The Big 12 men’s basketball teams continued the 15th round of league action on Tuesday, with eight teams in action.
Tuesday’s game results included:
No. 8 Iowa State 79, Colorado 65
TCU 69, No. 9 Texas Tech 66
No. 5 Houston 80, Arizona State 65
BYU 91, No. 23 Kansas 57
The Big 12’s 15th round of league action concludes on Wednesday with the following games:
Cincinnati and West Virginia, 6 p.m. CT, ESPN2
UCF at Oklahoma State, 8 p.m. CT, ESPNU
Here are five takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
Best Game
There was a buzz at Schollmaier Arena in Fort Worth — and not just because TCU retired Desmond Bane’s number at halftime.
When Texas Tech comes to town, the place tends to fill up. Tech does a good job of getting their people in there, even as TCU puts up ticket-purchasing roadblocks. But, the Horned Frogs fans showed up and they had a good old-fashioned court-storming after watching their team beat the Red Raiders.
TCU did enough defensively to slow down Tech forward JT Toppin, who averaged 31 points and 13 rebounds in his last three games. He only — ONLY — had 14 points and 11 rebounds. That’s not a stat line one would normally complain about. But, the Red Raiders could have use the 31-and-13 Toppin.
TCU’s Noah Reynolds hit some big shots late and finished with 16 points. Center Ernest Udeh Jr. came through with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Darrion Williams dropped in 21 points for the Red Raiders.
The Horned Frogs managed to outlast the Red Raiders for a win they desperately needed.
Best Performances
Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson brought balance to the Cyclones’ victory over Colorado — 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals.
TCU’s Trazarien White was huge off the bench for the Horned Frogs — 16 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals. He also made a trio of 3-pointers.
BYU tore Kansas up. But, as always, guard Richie Saunders delivered, as he had 22 points, including four 3-pointers.
Houston beat Arizona State behind 35 combined points from Emanuel Sharp and LJ Cryer. The pair combined for eight 3-pointers.
Most-Needed Win
TCU had to find a way to beat Texas Tech and it did. The Horned Frogs entered the game with a .500 record in conference and were riding a three-game winning streak.
The Horned Frogs aren’t on the NCAA Tournament bracketology bubble yet. Entering the game the Horned Frogs were ranked No. 76 in NCAA NET. The win over Texas Tech was just TCU’s third Quad 1 win. So, it should see a boost on Wednesday.
More significant is that the win gets TCU above .500 in the Big 12. We saw what that did for Kansas State last week — the Wildcats landed on the bubble. That, combined with how they beat Texas Tech, might help the Horned Frogs get on the bubble.
There are five games left in Big 12 play. TCU must sustain this run to have a chance.
Also, if your team is ranked in the Top 10, be careful. Tuesday’s win was TCU’s sixth win over an AP Top 10 team in their last seven games against AP Top 10 teams.
The Horned Frogs have no ranked teams ahead. But all five games ahead are winnable. This could get interesting.
Worst Loss
Kansas. What at absolute disaster of a game. Disconnected. Discombobulated. Dominated. Pick a word. Heck, use all of them.
I kept thinking that at some point the light would come on. That’s what happened in 2022 when they won the national title. They got healthy in early March, Remy Martin finally figured out his role and the whole team got hot. The Jayhawks rode that momentum to a national title.
Well, this team isn’t even in the zip code of that team. They looked disinterested in Provo. Key players got little done. Bill Self took his last timeout with 14 minutes left in the game. Center Hunter Dickinson’s numbers were nice, but they were empty in the context of this game.
The NIL and transfer portal era is tricky. It’s not just about money. It’s about fit. The Jayhawks likely spent more than only a handful of teams on NIL. Self had two priorities this offseason — depth and 3-point shooting. He got both.
And, yet, here we are, starting at a Kansas team that will likely get bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament unless something massive changes between now and March Madness. Don’t hold your breath.
That was rock bottom. Only one way to go for the Jayhawks.
By the way, it was tied for the worst loss of the Self era and it is now the biggest win in BYU history by margin of victory. It is also BYU’s fourth Quad 1 win as it solidifies its NCAA Tournament credentials.
It was also Kansas’ fourth straight road loss. First time it happened since the late 1980s. These four have all been against unranked teams.
By the way, Self’s former players aren’t amused.
NCAA Bracketology
ESPN updated its Bracketology on Tuesday. Here are the eight Big 12 teams that were seeded:
No. 2: Houston
No. 2: Iowa State
No. 3: Arizona
No. 4: Texas Tech
No. 5: Kansas
No. 9: Baylor
No. 10: West Virginia
No. 10: BYU
BYU moved from the Last Four In to the Last Four Byes, which shows how significant its win over Kansas State proved to be. The Wildcats are still on the bubble, even after their lost weekend in Utah.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
