Academic problems could sideline Texas' top scorer, rebounder

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A key player could be missing when No. 10 Texas plays No. 6 Oklahoma State tonight in a marquee Big 12 game.

Forward P.J. Tucker, Texas' leading scorer and rebounder, indicated he could be facing academic issues that might affect his eligibility.

"There's some stuff going on right now, but we're going to keep it under wraps," Tucker said after the Longhorns beat Nebraska 63-53 Saturday night. "Nothing's happened. Nothing's official, so there's nothing really to talk about."

The second semester starts Tuesday at Texas. Coach Rick Barnes cited privacy issues and declined to discuss the matter.

Tucker is averaging 14.2 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Longhorns, who rebounded from a loss to Texas A&M.

If Tucker does play tonight, he'll find himself on the court with the seventh-winningest coach in Division I history. The Cowboys made sure of that Saturday night with an 83-73 victory over Iowa State that raised Eddie Sutton's victory total to 768, nudging him one game past his mentor, Henry Iba, on the all-time wins list.

Afterward, Oklahoma State officials announced that games at Gallagher-Iba Arena now will be played on Eddie Sutton Court.

It was an announcement that brought nothing but cheers.

"I'm glad that they named it after him, as a matter of fact," said Joey Graham, who scored 20 points in his coach's milestone game. "He's got all these wins, so they should name something after him around here."

Elsewhere on a full Big 12 schedule Saturday, No. 2 Kansas got a monster game from Wayne Simien and stayed unbeaten with a 76-61 victory at Colorado; No. 25 Oklahoma won its seventh straight by beating Baylor 65-61; Kansas State ended a seven-game losing streak to Missouri by beating the Tigers 74-54, and Texas Tech burst Texas A&M's bubble with a 70-56 victory over the Aggies.

Heading into the second full week of conference action, Kansas (3-0), Oklahoma State (3-0), and Oklahoma (2-0) are the only unbeaten teams in the Big 12. Still looking for their first conference win are Iowa State (0-3), Colorado (0-3) and Baylor (0-2).

The Jayhawks (13-0) are one of the few teams in Division I that haven't lost at all. But although Simien had 23 points and 17 rebounds and Colorado coach Ricardo Patton slipped to 1-20 against the Jayhawks, Self was not happy.

"Coach was irate," said Kansas guard Michael Lee. "He was jumping on everyone. Everyone knows our biggest weakness right now is rebounding. We're not doing it consistently."

On the offensive boards, Colorado held a 22-17 edge. The Jayhawks have been outrebounded in three of their last four games.

"Shoot, yeah, I'm concerned about it," Self said. "They weren't being alert and reacting to the ball. And sometimes teams are getting the deflected rebound."

An air of mystery surrounded Texas A&M. Acie Law, the Aggies' talented guard, who averaged 16.8 points in his last eight games, played only two minutes in the first half and 14 in the game and did not score.

Coach Billy Gillispie benched Law two minutes into the game for reasons he did not want to discuss. He was apparently upset because of the way Law played.

"I don't know," Gillispie said when asked why his star had not played. "You'd have to ask him. I don't really like to talk about it."

Law was not made available to the media, but his buddy and teammate Antonio Wright was.

"We're a team," said Wright. "If certain guys' heads are not in it from the beginning, we've got to adjust. Acie is a big part of our team, and we need him to be ready from the beginning of the game. If Acie is not ready from the word 'go,' coach is going to take him out."

Ronald Ross had 27 points and eight rebounds for the Red Raiders, who were sharp in most areas. But two of their players -- Curtis Marshall and Devonne Giles -- combined for four points on 1-of-11 shooting against A&M.

"If I had known before the game that Giles and Marshall were going to go 1-for-11, I think I would have gone hunting," Tech coach Bob Knight said.

Drew Lavender scored 20 points for Oklahoma, including a 3-pointer and two free throws in the final 45 seconds.

Cartier Martin had 18 points and 10 rebounds for Kansas State.