Derek Fisher holds the NBA championship trophy and hangs with Kobe Bryant and his Finals MVP trophy.

Keegan and I combined to finish just two games over .500 last week, an embarrassing effort that has both of us reeling and feeling the need to make up for it big-time this week.

We finally have a full slate of Big 12 games to pick this week and added five other good battles, featuring some of the country’s best teams.

As you might have guessed, both of us picked Baylor to top the Jayhawks, but, as you might have heard on our podcast, we both give KU a fighting chance to perform better than our scores indicate. That’s thanks to KU’s defense.

Overall, last week’s effort by Tom pulled us back into a tie and, this week, with two games different, it presents the chance for one of us to take control of this thing once and for all.

The big game to watch here — and, really, throughout the Big 12 slate — is Oklahoma at Texas Tech, where Keegan went with the Sooners and I predicted Tech to keep its dream season rolling.

We’ll see what plays out. Here’s a look at the rest of our picks:

OVERALL RESULTS?
Tait: 5-5 in Week 6; 45-15 overall?
Keegan: 6-4 in Week 6; 45-15 overall

WEEK 7 GAMES:
Kansas vs. Baylor
Oklahoma State at Iowa State
Texas Tech at Oklahoma
West Virginia at Kansas State
Texas at TCU
UCLA at Oregon
South Carolina at Missouri
Stanford at Oregon State
Penn State at Ohio State
Clemson at Maryland

Question: Who’s your favorite role player of all-time, any sport, any level?

MATT TAIT
Baylor 49, Kansas 14
Oklahoma State 30, Iowa State 17
Texas Tech 35, Oklahoma 30
Kansas State 31, West Virginia 21
Texas 27, TCU 17
Oregon 45, UCLA 28
Missouri 28, South Carolina 24
Stanford 28, Oregon State 20
Ohio State 33, Penn State 21
Clemson 41, Maryland 27

Answer: There have been so many good ones in all sports throughout time that it was kind of tough for me to pinpoint just one. But a name that kept jumping out at me was NBA point guard Derek Fisher. Fisher was the unsung hero on so many of those L.A. Lakers teams who won titles with Shaq and Kobe and his toughness, unselfishness and clutch performances saved L.A. on more than one occasion. Known for always being in the right spot at the right time, helping offenses flow and never backing down from a challenge, Fisher owns five rings and is in the process, at age 39, of trying to help Kevin Durant get his first in Oklahoma City. There’s not a selfish bone in this dude’s body and not only can he play ball but he also seems like one of the best teammates of all-time.

Derek Fisher holds the NBA championship trophy and hangs with Kobe Bryant and his Finals MVP trophy.

TOM KEEGAN
Baylor 55, Kansas 17
Oklahoma State 35, Iowa State 21
Oklahoma 31, Texas Tech 30
Kansas State 28, West Virginia 24
Texas 28, TCU 24
Oregon 42, UCLA 31
South Carolina 31, Missouri 24
Stanford 35, Oregon State 13
Ohio State 28, Penn State 17
Clemson 38, Maryland 17

Answer: Hockey goon John Wensink with his Afro, bushy mustache, evil eyes and extra-mean sneer. Before Wensink played for the Boston Bruins he played for my hometown Rochester Amerks. We loved him. And unlike many goons, he had skill. He scored many goals, broke plenty noses, won a ton of lifelong fans. He was a bloody good role player. Every time I played that table-top hockey game with the steel rods you twisted to move the metal players, I designated one of the players as John Wensink and I always spun that player super fast, clanging on the nearby opponent, hoping to knock him off his peg.

Boston Bruins' enforcer John Wensink (top) pounds on a Montreal player during one of his many NHL rumbles.