This Week In the Big 12: Player of the Year race wide open

Who should you keep an eye on in conference play?

The best player on the best team is generally one of the frontrunners for any conference’s player of the year award. As is a player that won the award last season.

In the Big 12’s case, that player is the same person: defending POY Kalani Brown of Baylor is the best player on the conference’s best team.

Heck, she could be the best player on the best team in the country.

Brown’s 22-point, 17-rebound performance buoyed No. 8 Baylor past No. 1 UConn on Thursday. The 68-57 loss was UConn’s first regular season loss in 126 games.

A future WNBA player (currently the second overall pick on our WNBA Draft Big Board), Brown is averaging 15.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in leading 10-1 Baylor, which has won at least a share of the past eight Big 12 titles.

A preseason first-team All-American, it’s Brown is likely the player of the year favorite. But, there is recent precedent for a defending POY to lose out on back-to-back awards. Just look to last year, when Brown beat out the reigning award-winner Brooke McCarty of Texas.

More from Big 12

• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, November 2: Shakeup in the ACC with Bollin commit, UNC retool
• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 21: Former Texas Tech coach Stollings files lawsuit
• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, August 9: Taurasi to play again, but when?
• Your Day in Women’s Basketball, August 4: Wubble Trouble for the Liberty
• Baylor adds UCLA transfer Jaden Owens

So, the decision is far from decided. There are several players who make a very compelling case, however. Here’s a look at the POY and all-Big 12 candidates from each of the conference’s ten teams:

The case for Bridget Carleton

Iowa State senior Bridget Carleton is the most complete player in the Big 12 and one of the most complete players in the country. A Swiss Army Knife of sorts, the 6-foot-1 Carleton primarily plays the 4, but also sees time at point guard. In a road win at Kansas on Saturday, Carleton played all 40 minutes and scored a season-high 33 points.

She’s among the conference’s leaders in every statistical category. On the year, she’s averaging 19.6 points (2nd in the Big 12), 8.5 rebounds (7th), 4.3 assists (7th), 2.1 steals (3rd), and 1.5 blocks (5th). No other player is remotely close to matching her statistical balance, which makes her a strong contender for POY.

She’s not as physically imposing as the 6-foot-7 Brown or as smooth as West Virginia’s Tynice Martin, but Carleton can score, pass and defend with the best of them. Plus, it looks like ISU will finish as one of the top three teams in the conference, which always helps.

Chances are, if Brown doesn’t take home the POY hardware, it’ll be Carleton.

The resurgence of Tynice Martin

After sitting out last year, Martin has been a force for West Virginia this season. A gifted scorer with the ball in her hands, Martin is averaging 16.8 points per game and shooting 42.4 percent from deep.

She started the season red hot (like 6-of-8 from-3-point-range-against-Pitt hot), but cooled down in the Mountaineers’ first Big 12 game, a loss at TCU in which she went 3-of-17 from the field.

A unanimous first-team all-Big 12 pick as a sophomore, Martin redshirted last season with injury. But she’s back this season and leading the Big 12 in steals (2.2). If she can string together some more scoring performances like she’s capable of, she could lead the conference in scoring, too.

Her teammate, Naomi Davenport, figures to be a future pro, like Martin. And Davenport is having an all-Big 12 season, too. The senior is averaging 14.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists.

Consideration for Kayla Goth

Kansas State’s Kayla Goth might be the best point guard in the conference. With a deadly mid-range jumper and great vision, she is averaging 12.3 points per game and a Big 12-leading 6.2 assists per game.

A second-team all-Big 12 pick last year, Goth has seen her scoring go down this year, but she’s still an effective passer and floor general. If the Wildcats go on a run towards the end of the season, Goth would have an outside chance at POY.

A free-shooting freshman

A lot of this will depend on how Oklahoma does in conference play, because the Sooners have been unpredictable this season, but OU’s Taylor Robertson has been individually terrific on offense this season.

During non-conference play, OU lost seven of eight, but nearly upset No. 1 UConn. In their two conference games, OU defeated Texas Tech, then were annihilated by Kansas State.

Who knows how well the Sooners’ season will go. But one thing has been consistent: Robertson. The freshman is averaging 17.9 points per game and is shooting the lights out with a 45.2 3-point clip. In five games this season, she’s hit at least six threes. She’s easily leading the conference in 3-point makes with 56. In fact, only five players have hit half as many as she had (28 for you non-math majors).

As a freshman, she’s unlikely to get serious consideration for the award, but Robertson should be a lock for the All-Freshman team at the very least.

Any Longhorns in the mix?

Losing Lashann Higgs for the season really hurt Texas, but they’ve managed to keep winning. One reason has been Sug Sutton, who is averaging 10.6 points and 5.9 assists in her first year as a regular starter.

It also helps that the Longhorns project to be one of the top teams in the Big 12. Sutton could be one to pop up on a Big-12 list, plus teammate Danni Williams is in contention for Newcomer of the Year.

A couple of Cowgirls

Oklahoma State sophomore Braxtin Miller, an all-Big 2 honorable mention last year, is averaging 17.8 points (shooting 43.1 percent from 3-point range) and 3.8 assists per game. She’s not shooting very well from inside the arc (34.0 percent), but if she becomes more efficient, she will be a strong candidate for an all-Big 12 team.

Fellow sophomore and teammate Vivian Gray — who played Division II ball last year — is scoring 17.6 points per game; she could be a dark horse contender for Newcomer of the Year.

Texas Tech’s candidates

Simply because of their team’s record (9-4, 0-2 in the Big 12), it doesn’t seem likely that a Texas Tech player will win any player of the year award. But the Raiders have a perimeter player and an interior player that deserve all-Big 12 consideration.

Anyone scoring nearly 20 points per game will get a look, and 5-foot-4 freshman Chrislyn Carr is leading the conference in scoring with 19.9 points.

Inside, 6-foot-5 junior Brittany Brewer is solidly averaging a double-double with 18.0 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. She’s also leading the conference in blocks with 2.8.

Other who are likely to appear on all-Big 12 lists…

If a Baylor player wins the player of the year award, it will very likely by Brown. But, there’s still an argument for Chloe Jackson (11.3 points and 6.2 assists per game). In Baylor’s big win over UConn, Jackson notched 11 points and eight assists.

Lauren Cox, first team all-Big 12 last year, is averaging 11.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 2.4 blocks. Neither of these two are likely to take home the hardware, but they, as well as NaLyssa Smith, should land on some postseason all-conference list.

For Kansas, Jessica Washington is furiously athletic and intense. The sixth-year senior is averaging 15.5 points per game (40 percent from 3) and 3.0 assists per game.

TCU’s Jordan Moore is handily leading the conference in field goal percentage with an ultra-efficient 67.2 percent. Plus she’s scoring 16.6 points and grabbing 7.0 rebounds per game. Not too shabby.