Spencer-Gardner and Josh Atkinson. Inside Reggie Borges is a bit undersized for a center, but he's crafty and has an effective jump hook. It's a combination that is difficult to defend.

"They've got three perimeter players who are shooting almost 50 percent on 3s," Minnesota coach Dan Monson said before the Gophers 85-80 victory over Oral Roberts. "When you have shooters dialed around a good post player, it spreads you out and it's hard to help on the post player. It's a very dangerous combination. Borges is as good as any post player we've seen."

While the Golden Eagles weren't able to upset the Gophers, it has been a productive non-conference season. Sutton wasn't happy with losses to Stephen F. Austin and Howard, but Oral Roberts has victories over Arkansas, Wichita State and SMU.

"I'm proud of how we competed, how we fought," Sutton said after the Minnesota game. "If we play with that kind of intensity, we're going to win a lot of ball games.

"I really like this team, we're 8-4 and with the exception of probably two games we've played well. We have experience, we have scorers inside and scorers on the perimeter. I think once we get in our league we should have a good shot to compete for a conference championship. At our level, that's what the goal is."

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