The Big 12 men’s basketball teams began the 10th round of league action on Saturday, with six games played across the country.
Saturday’s game results included:
Arizona 81, Arizona State 72
Kansas State 80, No. 3 Iowa State 61
Oklahoma State 81, Utah 72
BYU 81, UCF 75
No. 22 Texas Tech 82, No. 6 Houston 81 (OT)
The Big 12’s 10th round of league action ends on Sunday with West Virginia at Cincinnati and Colorado at TCU.
Here are five takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
Best Game
I mean …
Arizona and Arizona State slugged it out for nearly 40 minutes before the Wildcats pulled away. Two players were ejected late in the game and Sun Devils coach Bobby Hurley opted not shake hands with the Wildcats and their coach, Tommy Lloyd. He did explain why.
That’s a rivalry, folks.
Baylor and Kansas had mood swings. The Bears were down 21 points at one point, erased the deficit in the first seven minutes of the second half, fell behind by 10 again, lost super freshman VJ Edgecombe and still beat the Jayhawks by 11.
If you’re wondering if that’s a big deal …
In the first four minutes of the Texas Tech-Houston game both forward JT Toppin and his coach, Grant McCasland, were ejected after this play was called a flagrant two on Toppin. I vehemently disagree, though I do feel for the kid that got hit where no kid should get hit.
Related: Three Takeaways from Texas Tech’s Win Over Houston
Meanwhile, Houston overcame injuries to forwards J’Wan Roberts (who returned from the nastiest turned ankle you’ll ever see) and Ja’Vier Francis (who did not return).
And, BYU beat UCF down the stretch in Orlando that could have massive ramification for both team’s NCAA Tournament hopes.
That’s all. Just a normal Saturday in the Big 12.
But, man, that ending in Houston. Wow. That game had everything, including Texas Tech winning in overtime and snapping the Cougars’ Big 12 winning streak and home winning streak. The Red Raiders have never started Big 12 play better than 8-2. But, here we are.
Best Performances
All five starters for Kansas State were in double figures. But guard Dug McDaniel had key baskets down the stretch as he scored a team-high 20 points with five assists.
One game after draining a 55-footer to send Arizona’s game with Iowa State into overtime, guard Caleb Love kept riding the momentum against in-state rival Arizona State. He finished with 27 points, six rebounds, seven assists and a late ejection.
Bryce Thompson led OSU with 20 points, but Marchelus Avery came off the bench to add 17 important points as the Cowboys beat the Utes.
BYU’s Richie Saunders keeps destroying teams from the 3-point line. He made six of them to score 20 points as BYU beat UCF.
Baylor’s Robert Wright III scored a career-high 24 points, along with six assists, in the win over Kansas. One should remember that Baylor has two talented freshmen.
Most-Needed Win
I don’t know if Kansas State is going to make the NCAA Tournament or not. But I know the Wildcats were never going to make it happen without beating a team like Iowa State. After taking a 19-point lead in the second half, the Wildcats withstood a huge run by the Cyclones to take the victory.
Kansas State has now won three straight and is one game below .500 for the season. There is still plenty of work to do. But I think coach Jerome Tang finally has this team playing the way he wants.
Arizona State is next, followed by hosting Kansas. Win both of those and the whole direction of the season changes for the Wildcats. But, without that win over the Cyclones, I don’t think wins in either of those two games would have mattered.
Worst Loss
Some of these losses were rough. But UCF may totally regret losing to BYU at home on Saturday. You’ll see the Bracketology from ESPN below. But UCF and BYU have been in the field and just outside of the field, respectively, for about three weeks.
That may change in the next update on Tuesday. Is that loss enough to put the Knights out of the field with more than a month left?
This whole week feels like a regret for the Knights. They had every chance to upset Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse earlier this week but fell just short.
If UCF misses the tournament, this week may be what swung it that way.
Bracketology Update
ESPN updated its Bracketology on Friday and eight Big 12 teams made the cut for the NCAA Tournament:
No. 1 Iowa State
No. 2 Houston (moved up a seed line)
No. 3 Kansas
No. 5 Arizona
No. 6 Texas Tech
No. 9 Baylor
No. 9 West Virginia
No. 11 UCF (last four in)
The Knights would play in a First Four game against New Mexico. BYU and Arizona State were among the First Four Out.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
