Big 12 Basketball Tracker: Jordan Lewis Has Baylor’s Seventh All-Time Triple Double
Big 12 Basketball Tracker: Check back often as we keep you up-to-date on Big 12 men’s and women’s basketball news.
The Big 12 Basketball Tracker is designed to keep you up-to-date on Big 12 men’s and women’s basketball news, including recruiting updates, the transfer portal, player milestones and more.
Baylor guard Jordan Lewis had the Bears’ seventh triple-double in women’s basketball history as the Bears defeated West Virginia, 87-54, on Saturday.
Lewis, a transfer from Alabama, ended the game with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. Her triple-double was the first for Baylor since Alexis Jones did it against Oklahoma on Jan. 29, 2017. Oddly enough, the Bears host the Sooners on Wednesday.
The only other Bear to have a triple-double was Brittany Griner, who had five in her career.
Akinjo, Agbaji Midseason All-Americans
Jan. 21: Baylor guard James Akinjo and Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji made The Sporting News’ mid-season All-America team, released on Friday.
Akinjo made the first team, while Agbaji made the second team.
Akinjo, who had to miss the Bears’ recent win over West Virginia, is averaging 13.9 points, 5.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game, and shooting 43.4 percent from the field.
Agbaji is averaging 19.9 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game. He shoots 52.1 percent from the field and 47.3 percent from the 3-point line, making him one of the best outside shooters in the country.
Oklahoma Women USBWA Team of the Week
Jan. 18: The Oklahoma Sooner women’s basketball team was named the Team of the Week by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association on Tuesday.
Per the USBWA, Oklahoma bolted from 23rd to 14th in the latest Associated Press poll Monday following a rally to upset then-No. 14 Baylor 83-77 at home in Norman, the first win over the Bears in seven seasons and first top 15 win since 2017. The Sooners then beat TCU 100-71 to take sole possession of second place in the Big 12 and the 100 points are the program’s second most all-time in Big 12 play.
Oklahoma also shared the honor with Oregon.
Big 12 Reschedules TCU Men’s Games
Jan. 13: The Big 12 announced on Thursday that it had rescheduled the two TCU men’s games that were postponed at the start of Big 12 action due to COVID-19 protocols at TCU.
The updated schedule is below.
Monday, February 21
West Virginia at TCU, 7:00 p.m. CT (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Thursday, March 3
TCU at Kansas, 7:00 p.m. CT (Big 12 Now on ESPN+)
Big 12 Reschedules Six Women’s Games
Jan. 13: The Big 12 announced that is has rescheduled a half-dozen women’s basketball games to help balance out its upcoming schedule due to COVID-19 postponements. Three of the games are ones that had previously been postponed. The other three are future Big 12 games that are being moved to avoid teams having to play three games in a seven-day period.
Tuesday, January 25
TCU at West Virginia (Originally scheduled for Feb. 16)
Wednesday, February 2
Oklahoma State at Kansas (Originally scheduled for Feb. 16)
Friday, February 4
Texas at Baylor (Originally scheduled for Jan. 9)
Wednesday, February 9
Kansas State at Baylor (Originally scheduled for Feb. 16)
Tuesday, February 15
West Virginia at Kansas (Originally scheduled for Jan. 5)
Wednesday, February 16
TCU at Baylor (Originally scheduled for Jan. 5)
Texas Women add UTRGV to Schedule
Jan. 7: The Texas women have scheduled a game with UT-Rio Grande Valley for Jan. 9 at 2 p.m. as a replacement game for its postponed game with Baylor.
The game will be aired on the Longhorn Network.
While the Texas-Baylor game has not been rescheduled yet, the Longhorns will return to Big 12 action on Wednesday when they host Kansas.
Texas-Baylor Women’s Game Postponed
Jan. 5: The Baylor Bears and the Texas Longhorns, who were set to play on Sunday in a Top 15 women’s matchup, have postponed that game due to COVID-19 issues within Baylor’s program.
Baylor played last Sunday against Kansas State with just seven scholarship players due to COVID health and safety protocols. The Bears had already postponed their mid-week game with TCU.
OU Gets Tanner Groves, Two Others Back From COVID
Jan. 4: Oklahoma forward Tanner Groves, along with forward Jacob Groves and guard Bijan Cortes have cleared COVID health and safety protocols and will be available to play against Baylor on Jan. 4, per CBSSports.com’s Jon Rothstein.
Their return is a significant boost for the Sooners, who beat Kansas State, 81-79, in their Big 12 opener. Tanner Groves is the Sooners leading scorer.
TCU-Kansas Women’s Game Rescheduled for Jan. 10
Jan. 2: TCU and the Big 12 announced that the women’s basketball game between the Horned Frogs and the Kansas Jayhawks is rescheduled for Monday, Jan. 10, at 6:30 p.m. in Fort Worth.
The game was originally supposed to be played on Jan. 2, but COVID health and safety protocols within the Kansas program forced the postponement of that game. Both TCU and Kansas are scheduled to play league games on Saturday, Jan. 8, so both programs will play on two days’ rest.
Kansas still has to reschedule its game with West Virginia, which was supposed to be played on Jan. 5 but was also postponed.
West Virginia-Kansas women postponed
Jan. 2: The Big 12 announced on Sunday that the West Virginia-Kansas women’s game, originally set for Jan. 5, would be postponed. The game has not been rescheduled.
The Big 12 didn’t offer a reason why, but Kansas already had to postpone its Big 12 opener with TCU due to COVID-19 issues within the Jayhawks’ program.
Kansas will not play until Jan. 8 against Oklahoma.
TCU Women to Host SMU
Jan. 1, 2022: The TCU women, who saw their Big 12 opener postponed due to COVID-19, will host SMU on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Fort Worth.
TCU is asking those that had tickets for the Davidson game, which was canceled last week, to use those tickets to get into Sunday’s game. Those seeking new tickets should call the TCU ticket office.
This will be TCU’s first game since Dec. 12, as the Horned Frogs battled their own COVID-19 issues before the holiday.
Roman Brumbaugh Commits to Texas Men’s Basketball
Dec. 30: Roman Brumbaugh has committed to play basketball at the University of Texas, according to a piece on On3.com.
Brumbaugh also announced his commitment on social media. The 6-foot-4 point guard from Northfield, Massachusetts, had been committed to Northwestern until he de-committed on Monday.
Brumbaugh’s commitment is non-binding. The earliest the four-star recruit can sign with Texas is in April.
If Brumbaugh signs, he would be the third member of the 2022 Texas recruiting class. The Longhorns signed two players during the early period in November — Arterio Morris and Dillon Mitchell.
OU’s Kelbie Washington Completes Unique Stat Line
Dec. 30: Oklahoma freshman Kelbie Washington did something no Division I player had done in the past 10 seasons when the Sooners defeated Wichita State, 89-67, to improve to 11-1 on the season.
Washington put together a game in which she scored 11 points, dished out 13 assists, grabbed six rebounds and recorded five steals. No Division I women’s player has put that stat line together in the last decade, per Oklahoma sports information.
Washington, a Norman (Okla.) High School product, was a four-star recruit and the No. 66 recruit in the 2021 Class, per ESPN. Her performance against Wichita State nudged her averages up to 7.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, a team-leading 52 assists and a team-leading 23 steals.
Oklahoma is scheduled to face Texas Tech in Lubbock on Jan. 2 in both teams’ Big 12 opener.
Kansas State Cancels UNF game
Dec. 29: The Kansas State men’s basketball game with North Florida has been cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within the UNF program, per a release from Kansas State.
The Wildcats will face Oklahoma on Saturday to open Big 12 action.
Kansas Adds Nevada To Men’s Schedule
Dec. 27: The Kansas men have added Nevada to its schedule for Dec. 29 at 7 p.m., a game that will replace the Harvard game, which was also scheduled on Dec. 29 but cancelled due to COVID-19 issues within the Harvard program.
Tickets for the previously scheduled Dec. 29 game versus Harvard will be valid for admission to the Nevada contest and will not be re-issued.
It will be the final game before Kansas opens Big 12 play on Jan. 1 at home against TCU.
Texas Tech Women Go on COVID-19 Pause
Dec. 27: Texas Tech announced that its women’s basketball program is on a COVID-19 pause and has canceled its game with Incarnate Word, set for Dec. 29.
Since the issues are within Texas Tech’s program, the release notes that it has temporarily paused all team activities.
This puts the Lady Raiders’ Big 12 opener with Oklahoma on Jan. 2 in doubt. The Lady Raiders are the second Big 12 women’s program to go on a COVID-19 pause. TCU did so before the holiday break, but at the moment the Horned Frogs are expected to play their Big 12 opener on Jan. 2 at home against Kansas.
Texas F Jaylon Tyson in Transfer Portal
Dec. 27: Texas freshman forward Jaylon Tyson has submitted his name to the transfer portal, per a report in 247Sports.com.
Tyson, who was one of the top recruits in the country in the Class of 2021, originally committed to Texas Tech when Chris Beard was the head coach for the Red Raiders. After Beard left for Texas in April, Tyson switched his commitment to the Longhorns.
With a loaded front court full of experienced players, Tyson has found it difficult to get playing time. He played in eight games, averaging seven minutes per game and 1.8 points per game.
Baylor Women Add UNT to Schedule
Dec. 27: The Baylor women will add a game to its schedule, as the Bears will host UNT on Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. in their final tune-up before Big 12 action on Sunday.
Baylor announced the game on Sunday afternoon. The Bears will travel to Kansas State for their Big 12 opener on Sunday.
In other Big 12 scheduling news, TCU’s game with Davidson later this week has been cancelled, per TCU. The only good news for TCU is that the cancellation was due to COVID issues within Davidson’s program. TCU had to cancel its two pre-Christmas games due to COVID issues within its own program. The Horned Frogs are set to host Kansas on Jan. 2 to open Big 12 action.
Kansas Men Cancel Game with Harvard
Dec. 26: Kansas announced that its men’s game with Harvard, set for Dec. 29, is cancelled due to a combination of injuries and COVID-19 issues within the Harvard basketball program.
This is the second straight non-conference games the Jayhawks have lost to COVID-19. The Jayhawks lost last week’s non-conference game against Colorado when the Buffaloes had COVID-19 issues within the program.
There are no reports of any COVID issues within the Kansas program.
Kansas will host TCU on Jan. 1 to open Big 12 play. Kansas is looking for an opponent to fill the cancellation.
K-State Women Named ESPN’s Team of the Week
Dec. 20: The Kansas State women earned ESPN’s ‘Team of the Week’ honor for women’s basketball after defeating Oregon, 68-56. While ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel points out that the Ducks have a lot of injuries, it’s still a quality win for the Wildcats, whose only two losses are to Top 5 teams.
Kansas State is becoming a fixture in ESPN’s Bracketology for the NCAA Women’s Tournament, and they’re built around the talents of Ayoka Lee, who is averaging 23.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 4.0 blocked shots per game this season. The Wildcats are trying to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019.
Former Big 12 Stars And NBA Buzzer-Beaters
Dec. 16: On one night in the NBA, former Kansas guard Devonte Graham and former Oklahoma guard Austin Reaves hit buzzer-beaters to help their teams win games.
Graham, who now plays for the New Orleans Pelicans, hit the more improbable one, coming from well behind the halfcourt line and AFTER the Oklahoma City Thunder had hit a 35-footer to take the lead in the final seconds.
Then Reaves, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, hit a buzzer beater in overtime to lift LA to a win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Kansas, Indiana to play home-and-home
Dec. 14: The Kansas Jayhawks and the Indiana Hoosiers have announced a home-and-home non-conference series that will begin next December at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.
The Jayhawks will host the Hoosiers on Dec. 17, 2022. The Hoosiers will host the Jayhawks on Dec. 16, 2023, at Assembly Hall.
The matchup pits two of the most prestigious basketball programs in the country. The two programs are among the 10 winningest programs in NCAA history. Indiana defeated Kansas to win a pair of its national championships in 1940 and 1953. While the pair last played in 2016 at the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, the pair haven’t played a home-and-home since 1993 and 1994. Kansas hosted Indiana in 1993 and Indiana hosted Kansas the following year. Indiana leads the series, 8-6.
Lauren Heard, Bill Fennelly Claim Weekly ESPN Awards
Dec. 13: TCU guard Lauren Heard and Iowa State head coach Bill Fennelly earned weekly awards from ESPN’s Mechelle Voepel, who covers women’s college basketball for the site.
Voepel highlighted Heard’s performance against Texas A&M in her selection of the Horned Frogs senior as Player of the Week. Heard scored 33 points in a 12-point win over the Aggies. Heard went 18-of-21 from the free-throw line. Voepel pointed out that TCU hadn’t beaten their former Big 12 rival since 2009 and it was just TCU’s fifth win over Texas A&M in 42 tries.
Fennelly was Voepel’s pick for Coach of the Week after he led the Cyclones to a Cy-Hawk victory over Iowa at Hilton Coliseum. The victory ended a five-game losing streak for the Cyclones against the Hawkeyes, and helped Iowa State move up to No. 11 in the most recent AP Top 25.
Littlepage-Buggs signs with Baylor
Dec. 8: Baylor announced on Wednesday that it added a fourth player to its 2022 recruiting class, signing Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, a Top 20 national player as rated by ESPN HoopGurlz.
New Baylor head coach Nicki Collen snagged Littlepage-Buggs, a 6-foot-1 guard, out Oklahoma’s backyard, as the Edmond, Oklahoma, product averaged 18.1 points, 11 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game at Classen High School last season.
Collen now has four players signed for the 2022 recruiting class. Previously, she had signed 6-foot-4 forward Kyla Abraham of Smithfield High School in Carrollton, Virginia; 6-foot-2 guard Bella Fontleroy of Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Missouri; and 6-foot-1 guard Catarina Ferreira of Eastern Arizona College.
Five Big 12 Women’s Players Among Top 15 Active Scorers
Dec. 8: Iowa State’s Ashley Joens leads five Big 12 women’s players among the Top 15 active career scorers in Division I, according to the Big 12 Conference.
Joens, who is closing in on taking over as the Cyclones’ all-time leading scorer, entered Wednesday’s game with Iowa with 1,862 points. That puts her No. 7 on the active career scoring list.
After Joens was Texas Techs’ Lexy Hightower (No. 11, 1,732 points), TCU’s Lauren Heard (No. 12, 1,705 points), Texas Tech’s Vivian Gray (No. 13, 1,703 points) and Baylor’s Jordan Lewis (No. 14, 1,693).
Texas G Ashley Chevalier to Transfer
Dec. 7: Texas guard Ashley Chevalier will leave Texas and enter the transfer portal. Per a tweet by the Austin-American Statesman‘s Danny Davis, a Texas spokesperson confirmed the move. Joe Cook of On3Sports was the first to report the news.
The decision means the Longhorns, now No. 11 in the country, need a new back-up point guard. Chevalier was averaging 2.6 assists per game. She was averaging about 12 minutes per game and scoring 2.3 points per game.
TCU-ex-Desmond Bane Joins Elite Club
Dec. 6: Former TCU guard Desmond Bane joined an elite group of NBA players this week.
Bane, in his second season with the Memphis Grizzlies, joined Steph Curry, Karl-Anthony Towns, Zach LaVine and Carmelo Anthony as the only players in the league with more than 300 points, more than 50 made 3-pointers and true shooting and effective field goal percentages of better than 500 percent this season. This comes on the heels of Bane putting together a career performance late last week, in which he scored 29 points against the Dallas Mavericks.
Bane is in the Top 60 in the NBA in scoring with 15.9 points per game. He is shooting 40 percent from the 3-point line, but has shot 50 percent from distance in his last 10 games.
OU’s Porter Moser Wins 300th Career Game
Dec. 1: Oklahoma men’s basketball coach Porter Moser claimed career win No. 300 on Wednesday night, as the Sooners defeated the Florida Gators, on the same night the Sooners honored former head coach Lon Kruger for his long career.
Moser replaced Kruger after the latter retired in March. The Sooners honored Kruger on this evening because Kruger coached both programs to the Final Four.
The Sooners won the game, 74-67, to improve to 7-1 on the season.
Iowa State Picks Up Transfer Tre King
Dec. 1: The Iowa State Cyclones, fresh off being ranked No. 19 in the nation after a 6-0 start, got some more good news on Wednesday as former Georgetown forward Tre King announced his transfer to Iowa State via social media.
King transferred to Georgetown in the offseason after three seasons at Eastern Kentucky. But he wasn’t with the Hoyas long. He was removed from the team after he did not meet “conduct expectations of the University.” King moved on, reportedly visiting the Cyclones in November and choosing them over Missouri and DePaul.
King will reportedly enroll in January, but because he hasn’t played yet this season he intends to pursue a waiver that would allow him to play for the Cyclones in the spring. If the waiver isn’t granted, he would not be able to play until the 2022-23 season.
If King does receive the waiver, the Cyclones would be getting a player that averaged 14.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks per game last season for the Colonels, a season that earned him First-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference honors.
Jasmine Shavers Transfers to Texas Tech
Nov. 30: Jasmine Shavers, who played for Mississippi State, has transferred to Texas Tech to play for the Lady Raiders.
Shavers was rated by ESPN’s HoopGurlz.com rankings as the No. 55 player in the Class of 2021. The Horn High School (Mesquite, Texas) product originally signed with Mississippi State. Shavers put her name in the transfer portal earlier this month after MSU head coach Nikki McCray-Penson stepped down for health reasons.
Shavers announced her signing with Texas Tech on Twitter.
ISU’s Ashley Joens No. 5 All-Time in Scoring
Nov. 28: Iowa State forward Ashley Joens became the fifth player in Iowa State women’s basketball history to reach the 1,800-point mark during the Cyclones’ game against UMass on Sunday night.
She is now No. 5 all-time in scoring, with her next target being Megan Taylor, who had 1,866 career points. The all-time mark belongs to Angie Welle, who had 2,149 points. Joens is within striking distance of passing Welle by season’s end.
Iowa State Men Win NIT Tip-Off
Gabe Kalscheur had 30 points to lead the Iowa State men to a 78-59 victory over No. 9 Memphis on Friday night, giving the Cyclones the title in the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York City.
The Cyclones (6-0) defeated a ranked team for the second straight game, having defeated No. 25 Xavier in its NIT opener.
Along with Kalscheur, Tristan Enaruna scored 11 points and Aljaz Kunc scored 11 points.
Iowa State will host Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Wednesday.
Iowa State’s Ashley Joens has 33rd career double-double
Nov. 26: Iowa State forward Ashley Joens had the 33rd double-double of her career, scoring 27 points and grabbing 15 rebounds as the Cyclones defeated Charlotte, 75-59, in the first round of the Gulf Coast Showcase on Friday.
Joens, who is closing in on become the program’s all-time leading scorer, helped the Cyclones to a 5-0 start to the season. Morgan Kane scored 13 points and Emily Ryan added 12 points along with a team-leading five assists.
The Cyclones will play either Penn State or St. John’s on Saturday.
Baylor G Akinjo MVP at Battle 4 Atlantis
Nov. 26: Baylor guard James Akinjo was named the Battle 4 Atlantis MVP after leading the Baylor Bears to the tournament title on Friday in a 75-58 win over Michigan State.
Akinjo scored 15 points in the contest. The transfer guard from Arizona has blended seamlessly into the Bears’ rotation as they improved to 7-0 for the season and have now won four of their last five regular-season tournaments.
The Bears are No. 6 in the country and could see a bump in next Monday’s poll. The Bears beat Arizona State and Virginia Commonwealth and ran their winning streak to 13 games since the NCAA Tournament run last March and April.
Former TTU G Jahmi’us Ramsey with 39 in G League game
Former Texas Tech guard Jahmi’us Ramsey set a career-high 39 points for the Stockton Kings in a G League game earlier this week.
Ramsey did so in a game with the Salt Lake City G League team, a game in which Salt Lake City’s Elijah Hughes also scored 39 points.
Ramsey shot 17-of-31 from the floor and made three 3-pointers, along with a 2-for-5 night from the free-throw line.
But the game had a true Big 12 feel. With Sacramento, former Texas guard Matt Coleman III scored 16 points off the bench. For Salt Lake City, former Kansas big man Udoka Azubuike had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while former Baylor guard MaCio Teague had 19 points. His Bears teammate, Jared Butler, started alongside Azubuike and Teague and scored 14 points.
ISU’s Izaiah Brockington Scores Career High 30 Points
Nov. 24: Izaiah Brockington had a career night as the Iowa State Cyclones upset the No. 25 Xavier Musketeers, 82-70, NIT Season Tip-Off at the Barclays Center on Wednesday.
Brockington, a transfer from Penn State, scored 30 points in the game, 23 of which came in the second half. He shot 12-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-6 from the 3-point line. In doing so, he became the first Cyclone to score 30 or more points in a game since Lindell Wigginton in 2018.
Freshman guard Tyrese Hunter also set a career high with 19 points in the game.
It’s the first win over a ranked team for new Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger.
Jamie Dixon reaches 100 wins at TCU
Nov. 24: TCU head coach Jamie Dixon claimed his 100th victory at TCU, as the Horned Frogs defeated Pepperdine, 73-64, Wednesday in the SoCal Challenge.
Mike Miles scored 16 points and Emanuel Miller had a double-double — 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Dixon, a TCU alum, is in his sixth season at TCU and is coming off a 12-14 season. He is now 426-194 for his head-coaching career, which started at Pitt in 2003.
Cade Cunningham’s ‘The Undefeated’ Diary
Nov. 24: Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons is keeping a diary during his rookie season via ESPN’s site, The Undefeated.
The former Oklahoma State standout made his second entry in the diary earlier this week to Marc J. Spears.
Some of the takeaways:
Cunningham on what other NBA players are saying to him: ‘Kevin Durant and James Harden told me to ‘just keep working.’ Joel Embiid told me I had a good game. People like my game.’
Cunningham on what he’s having for Thanksgiving: ‘I like all the regular sides. I go crazy on sides. Now, I try to figure out some vegan options with burgers and stuff like that. But before becoming a vegan, I was on all the regular stuff.’
Getting ready for a Detroit winter: ‘I know now I need layers. It can’t just be one hoodie. It has to be layers on. So, I’m catching on.’
Baylor Assistant On Athletic’s ’40-under-40′ List
Nov. 23: Baylor assistant coach Chloe Pavlech was the only person with Big 12 ties named to The Athletic’s ’40-under-40’ list of the most influential people in women’s basketball.
Pavlech is in her first year on Nicki Collen’s staff at Baylor. But, as The Athletic’s Chantel Jennings pointed out, her value may be far more than X’s and O’s:
Before joining Nicki Collen’s staff as an assistant coach in July, Pavlech led content strategy for OvertimeWBB, which has the largest Instagram following of any women’s basketball account (as well as more than 1 million TikTok followers). She was also the head of women’s sports at Overtime, where she oversaw and hosted the SnapChat show “Hype School,” which averaged more than 1 million followers per episode. When Sue Bird, Alex Morgan, Simone Manuel and Chloe Kim launched their media company Togethxr, they recruited Pavlech as an on-camera host and emerging platform strategist for the brand. A former four-year player at Maryland, her basketball knowledge and social media savvy could be a perfect combination for the NIL era.
Pavlech and the Bears are at the Cancun Challenge this week.
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