Erik Stevenson’s message about the strength of the Big 12 Conference was simple on Friday. The Big 12 is the best basketball conference in the country, and it’s not particularly close.
The West Virginia fifth-year guard had a lot to say regarding where West Virginia is at and how they would compare in other leagues.
The Mountaineers are currently eighth in the Big 12 standings, as they are 4-9 in conference play. Comparitively speaking, Pitt is currently tied for first place in the ACC, as they are 12-3 in ACC play. Back in November West Virginia traveled to Pitt and beat the Panthers 81-56.
“This league is legit,” Stevenson said of the Big 12.
“Like Pitt, they’re winning the ACC right now. We’d go into the ACC and win the league by five games. There’s no question about it. There’s nobody in that league that can even play in our league. Maybe Miami, Pitt if you want to say that, but I would say they’re just having a good conference year.”
Stevenson who previously played at South Carolina has a taste of what life in the SEC is like. The SEC has two teams ranked in the top-10, while the Big 12 has four in the top-12.
“You can put Texas Tech and Oklahoma and us and Oklahoma State in any other league and we’d probably be in the top four of every other league with maybe the exception of the SEC,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson thought back to his days with South Carolina and said there are some similarities between the SEC and the Big 12, but the Big 12 wins out.
“Comparing it to the SEC which is probably the second-most skilled and athletic league, the SEC is just full of athletes. It’s always above the rim, fast up and down,” Stevenson said. I wouldn’t say it’s the most skilled league, I would say this (Big 12) is the most-skilled league. The Big 12, it’s got athletes, it’s got shooters, it’s got skilled guys, it’s got bigs who can play and if you put those all together with a coach who knows how to coach, that’s going to be a good team.”
Stevenson has experienced Big 12 life for the past two months now, and mentioned he feels the physicality from some leagues. The Big 12’s average NET ranking is 27. The next closest is the Big Ten with an average NET ranking of 58. The ACC has the seventh-best NET average out of all conferences, with the average ranking finishing at 110.3.
“There’s all types of talent in this league and athleticism and brains and guys with the ability to win,” Stevenson said.
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