The Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament continues on Thursday in Kansas City with second-round action featuring eight more teams.
The second round features the four winners of the first-round games on Wednesday, as they’ll face the Nos. 5-8 seeds, which had a first-round bye.
The winners move on to the quarterfinals on Friday, with the Nos. 1-4 seeds opening their tournament after a first- and second-round bye.
Here is a preview of each game.
Game 5: No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 13 UCF, 11 a.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: UCF, 12-17; Kansas State, 25-6
Head-to-Head: Kansas State 97, UCF 67
Big 12 Tournament Results: Kansas State, first game: UCF: def. BYU, 81-69 (first round).
The preview: UCF scored a mild upset over BYU on Wednesday as Kaitlin Peterson dropped 33 on the Cougars. Go back to their matchup with Kansas State and Peterson had 19 points. Balanced scoring will be key to giving the Wildcats a run. Even without Ayoka Lee, the Wildcats have more than enough talent to take advantage early and move on to the quarterfinals. There’s still a chance K-State could clinch a home sub-regional. The Wildcats probably need more than one win to accomplish that.
Prediction: Kansas State 73, UCF 55
Game 6: No. 8 Arizona vs. No. 9 Colorado, 1:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Colorado, 19-11; Arizona, 19-12
Head-to-Head: Colorado 56, Arizona 47
Big 12 Tournament Results: Arizona, first game: Colorado: def. Houston, 66-58 (first round).
The preview: Colorado committed 33 turnovers in its win over Houston on Wednesday. Expect that to be corrected. Lior Garzon is coming off a 21-point game for Colorado and she’s been here before with Oklahoma State. Still, the Wildcats are playing better entering the tournament and need a win or two to keep their NCAA Tournament bubble from bursting. Breya Cunningham is a key here. Arizona must keep her out of foul trouble.
Prediction: Arizona 71, Colorado 66
Game 7: No. 7 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Arizona State, 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Iowa State, 21-10; Arizona State, 10-21.
Head-to-Head: Iowa State 90, Arizona State 83
Big 12 Tournament Results: Iowa State, first game: Arizona State: def. Cincinnati, 82-75 (first round).
The preview: Jalyn Brown and Tyi Skinner went off for the Sun Devils, as they combined for 53 points in the victory over Cincinnati. Arizona State shot 50% from the floor. Can ASU duplicate that against the Cyclones? Their earlier meeting was a high-scoring affair. The Cyclones can lean on center Audi Crooks and forward Addy Brown, two players that can take over a game in multiple ways. Iowa State handles its business and moves on.
Prediction: Iowa State 81, Arizona State 71
Game 8: No. 6 Utah vs. No. 14 Texas Tech, 8 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Utah, 22-7; Texas Tech, 16-16.
Head-to-Head: Utah 70, Texas Tech 64
Big 12 Tournament Results: Utah, first game: Texas Tech: def. Kansas, 57-53 (first round).
The preview: Keep Tech’s Bailey Maupin away from the free throw line in the clutch. She made four huge free throws against Kansas. She was one of three Lady Raiders in double figures. Tech is going to need more than 57 points to beat Utah. The Utes have two players — Gianna Kneepkens and Kennady McQueen — who are 50/40/90 players. That’s 50% from the floor, 40% from the 3-point line and 90% from the free-throw line. Combined they average 30 points per game.
Prediction: Utah 79, Texas Tech 70
Big 12 Tournament Schedule, Results
First Round: Wednesday
Game 1: No. 13 UCF 81, No. 12 BYU 69
Game 2: No. 9 Colorado 66, No. 16 Houston 58
Game 3: No. 15 Arizona State 82, No. 10 Cincinnati 75
Game 4: No. 14 Texas Tech 57, No. 11 Kansas 53
Second Round: Thursday
Game 5: No. 5 K-State vs. No. 13 UCF, 11 a.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 6: No. 8 Arizona vs. No. 9 Colorado, 1:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 7 – No. 7 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Arizona State, 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 8 – No. 6 Utah vs. No. 14 Texas Tech, 8 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Quarterfinals: Friday
Game 9: No. 4 West Virginia vs. Kansas State-UCF winner, 11 a.m. CT, ESPNU
Game 10: No. 1 TCU vs. Arizona-Colorado winner, 1:30 p.m. CT, ESPNU
Game 11: No. 2 Baylor vs. Iowa State-Arizona State winner, 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 12: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 Utah – 8 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Semifinals: Saturday
Game 13: Game 9 winner vs. Game 10 winner, 3 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 14: Game 11 winner vs. Game 12 winner. 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Final: Sunday
Game 15: Game 13 winner vs. Game 14 winner, 4 p.m. CT, ESPN
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
