The Big 12 Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament continued on Wednesday with the second-round games at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
The second-round results included:
Game 5: No. 5 Iowa State 76, No. 13 Cincinnati 56
Game 6: No. 16 Colorado 67, No. 8 West Virginia 60
Game 7: No. 7 Baylor 70, No. 10 Kansas State 56
Game 8: No. 6 Kansas 98, No. 14 UCF 94 (OT)
The quarterfinal schedule includes:
Game 9: No. 4 BYU vs. No. 5 Iowa State, 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 10: No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Colorado, 2:00 p.m. CT
Game 11: No. 2 Texas Tech vs. No. 7 Baylor, 6 p.m. CT
Game 12: No. 3 Arizona vs. No. 6 Kansas, 8:30 p.m. CT
Here are three takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
KANSAS’ THORN
I don’t know what it is about UCF and Kansas. It’s almost always drama.
The two teams have played four times in the Big 12 in two years. Aside from blowing the Knights out in Orlando earlier this year, the other three games have been close, including a Kansas loss.
Wednesday night’s matchup had just about everything you could ask for. UCF’s Keyshawn Hall kept destroying defenses (25 points, 11 rebounds). Jordan Ivy-Curry continued hitting big shots, including one that basically sent the game to overtime. He had 13 points.
Hunter Dickinson had another double-double (23 points, 13 rebounds), but most of it came in the second half and in overtime. Zeke Mayo had a blow-up game with 24 points.
Kansas escaped. That’s no joke. UCF gave everything to the Jayhawks. The Knights had chances to win, and the right shot just didn’t fall. The Knights are going somewhere after this — either the NIT or the Crown. It’s not what the Knights were hoping for, though. But team busts its butt for coach Johnny Dawkins. I know there are questions about his job. I’m inclined to give him one more year.
What stood out to me was AJ Storr. He had 19 points off the bench for Kansas, including a trio of 3-pointers. He hit some big free throws in overtime, too. Kansas needs something like to go along with Dickinson and Mayo. And the Jayhawks need it consistently if they’re going to make a run here and in the NCAA Tournament.
But that was the best game of the tournament through two rounds. It will be hard to top.
COLORADO, CHAOS AGENT
I guess being back in the Big 12 Tournament agrees with the Colorado Buffaloes.
Even as the No. 16 seed, the Buffs are in the quarterfinals after beating TCU in the first round and then beating West Virginia in the second. Colorado might have done some damage to WVU’s NCAA Tournament hopes, or at least its seeding.
Now, this is the first year of the 16-team Big 12 Tournament, so Colorado is making history in Kansas City. In fact, until I saw this, I had no idea how historic Colorado’s run really is. Hat tip to Nikki Edwards at CUSportsNation.com.
Look, I knew it was going to be tough for the Buffs this year. Last year’s team saw three players drafted to the NBA. Blue blood teams have a hard time surviving those kinds of losses in one year. But the Buffs have won three straight and most of this team is coming back next season, barring transfers. It’s encouraging.
Now, the Buffs get Houston on Thursday, so the run probably ends there. But, it’s been a fun ride for a couple of days.
THE NEW REALITY
Below you’ll see the round-by-round results of the tournament. There were three upsets by seed on Tuesday and one by seed on Wednesday.
What this tells me there isn’t much difference from Nos. 9-16 in this tournament. You could even include No. 8 seed West Virginia after its loss to Colorado.
Chaos on Day 1 may be the norm, at least in the early years of this 16-team conference tournament. But, on Wednesday, things stabilized, though a UCF upset could have set things on its end.
The returns are early, but this seems like a year where we have the right eight teams heading to the NCAA Tournament, if Bracketology is accurate. The rest simply weren’t good enough and the results of the first two days of the Big 12 Tournament reflect it.
But don’t be surprised if we get to a tournament soon where we see multiple double-digit seeds get to the quarterfinals. There is a gap right now, but those teams looking up will be working to close it soon enough.
2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship Schedule
(all times central)
First Round Results
Game 1: No. 13 Cincinnati 87, No. 12 Oklahoma State 66
Game 2: No. 16 Colorado 69, No. 9 TCU 67
Game 3: No. 10 Kansas State 71, No. 15 Arizona State 66
Game 4: No. 14 UCF 82, No. 11 Utah 70
Wednesday’s Second Round Schedule
Game 5: No. 5 Iowa State 76, No. 13 Cincinnati 56
Game 6: No. 16 Colorado 67, No. 8 West Virginia 60
Game 7: No. 7 Baylor 70, No. 10 Kansas State 56
Game 8: No. 6 Kansas 98, No. 14 UCF 94 (OT)
Thursday’s Quarterfinal Schedule
Game 9: No. 4 BYU vs. No. 5 Iowa State, 11:30 a.m. CT
Game 10: No. 1 Houston vs. No. 16 Colorado, 2:00 p.m. CT
Game 11: No. 2 Texas Tech vs. No. 7 Baylor, 6 p.m. CT
Game 12: No. 3 Arizona vs. No. 6 Kansas, 8:30 p.m. CT
Friday’s Semifinal Schedule
Game 13: Winner of Game 9 vs. Winner of Game 10, 6 p.m. CT
Game 14: Winner of Game 11 vs. Winner of Game 12, 8:30 p.m. CT
Saturday’s Championship Game
Game 15: Winner of Game 13 vs. Winner of Game 14, 5 p.m. CT
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
