Here are five thoughts on the Big 12 Conference men’s basketball conference games that were played on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025.
The Big 12 men’s basketball teams fired up the sixth round of league action on Saturday, with most of the teams in action across the country.
Saturday’s game results included:
West Virginia 64, No. 2 Iowa State 57
No. 9 Kansas 84, Kansas State 74
No. 10 Houston 69, UCF 68
Cincinnati 67, Arizona State 60
Oklahoma State 83, Colorado 73
Utah 73, BYU 72 (OT)
TCU and Baylor play each other on Sunday at 4 p.m. central on ESPN.
The Big 12’s seventh round of league action begins on Tuesday.
Here are five takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
Best Game
Houston had to rally from eight points down at halftime to beat UCF, 69-68. The Cougars escaped on a J’Wan Roberts layup with less than two seconds to play.
The forwards came to play. Roberts had another terrific game, as he dropped in 21 points and nine rebounds. Houston’s other forward, Ja’Vier Francis, added 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Houston needed every bit of it because the Cougars shot 18.8% from the 3-point line, a place where they usually shoot close to 40% for the game.
UCF let a golden opportunity for a huge win slip away. Moustapha Thiam led with 18 points while Keyshawn Hall added six points with 11 rebounds. The Knights may need that win when it comes to NCAA Tournament resume time.
Best Performances
West Virginia’s Javon Small blew up for 27 points in the Mountaineers’ huge win over No. 2 Iowa State (we’ll get into that).
The Kansas duo of Hunter Dickinson (25 points) and Zeke Mayo (24 points) leaves one wondering why they just can do that every game (it’s difficult to do, actually).
Texas Tech’s JT Toppin was unstoppable against Arizona, as he finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds.
Oklahoma State got 25 combined points off the bench from Marchelus Avery and Patrick Suemnick in the Cowboys’ victory over Colorado.
Most-Needed Win
West Virginia picked the best possible way to honor the memory of Jerry West on Saturday — beat the country’s No. 2 team.
This was a statement win for the Mountaineers, who look like a near-NCAA Tournament lock under first-year coach Darian DeVries.
What’s so impressive is that WVU has not only beaten Iowa State, but it’s also beaten Kansas and done so without guard Tucker DeVries, who is still out with an injury (Amari Hansberry missed the Kansas game, and it was in Lawrence).
Iowa State went 1-for-17 from the 3-point line, which is possibly the worst percentage of the season for a team that attempted that many 3-pointers. The Mountaineers made nine of them, and there was the difference in the game.
Javon Small had a game West would have been proud of — 27 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
Worst Loss
Arizona State. It’s hard to see the Sun Devils remaining on the NCAA Tournament bubble at this rate. Their seven-point loss to a team also on the bubble, Cincinnati, comes at a time in which Arizona State has lost five of its last six games.
The Sun Devils’ only win in Big 12 play so far is over Colorado, which hasn’t won a Big 12 game yet. ASU’s next two games are against WVU and Iowa State. This may not go the way coach Bobby Hurley is hoping.
Bracketology Update
Here is the latest Bracketology update from ESPN as of Friday:
No. 1: Iowa State
No. 3 Kansas (dropped a seed line)
No. 4: Houston (dropped a seed line)
No. 6 Arizona (moved up a seed line)
No. 7 Baylor (dropped a seed line)
No. 8 West Virginia (dropped a seed line)
No. 10 Texas Tech (final four byes)
UCF, Cincinnati and Arizona State are all on the bubble.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
