Kansas City, Mo. ? Many coaches always have considered man-to-man defense a badge of honor. The zone defense? A sign of weakness, laziness or both.

So Iowa State coach Wayne Morgan hardly knows what to think, now that zone defenses are popping up across the Big 12 Conference.

“I am actually shocked. It seems like everybody is playing a 2-3 zone,” Morgan said Monday. “Guys are playing a 2-3 zone who before never played anything but man.”

It’s no secret why Baylor plays so much zone defense. The rebuilding Bears just don’t have very many players, and one beauty of a zone is that it can keep fouling to a minimum. Texas, normally a man-to-man team, also has been playing a zone recently after two starters were lost for the year and other Longhorns were banged up.

“People are going to the zone to try to keep people from getting into the bonus situation early in the game,” Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said.

Even No. 2 Kansas University has broken out a zone a few times, something Bill Self’s assistant coaches had to talk him into.

Last month, KU was down eight at halftime to archrival Missouri. Self switched the Jayhawks into the zone defense in the second half, flummoxing the Tigers, and KU cruised to a 73-61 victory.

“One reason people do it is because of health,” Self said. “And some teams, including us, just don’t attack the zone very well. We have a tendency to stand around. And sometimes when zones go up as a change of rhythm in a game, teams don’t attack it as well for two or three possessions, and then teams think, ‘This is a great zone,’ and it gets mental. It’s happened to us this year.”

• Filling up the house: The way Texas A&M is drawing fans may be even more surprising than how the Aggies are playing under first-year head coach Billy Gillispie. Against Oklahoma State on Saturday, a crowd of 13,106 filed into Reed Arena, a school record.

“We’re not turned around by any stretch. But when people ask me what’s the biggest surprise … to me, it has been the support we’ve had from our home crowds,” Gillispie said.

The fans who packed the arena Saturday watched then-No. 10 Oklahoma State win, 66-59, dropping the Aggies to 15-6 overall and 4-6 in the Big 12. But Gillispie said he never had heard a crowd get any louder.

“It means everything,” he said. “Our kids love playing here. It means everything in recruiting. For our university, it means it’s a fun place to be on a Saturday afternoon or a Saturday evening.”

• Players of the week: Texas forward Brad Buckman and Kansas State guard Fred Peete were chosen Monday as the Big 12’s player and newcomer of the week.

Buckman averaged 22 points and 15.5 rebounds in two games last week, including a career-high 27 points and 21 rebounds at Colorado.

Peete, a 6-4 sophomore transfer from Oklahoma A&M junior college, averaged 24 points in two games last week.