The Big 12 men’s basketball teams moved into the second round of league action on Saturday, with seven games across the country. Kansas and UCF will play in the lone game on Sunday.
Saturday’s game results included:
No. 3 Iowa State (12-1, 2-0) 74, No. 25 Baylor (9-4, 1-1) 55
Houston (10-3, 2-0) 86, BYU (10-3, 1-1) 55
West Virginia (11-2, 2-0) 69, Oklahoma State (8-5, 0-2) 50
Arizona (8-5, 2-0) 72, No. 15 Cincinnati (10-3, 0-2) 67
TCU (8-5, 1-1) 63, Kansas State (7-6, 1-1) 62
Arizona State (10-3, 1-1) 81, Colorado (9-4, 0-2) 61
Texas Tech (10-3, 1-1) 93, Utah (8-5, 0-2) 65
The Big 12’s third round of league action starts on Monday when Houston hosts TCU.
Here are five takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
Best Game
TCU beat Kansas State, 63-62, in Fort Worth and did in the final seconds, with a lay-up by Noah Reynolds with 12 seconds left. The Wildcats had a chance to win it, but Dug McDaniel missed a lay-up with a second left and K-State couldn’t corral the rebound for another shot.
This game was tight throughout with little separation between the two. Reynolds dropped in 18 points to lead the Horned Frogs. David N’Guessan had a huge game for Kansas State, with 10 points and 17 rebounds. But he called himself out after the game for missing free throws late.
N’Guessan was 0-for-2 and the Wildcats were 2-for-5. They didn’t get many chances. TCU was 9-of-16 from the line.
Neither team in in Bracketology right now and while winning this game might not help that much, losing it could hurt if an at-large berth is at stake.
Best Performances
Give it up to Colorado’s Trevor Baskin, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds in a loss to Arizona State. The Sun Devils’ Jayden Quaintance had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Iowa State guard Keshon Gilbert had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. He also had five assists.
But West Virginia’s Javon Small continues to impress. Against his former team, Oklahoma State, he dropped 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, dished out four assists and had three steals. He’s shouldered a massive workload lately with injuries and he’s shined.
The good news is that Amani Hansberry returned on Saturday and played 13 minutes, as he scored six points and grabbed three rebounds. The Mountaineers just need Tucker DeVries to get back to full strength.
Most-Needed Win
At this early stage, one tends to gravitate to teams that lost their openers. But Arizona’s win over Cincinnati was a big one. It was the Wildcats’ first win over a ranked team and its first Quad 1 win of the season. The Wildcats are trying to build an NCAA Tournament resume after losing five games in non-conference to high-major teams, many of which were Quad 1 losses.
The Wildcats needed that. And they need another one against WVU on Tuesday in Morgantown. Now that should be quite the test.
Worst Loss
I was really surprised at how poorly BYU played at Houston. Just one player hit double figures (Trevin Knell had 12 points). Houston’s defense absolutely took it to BYU and had an 17-point lead by halftime.
By no means was BYU expected to go into Houston and win. But, not being competitive this early in the season is a bit worrisome. Talented freshman Egor Demin had just three points.
If there is any good news it’s that BYU coach Kevin Young has 40 minutes of film to scare his team straight.
Bracketology Update
Before the games started on Saturday I checked out ESPN’s Bracketology. They’re moving to twice-a-week updates starting this week, so Friday was their most recent update. The Big 12 had eight seeds:
Iowa State: No. 1
Houston: No. 4
Kansas: No. 4
Baylor: No. 5
Cincinnati: No. 8
West Virginia: No. 8
Texas Tech: No. 11
BYU: No. 11 (First Four)
Texas Tech is one of the last four byes, meaning the Red Raiders are close to the bubble. BYU is on the bubble as the next-to-last team in the field. Arizona State is one of the first four out and UCF is one of the second four out.
With betting on college basketball heating up as conference play intensifies, you may want to add an extra thrill to the rest of the games this season and test your knowledge against the odds.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
