Big 12 Baseball’s Top 3 Things to Watch: Sunflower Showdown, Oklahoma State is Desperate and Utah’s Status

Big 12 Baseball is in full swing as we are just a little over the halfway point in conference play. For those not familiar with college baseball, it truly is an underrated sport. There’s always plenty of action and upsets going on during any given day. As for this weekend, here are three things to keep an eye on in the Big 12.

The Sunflower Showdown

I know most when most people think of the Sunflower Showdown rivalry, they immediately think of the gridiron or the hardwood. However, one could argue that this upcoming matchup on the diamond will top them all.

Kansas is currently in first place in the conference standings with an impressive 14-4 record. Meanwhile, Kansas State has turned some heads this season and are sitting right at .500.

Both teams have been solid at the plate this season however Kansas appears to have the edge when it comes to pitching. But with this series being played in Manhattan, I wonder if that will be enough of a boost for Kansas State come out of this series with a win. Expect sellout crowds all weekend long and there will be no shortage of drama in the little apple.

Oklahoma State Needs a Series Win

With an overall record of 25-16 and a conference record of 8-10, it’s safe to say that Oklahoma State needs all the wins they can get. In D1Baseball’s latest Field of 64 projections, the Cowboys are one of the last four teams in.

This weekend they face Texas Tech who has given up the second-most runs in Big 12 play (167) and has a team ERA of 8.63. While I expect the Cowboys to put up a ton of runs this weekend, I do wonder how much they will give up because their pitching has been mediocre at best.

The good news is that this Texas Tech team is different because unlike in previous years, they aren’t knocking the cover off the ball and scoring a bunch of runs. Either way, the Cowboys needs to take care of business this weekend in Lubbock to keep their postseason hopes alive.

Is Utah Legit?

Last week I asked how good BYU really was and I got my answer. Now here I am this week, and I am asking the same thing about their in-state rival, Utah. The Utes have been one of the biggest surprises this year and are .500 in conference play though 18 games.

While they may not be a postseason team as of this moment, they do have a massive opportunity ahead of them this weekend when they host a good UCF squad. Despite some recent struggles, the Knights have the best pitching staff in the Big 12 which should make an interesting matchup because Utah is one of the best teams at the plate.

The problem for Utah this year hasn’t been scoring runs, it’s keeping the opposing team off the board. While the Utes have scored the second most runs this year in the conference, they have also given up the most as well. Can they finally break that mold and get a signature win? We will find out this weekend.