The Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament continues on Friday in Kansas City with quarterfinal action featuring eight more teams.
The quarterfinals feature the four winners of the second-round games on Thursday, as they’ll face the Nos. 1-4 seeds, each of which had a first- and second-round bye.
The winners move on to the semifinals on Saturday, putting those teams one step closer to an opportunity to win the Big 12 Tournament.
Here is a preview of each game.
Game 9: No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Kansas State, 11 a.m. CT, ESPNU
Records: Kansas State, 26-6; West Virginia, 23-6.
Head-to-Head: West Virginia 70, Kansas State 57
Big 12 Tournament Results: West Virginia, first game; Kansas State, def. UCF, 80-65 (second round).
The preview: Serena Sundell had another Serena Sundell kind of game on Thursday (21 points, four rebounds, four assists), but she’s going to need a bit more help from the rest of the starters. Zyanna Walker, curiously, only had five points. Still, K-State shot 53% from the floor and 50% from the 3-point line. That will play in the quarterfinals.
West Virginia will be the first team to test the “rest vs. rust” argument when it comes to the double bye format. WVU is third in the country in turnovers forced per game. When the Mountaineers met K-State the Wildcats coughed it up 21 times. JJ Quinerly and Jordan Harrison had massive games in the first matchup. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kyah Watson steps up as a third option.
Prediction: West Virginia 68, Kansas State 63
Game 10: No. 1 TCU vs. No. 9 Colorado, 1:30 p.m. CT, ESPNU
Records: Colorado, 20-11; TCU, 28-3.
Head-to-Head: TCU 63, Colorado 50
Big 12 Tournament Results: TCU, first game: Colorado: def. Houston, 66-58 (first round); def. Arizona, 61-58 (second round).
The preview: These two teams met way back in December and both have grown since then. Tabitha Betson, in particular, has grown into a weapon and she scored 16 points in the win over Arizona. Lior Garzon hit the jump that gave the Buffs the lead for good. Kennedy Sanders added 14 points off the bench. But Jady Masogayo can’t have a five-point game against TCU.
The Horned Frogs have all the good vibes right now. Hailey Van Lith was the Big 12 Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year. Sedona Prince and Madison Conner were All-Big 12 First Team. It would be a shame to squander them with a quarterfinals loss. Agnes Emma-Nnopu played a big role in the first matchup.
Prediction: TCU 79, Colorado 70
Game 11: No. 7 Iowa State vs. No. 2 Baylor, 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Iowa State, 21-10; Baylor, 25-6
Head-to-Head: Baylor 67, Iowa State 52
Big 12 Tournament Results: Baylor, first game; Iowa State: def. Arizona State, 96-88.
The preview: Addy Brown had a day for Iowa State, as she dropped 41 points on Arizona State in the second round. Couple that with 20 points from Audi Crooks and the Cyclones are hard to beat. Defense was the issue against ASU, as the Sun Devils shot 52% against ISU. The Cyclones must turn up the defense, as they only forced the Sun Devils into 10 turnovers.
When Baylor won the earlier meeting, it was without Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, who was out with an injury. Yaya Felder came off the bench and led a balanced offensive effort with 15 points. If Littlepage-Buggs plays, that makes things tougher for ISU. The battle inside between Crooks and Baylor’s Aaronette Vonleh should be something to watch.
Prediction: Baylor 73, Iowa State 70
Game 12: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 14 Texas Tech, 8 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Records: Texas Tech, 17-16; Oklahoma State, 24-5
Head-to-Head: Oklahoma State 71, Texas Tech 68
Big 12 Tournament Results: Oklahoma State, first game: Texas Tech: def. Kansas, 57-53 (first round); def. Utah, 75-64 (second round).
The preview: Send Bailey Maupin to the free throw line at one’s own peril. She made all 11 of her attempts on Thursday, one night after she made all but two of her attempts in the first round. She’s having a great tournament, and the Lady Raiders are creating some real momentum at a time where they can mess with some higher-seeded team.
Oklahoma State will put its trust in Stailee Heard on offense, who was named All-Big 12 first team. Micah Gray and Anna Gret Asi give the Cowgirls a great combination outside. When these two teams met in Lubbock, OSU escaped with a three-point win. A neutral site may equalize things, but don’t be surprised if this goes to the wire.
Prediction: Oklahoma State 81, Texas Tech 77
Big 12 Tournament 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 80, No. 13 UCF 65
Game 6: No. 9 Colorado 61, No. 8 Arizona 58
Game 7: No. 7 Iowa State 96, No. 15 Arizona State 88
Game 8: No. 14 Texas Tech 75, No. 6 Utah 64
Quarterfinals: Friday
Game 9: No. 4 West Virginia vs. No. 5 Kansas State, 11 a.m. CT, ESPNU
Game 10: No. 1 TCU vs. No. 9 Colorado, 1:30 p.m. CT, ESPNU
Game 11: No. 2 Baylor vs. No. 7 Iowa State, 5:30 p.m. CT, ESPN+
Game 12: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 14 Texas Tech, 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.
