The Wrap Up: Big 12 Basketball Game 17 Recap and Analysis
With eighteen games on the Big 12 men’s basketball slate we’ll break down each set of games upon completion. Today it’s a review of the 17th set of games in the Big 12 Conference, played on Feb. 26-27 (rankings in parenthesis in standings are AP).
| BIG 12 STANDINGS | Conf. | All |
| Kansas (6) | 13-4 | 24-6 |
| West Virginia (20) | 11-6 | 22-8 |
| Texas Tech (12) | 10-7 | 22-8 |
| TCU | 9-8 | 21-9 |
| Kansas State | 9-8 | 20-10 |
| Baylor | 8-9 | 18-12 |
| Oklahoma | 7-10 | 17-12 |
| Texas | 7-10 | 17-13 |
| Oklahoma State | 7-10 | 17-13 |
| Iowa State | 4-13 | 13-16 |
Results
Monday, Feb. 26
Kansas 80, Texas 70
West Virginia 84, Texas Tech 74
Tuesday, Feb. 27
TCU 66, Kansas State 59
Baylor 87, Oklahoma 64
Oklahoma State 80, Iowa State 71
NEXT GAMES (all times CST unless noted)
Friday, March 2
Iowa State at Oklahoma, 8 p.m., ESPN2
Saturday, March 3
West Virginia at Texas, 11 a.m., ESPN
Baylor at Kansas State, 1 p.m., ESPN
Kansas at Oklahoma State, 3 p.m., ESPN
TCU at Texas Tech, 3 p.m., ESPN2
Superlatives
20-point games: 26 — Jarrett Culver (Texas Tech); 24 — Dean Wade (Kansas State), Niem Stevenson (TTU); 23 — Terry Maston Jr. (Baylor); 21 — Jeffrey Carroll (Oklahoma State), Jevon Carter (West Virginia); 20 — Udoka Azubuike (Kansas), Lindell Wigginton (Iowa State).
10-rebound games: 12 — Jarrett Culver (TTU); 11 — Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (Baylor), Mitchell Solomon (OSU).
5-assist games: 11 — Devonte’ Graham (KU), Kenrich Williams (TCU); 8 — Kerwin Roach II (Texas); 7 — Jake Lindsey (Baylor), Jeffrey Carroll (OSU), Jevon Carter (WVU); 6 — Barry Brown Jr. (KSU); 5 — Nuni Omot (Baylor), Trae Young (Oklahoma), Alex Robinson (TCU)
4-block games: 5 — Udoka Azubuike (KU).
4-steal games: None
Double-doubles: Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (Baylor), 17 points, 11 rebounds; Devonte’ Graham (KU), 10 points, 11 assists; Mitchell Solomon (OSU), 10 points, 11 rebounds; Kenrich Williams (TCU), 16 points, 11 assists; Jarrett Culver (TTU), 26 points, 12 rebounds; Esa Ahmad (WVU), 11 points, 11 rebounds.
The Starting Five
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas: Taking advantage of a Mo Bamba-less Texas frontline, he had 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks.
Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles Jr., West Virginia: The pair will be synonymous with Mountaineers basketball for some time, and they combined for 39 points in their home finale.
Kenrich Williams, TCU: When Williams hits a double-double, as he did on Tuesday vs. Kansas State, TCU is hard to beat.
Terry Maston Jr., Baylor: Head coach Scott Drew slipped him into the starting lineup and he still produced, scoring 23 points.
Jeffrey Carroll, Oklahoma State: If the Cowboys make any sort of NCAA charge next week, it will be Carroll that leads the Cowboys.
The Sixth Man
Mark Vital, Baylor: Let’s give some love to the Bears’ grunt man — 10 points, 7 rebounds. And he does that most nights.
NCAA and NIT Bracketology
Here is Big 12 Bracketology for the NCAA and NIT, as of Monday:
NCAA
#Big12MBB #Bracketology courtesy of #ESPN & Joe Lunardi: 1 Seed #RockChalk 4 Seed #HailWV & #WreckEm 6 Seed #GoFrogs 8 Seed #BoomerSooner 10 Seed #EMAW (#KState) 11 Seed #Hookem (First Four) 12 Seed #SicEm (First Four) @Heartland_CS
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) February 27, 2018
#Big12MBB #Bracketology courtesy of #CBSSports & Jerry Palm: 1 Seed #RockChalk 3 Seed #WreckEm 5 Seed #HailWV 6 Seed #GoFrogs 9 Seed #BoomerSooner 10 Seed #EMAW (#KState) 12 Seed #Hookem (First Four) 12 Seed #SicEm (First Four) @Heartland_CS
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) February 27, 2018
NIT
#Big12MBB #NIT Bracketology by #NYCBuckets #OKState No. 3 seed. Considers Baylor to be a “mostly safe” #NCAA pick. So if Baylor doesn’t make field it would likely be a high #NIT seed @Heartland_CS
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) February 27, 2018
#Big12MBB #Bracketology via https://t.co/Lql34ZsqWN #OKState as a 2 seed. Sees #Baylor as a No. 11 seed and Last Four In. @Heartland_CS
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) February 27, 2018
The Games
West Virginia 84, Texas Tech 74: Senior Night was a celebration for the West Virginia Mountaineers, and the Texas Tech Red Raiders made it easy on them by not playing Keenan Evans.
Granted, Evans hasn’t been the same since injuring his toe three games ago (he’s averaged 4 ppg since the injury). But by sitting Evans on Monday night his head coach, Chris Beard, made it clear he’s ready to make sure Evans is as healthy as he can be for the Big 12 Tournament next week. Doing so also meant sacrificing the No. 2 seed, as the Mountaineers pulled ahead of the Red Raiders in the standings with the win. But, when you’re moving down to the No. 3 seed and you’ll probably see the Mountaineers again on a neutral floor, does a higher seed really matter?
Well, it might. The Red Raiders host TCU on Saturday and the Horned Frogs, after beating Kansas State, are a game back of Tech for a third-place tie. So another loss might cost Tech more than just a rematch with West Virginia.
Meanwhile, the Red Raiders didn’t play Zach Smith, either, who returned from his foot injury on Saturday against Kansas. Plus, senior guard Justin Gray didn’t make the trip after suffering a head injury on Saturday. He’s dealing with concussion-like symptoms.
None of that is to say that the Red Raiders are a talentless team without those three players (we’ll get to how the Red Raiders did without them in a minute). Considering Smith has missed most of Big 12 action, during which the Red Raiders were a Big 12 contender, Texas Tech’s depth has carried the team far. But the fact that West Virginia just went off in the first half didn’t help.
West Virginia scored the first 16 points of the game. So much for senior night being distracting for guys like Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles Jr. who were playing their final West Virginia home game. The pair drove the bus for the Mountaineers in the first half, combining for 22 of the Mountaineers’ 42 points. Tech really wasn’t able to challenge them. But, take away the 16-0 run and the Red Raiders played the Mountaineers pretty much head-up. Freshman Jarrett Culver set career highs with 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Niem Stevenson added 24 points. Another freshman, Zhaire Smith, added 12 points.
But it was impossible to catch up to the Mountaineers. Carter scored 21 points and dished out 7 assists, while Miles had 18 points and 4 assists. Center Sagaba Konate added 16 points and 3 blocks, while Esa Ahmad had a double-double — 11 points and 11 rebounds. Finally,
James Bolden came off the bench for 10 points.
I think Carter’s mom summed up the night.
Sign of the night on senior night for Jevon Carter and Daxter Miles Jr. #HailWV #Mountaineers #Big12MBB #TTUvsWVU @Heartland_CS pic.twitter.com/bB7hAbFYRS
— Matthew Postins (@PostinsPostcard) February 27, 2018
And just in case you aren’t sure just how beloved Carter and Miles are in Morgantown, here’s a taste.
Thank you JC and Dax, we tip our hats to you! #WVU #PressVirginia
Watch Full Video on YouTube:https://t.co/ZBm2xDKL0y pic.twitter.com/aR6hJoaJFe— DubVNation (@DubVNation) February 27, 2018
The Mountaineers are only losing two players after this season. But that’s a lot of leadership and an entire backcourt to replace. But that’s for next season. Right now, the Mountaineers will try to hang onto second place in the Big 12.
Kansas 80, Texas 70: The Jayhawks completed the job they started on Saturday in Lubbock, dispatching of the Longhorns and putting a chokehold on their 14th straight Big 12 regular-season title, a new NCAA record for most consecutive league crowns. That was Kansas’ goal coming into the season, and in spite of a team that isn’t terribly deep, the Jayhawks pulled it off with a game to spare.
Texas played without center Mo Bamba, who suffered a toe injury on Saturday. Without Bamba in the lineup Kansas center Udoka Azubuike ran wild, finishing with 20 points, 8 rebounds and 5 blocks. Guard Devonte’ Graham had a double-double — 10 points and 11 assists — while Svi Mykhailiuk continued his fine play of late with 17 points. Kansas shot 60.3 percent from the floor.
The Longhorns did their best without Bamba, as Kerwin Roach II puked his guts out — literally at one point — as he scored 18 points and dished out 8 assists. Texas forward Dylan Osetkowski did his best to hold down the paint without Bamba, and he scored 13 points and grabbed 5 rebounds before fouling out with seven minutes left. Eric Davis Jr. also didn’t play as a result of the FBI’s NCAA investigation. Three other Longhorns were also in double figures in scoring, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
This was a loss the Longhorns may have expected, but it’s an important one. It’s their 10th loss of the Big 12 season, and if you’ve read our game wraps this season, you’ve probably seen my note that most Big 12 analysts believe than any Big 12 team with an 8-10 regular season record should make the NCAA Tournament. So, Texas is right there on the bubble now, by that logic, as it enters its finale on Saturday against — ugh — West Virginia. It’s going to be a Bubblicious Saturday in Austin.
But, win or lose, Texas got some REALLY good news on Monday.
GREAT news for Texas guard Andrew Jones, who will begin outpatient treatment for leukemia #hookem https://t.co/7CiuxmKs4j
— Heartland College Sports (@Heartland_CS) February 27, 2018
TCU 66, Kansas State 59: Hey, here’s a fun fact — the TCU Horned Frogs haven’t won four straight conference games since the 1997-98 season when they went undefeated in Mountain West action, led by Billy Tubbs. That’s amazing. Also, I forgot Billy Tubbs coached at TCU.
So, the Horned Frogs are getting it rolling at the right time. They’ve now risen from near the bottom of the Big 12 standings to near the top, as their win over Kansas State moved them into a tie for fourth place in the league with K-State heading into Saturday’s finale with Texas Tech, which looks much more winnable now. TCU is a solid NCAA Tournament team now. There is no bubble to burst. The Horned Frogs will go dancing for the first time in 20 years, oddly enough the same year Tubbs led the Horned Frogs to that undefeated mark in Mountain West play.
Kenrich Williams had a double-double for the Horned Frogs (16 points, 11 rebounds).
As for Kansas State, well to me they’re a solid NCAA selection, but we’ll see if this loss puts them on the bubble in any way. I’ve written it for three weeks — I don’t think the committee can justify leaving them out. Dean Wade had another fine outing with 24 points, while Barry Brown Jr. had 17 points and 6 assists. Winning that finale with Baylor on Saturday would bolster their case, but I don’t think it would do much damage, either.
Baylor 87, Oklahoma 64: I think you could put Baylor head coach Scott Drew’s job this season up against Bill Self’s at Kansas. Yes, Self would probably still win coach of the year. But Drew’s job isn’t less notable. This team looked dead in the water a month ago. Now it’s won six of its last eight, thanks in part of the slightest of lineup adjustments — moving guard Jake Lindsey into the starting lineup. It’s no coincidence. Adding a second ball handler has made Manu Lecomte’s job a lot easier. Plus, Drew finally got Terry Maston Jr. into the starting lineup and he delivered with 23 points after putting up monster games off the bench the past three weeks.
Now it’s the Bears that seem to be the solid NCAA Tournament selection and it’s the Sooners that are sliding onto the bubble. Remember less than a month ago when the Sooners were considered one of the Top 16 seeds in the nation? Well after seven losses in their last nine games, the Sooners are close to sliding into that “Last 4 In, First 4 Out category.”
This is not just about Trae Young’s downturn (he had 18 points and 5 assists vs. Baylor). This is not that good a team and Young’s greatness masked that to some degree during the first half of the Big 12 season. Head coach Lon Kruger’s lineup tweaks aren’t working well, either. This is a team that has gone cold at the absolute wrong time. The Iowa State game gives the Sooners one final shot at a win before the Big 12 Tournament, and perhaps a significant run there can solidify their NCAA chances. But it’s getting real bubblicious in Norman right now.
Oklahoma State 80, Iowa State 71: Hat tip to Iowa State head coach Steve Prohm. Knowing that this Cyclones are out of the postseason race — barring a magical run to the Big 12 Tournament title — he did senior night right, starting all of his seniors and giving them significant minutes. Donovan Jackson, a senior, Lindell Wigginton, a freshman, and junior Zoran Talley Jr. were the only normal starters. Wigginton had 20 points and Jackson had 17. Probably the most significant development beyond that was the 12 points from backup guard Terrence Lewis, who played 25 minutes off the bench. That included four 3-pointers.
But Oklahoma State still has something to play for, the potential — however remote — of an NCAA Tournament berth. With both Texas and Oklahoma sliding toward them in the Big 12 standings, a final surge might help. Sweeping Kansas is a tall order, but that’s what the Cowboys can do Saturday in Stillwater. If so, that would be huge in the committee’s eyes. Jeremy Carroll did what he usually goes, putting up good scoring numbers (21 points) and dishing out assists (7). Cam McGriff scored 19 and Mitchell Solomon had a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds). More importantly, he didn’t foul out.
Looking ahead to the weekend: It’s the final weekend of the regular season and Oklahoma (vs. Iowa State), Texas (vs. West Virginia), Baylor (vs. Kansas State) and Oklahoma State (vs. Kansas) are trying to make their final statements to the NCAA Tournament committee. And TCU goes for its fifth straight win when it faces Texas Tech.
