The Big 12 men’s basketball teams continued the 17th round of league action on Tuesday, with six teams in action.
Tuesday’s game results included:
Cincinnati 69, Baylor 67
Oklahoma State 74, No. 9 Iowa State 68
West Virginia 73, TCU 55
The Big 12’s 17th round of league action concludes on Wednesday with the following games:
Kansas State at UCF, 6 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Utah at No. 22 Arizona, 8 p.m. CT, ESPN+
No. 25 BYU at Arizona State, 8:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Wow. Mad respect from ESPN for those games, am I right?
Here are five takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
Best Game
There was some great strategy down the stretch of the Baylor-Cincinnati game. Down two points, the Bears chose to play defense and not foul, counting on someone to make a play to help them get the ball. Cincinnati coach Wes Miller even burned his last timeout with seven on the shot clock to try and work up the right set.
Jizzle James had been hot all night so he went in for the drive, one that would have pushed the lead to four points. But, Baylor’s Norchad Omier blocked the shot and gave Baylor a chance to either tie the game or win it with 24 seconds left.
What Cincinnati did next was clever. James fouled with 17 seconds left at Miller’s behest. The Bearcats had fouls to give and Miller wanted to get Simas Lukosius off the floor for Dillon Mitchell for defense.
James then fouled again on the next play. Why not? Cincinnati still had a foul to give and the Bearcats were trying everything to disrupt the Bears, who also had no timeouts.
Baylor put together a great set. Freshman VJ Edgecombe slipped open on a back cut, collected the ball and had a solid look at the basket. But he missed. Omier and Cincinnati’s Day Day Thomas ended up with a tie ball with less than two seconds and Cincinnati got possession.
Even though Baylor fouled and Mitchell missed the free throw, the Bears didn’t get a chance to tie it again.
Best Performances
Cincinnati guard Jizzle James keeps accelerating his game, as he finished with 18 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, against Baylor.
Abou Ousmane had a terrific game for Oklahoma State, as he finished with 25 points, six rebounds and four steals in the Cowboys’ upset of the Iowa State Cyclones.
West Virginia’s Javon Small had his usual night — 23 points, 10 assists and five rebounds — as the Mountaineers made relatively easy work of TCU.
And the O’Colly, the independent student newspaper for Oklahoma State, for the win.
Most-Needed Win
Oklahoma State needed its win over Iowa State for morale purposes. West Virginia needed its win over TCU to stabilize their NCAA Tournament credentials.
But Cincinnati played like a desperate team because it is. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi says the Bearcats are still being considered for the field, but they’re not even on the bubble. Every win helps, especially Quad 1 wins like Tuesday. It was just Cincinnati’s second of the season. That’s been the struggle for the Bearcats and they’ve had plenty of chances.
This win probably won’t get them on the bubble. But, if the Bearcats can keep winning, they can get back to .500 in league action and to 20 wins for the season. Now, Cincinnati gets Houston on Saturday. If Cincy loses that game, but wins the other two, 19-12 overall and 9-11 going into the Big 12 Tournament might — MIGHT — play with the committee.
Worst Loss
TCU. The Horned Frogs had big opportunities on this road trip to the eastern time zone. But, with the loss to West Virginia, TCU walked away with an 0-2 trip that started at Cincinnati.
The Horned Frogs squandered two Quad 1 opportunities. One win would have boosted their resume, which quite frankly needs it. Sure, TCU has four Quad 1 wins. But based on NCAA NET it only has one more shot — against Baylor.
I felt going into this swing TCU had to split. Well, they lost both games. I think the Horned Frogs’ dreams of the NCAA Tournament are done.
NCAA Bracketology
ESPN updated its Bracketology on Friday. Here are the eight Big 12 teams that were seeded:
No. 2: Houston
No. 2: Iowa State
No. 3: Texas Tech
No. 4: Arizona
No. 6: Kansas
No. 8: BYU
No. 9: Baylor
No. 10: West Virginia
A huge surge for BYU after its winning streak. I think it’s safe to say the Cougars are off the bubble for good. West Virginia remained among the Last Four Byes, so the Mountaineers still have room to maneuver. No Big 12 teams were among the first eight teams out of the field.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
