Top Five Takeaways From Tuesday’s Big 12 Basketball Games
Here are five thoughts on the Big 12 Conference men’s and women’s basketball games on Tuesday, as there were five games across the conference.
So what happened? We had two overtime games on the men’s side and we’ll dig into both of those. BYU claimed its second straight Big 12 game by beating Iowa State and shredding its vaunted defense. Kansas went on the road and took care of Oklahoma State. The Texas women dominated Kansas at home.
Here are five thoughts on the night.
Bearcats Bear Down
Cincinnati had lost its last two Big 12 games by a combined four points. It was beginning to look like they were going add to that total against TCU on Tuesday night.
The Bearcats could have won the game in regulation, but Dan Skillings Jr. missed two free throws in a tie game (the officials unnecessarily froze him between free throws to review how much time was left in the game). Then, Cincinnati’s Aziz Bandaogo was called for a foul trying to rebound the second miss and sent TCU’s Ernest Udeh Jr. to the line.
He missed his free throw and time ran out. That erased the high drama of the final minute as Cincinnati and TCU traded 3-pointers, the latter giving the Horned Frogs a two-point lead with 24 seconds left. Then Cincinnati’s Day Day Thomas made an absurd running layup with 13 seconds left to tie it.
It also gave the Bearcats a second chance, and they didn’t waste it, ultimately outlasting the Horned Frogs, 81-77.
Oh, and guess who made the go-ahead basket in overtime? Yep, Skillings. Redemption was on the menu Tuesday night.
Skillings had 13 points, but Thomas poured in 21 and John Newman III added 20 points. But just getting the win was the thing for Cincinnati. As they work through a run against six Top 25 teams, the Bearcats have now split their first four games, including their win over BYU to start the league slate. This was a big win.
Yes, we are now in an era of Big 12 basketball where beating TCU is a big win. Jamie Dixon has built a tremendous program that has won 21 AP Top 25 games in his eight-year tenure — and the program only has 36 all-time. The Horned Frogs played a quality game on Tuesday. The Bearcats were just a bit better. And in this league, you can play well and lose.
After some early struggles, the Horned Frogs have their 3-point game back, led by Trevian Tennyson, who scored 17 points and made five 3-pointers. He’s hit nine 3-pointers in the last two games. Thinking big picture, that’s a big deal for the Horned Frogs.
But, for Tuesday night, the Bearcats were the big deal. Cue the court storming and the mascot surfing.
Oh, and this note, thanks to GoCoogs.com. Ranked Big 12 teams are 4-7 on the road vs. unranked teams so far this season.
You Want MORE Drama?
All you had to do after TCU-Cincinnati was done was whip around to Baylor-Kansas State and you had another overtime game. The unranked home team (Kansas State) won again, 68-64, as Baylor freshman Ja’Kobe Walter made a freshman mistake late when he defended Kansas State’s Arthur Kaluma on a 3-point shot.
Walter ran through him while contesting the shot and Kaluma made it, drawing the foul, completing the four-point play and giving K-State the lead for good.
The win made the Wildcats 10-0 in overtime under coach Jerome Tang (thanks to our Joe Tillery for that stat). It was also Kansas State’s third straight win over Baylor after losing the last seven.
Tylor Perry and Cam Carter had 18 points each for Kansas State, but Carter fouled out. That four-point play pushed Kaluma to 12 points.
Baylor got 15 points off the bench from Langston Love and 11 more from Jalen Bridges. But it was a poor shooting night for the Bears that did them in. Baylor was 33% from the field and 47% from the free-throw line. That doesn’t work in this conference.
Entering Wednesday’s action, Texas Tech is the only remaining undefeated team in Big 12 men’s action. All the Red Raiders have to do is beat No. 5 Houston to remain undefeated. That’s all.
Texas Women Roll
Holding serve at home is just as important for the Big 12 women as it is for the Big 12 men. In the only women’s game on Tuesday night, No. 11 Texas blew out Kansas, 91-56.
This was a relatively easy one for the Longhorns, who for now remain two games behind Big 12 co-leaders Iowa State and Kansas State, each of whom play on Wednesday.
Texas made this a non-competitive game against a Kansas team that beat Baylor last week. Aaliyah Moore led Texas with 17 points while Madison Booker added 15 points. Texas also forced 22 turnovers.
All the momentum Kansas built last week landed with a thud going into their rivalry game with Kansas State this wekened. S’mya Nichols scored 14 points and Zakiyah Franklin added 11. Center Taiyanna Jackson — who dropped a double-double on Baylor — was limited to eight points and seven rebounds.
The Longhorns were without forward DeYona Gaston, who had her left foot in a boot and didn’t play. Her future status is unclear.
Catching Iowa State and Kansas State in the Big 12 standings will require Texas to play near-perfect basketball for the next few weeks. Winning at home will be critical to remaining in position to defend their Big 12 regular-season co-championship.
TCU’s Troubles Worsen
At the start of Big 12 women’s action TCU looked like it was poised to reach the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs even beat BYU to open league action.
Since then, the Horned Frogs have lost four straight games, lost center Sedona Prince for part of the season after surgery on her finger and now their point guard is done for the season.
TCU’s Jaden Owens announced on Tuesday that her season, and her college career, is over after she suffered a torn ACL and meniscus last weekend against Houston.
Owens spent four seasons at Baylor before she transferred to the Horned Frogs. Our best to Owens on what’s next for her.
It’s not certain when Prince will return. As the Horned Frogs prepare for No. 7 Kansas State on Wednesday, they’ll have to hang on for dear life to keep their postseason hopes alive.
A History-Making Monday
When the AP Top 25 men’s poll came out on Monday I expected to see more Big 12 teams in the poll. TCU beat two ranked teams. Texas Tech was undefeated in league action. Iowa State upended Houston. I also expected Texas to fall out of the poll after its loss to West Virginia.
All of those things happened. And I still wasn’t quite prepared for this.
It’s unlikely to look this way for long. After all, The Athletic has called this iteration of the conference a “circular firing squad” and it’s an apt description.
So, enjoy it, Big 12 fans.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
