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 played around the conference.
So what happened? Houston outlasted BYU on the road, the TCU men put together a come-from-behind win in Stillwater, Texas blew past its Red River Rival and UCF took care of West Virginia. Meanwhile, the TCU women are back and put together a win.
Here are five thoughts on the night.
Drama in Provo
It was a game of runs between Houston and BYU, the first edition of Cougar-on-Cougar crime in the new Big 12. Houston won, 75-68, claiming its first Big 12 road win.
The great news is that L.J. Cryer seems to have figured out what ails him.
The former Baylor star had 23 points four Houston, including five 3-pointers, one game after scoring 16 points against UCF. That came after three straight games in which Cryer failed to hit double figures, including back-to-back five-point games against Iowa State and TCU. His coach, Kelvin Sampson, said after the TCU game he had to have faith Cryer would shoot his way out of it.
Well, he has. And if that Cryer shows up every night with Jamal Shead (16 points), the Cougars are going to win plenty more in the Big 12.
Still, this game was tied in the final two minutes, thanks to BYU’s shooting, as they lived and died by the 3-pointer — and ultimately died by it.
BYU shoots 38% from the 3-point line when it wins and 33% when it loses. Against Houston, BYU shot 29%. BYU went 11-of-38 and missed its final five shots while Houston went 7-0 in the final minute. Most of that was at the free-throw line.
Noah Waterman had 17 points and Jaxson Robinson added 10 points. Trevin Knell added eight points as he continues to work his way back. His fifth foul may have been questionable, but he also missed a wide-open 3-pointer moments before that which might have changed the game.
This was BYU’s first Big 12 game in which it didn’t lead at halftime. BYU was down by as much as 13 after losing the lead in the second half. BYU tied it. But it didn’t get the lead back.
Houston has now won three games in a row as they prepare to host Kansas State on Saturday.
Knights Get The Home Win
UCF beat West Virginia, 72-59, in a game that wasn’t that close. The Knights were up by 21 points at one point in the first half and the Mountaineers never had the lead.
The Mountaineers still don’t have forward Jesse Edwards back from injury it showed. The Knights were plus-nine on the glass and had a 13-7 edge in second-chance points. One thing the Knights have is interior options and they leaned on Ibrahima Diallo, who had a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Jaylin Sellers continues to put together great games in the backcourt. He had 16 points. Antwaan Jones added 13 points. UCF worked to get to the line all night, going 21-for-25 at the free-throw line (WVU was 6-of-10).
WVU had just one player in double figures, as Josiah Harris had 15 points. It was a rough night for the players that usually move the needle. Guard Kerr Kriisa had nine points. UCF paid particular attention to RaeQuan Battle and held him to five points. Battle was also ejected and Patrick Suemnick fouled out. Suemnick did not score.
It was not a good night for WVU, just three days after upending Kansas at home. The win won’t necessarily help UCF’s NET or NCAA Tournament hopes. But a loss would have been highly damaging.
Red River Domination
Did you know that Texas had beaten Oklahoma five straight times, along with four straight meetings in Norman, going into Tuesday’s game? I didn’t. Turns out it’s now six in a row and five in a row, respectively.
Texas beat Oklahoma, 75-60, as the Longhorns shot 50% for the game and at one point the Longhorns shot better than 60% in the second half.
So, after a 1-3 start to Big 12 play the Longhorns have now beaten two straight AP Top 11 teams. That’s also after coach Rodney Terry’s “Horns Down” debacle.
Offensively, to win, Texas needs big games from Dylan Disu and Max Abmas. The Longhorns got them. Abmas had 22 points, four 3-pointers and three assists. Disu had his first double-double of the season — 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Texas also needs a third option and it got one in Chendall Weaver, who dropped in 11 points. Texas also got eight points and 13 rebounds from Dillon Mitchell.
During the broadcast, ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla noted that OU coach Porter Moser saw Disu as a “matchup nightmare.” Well, that was the case. Disu helped Texas outrebound the Sooners by 16. OU countered by leading in fast-break points (15-7) and points in the paint (32-26) as Otega Oweh came up with 10 points. Jalon Moore led with 15 points.
But the name missing here is Javian McCollum. He is Oklahoma’s leading scorer and he was held to nine points (he averages nearly 15 points). He was 1-for-6 from the 3-point line and that was emblematic of the night for OU — 21% from the 3-point line and 39% from the floor.
Texas ran away with the game in the second half. Oklahoma made just one of its final eight shots. The two teams went in different directions. In this conference, it’s almost impossible to determine if that’s a trend line.
TCU Men Bounce Back
TCU had lost two games in a row and badly needed a win. Oklahoma State hadn’t won a game yet in Big 12 action and needed a win REALLY badly.
TCU got what it needed in its 74-69 road win at Oklahoma State. At one point the Horned Frogs were down by as much as 17 points and played their way back into the game by shooting 53% for the game, finishing plus-10 on the glass and outscored Oklahoma State, 46-20, in the paint.
So TCU was able to shake off its bad start, which is a trait you need in this league. Emanuel Miller had another great game with 21 points (he also had 11 rebounds), while Micah Peavy 16 and Avery Anderson III added 15 points in his return to Gallagher-Iba Arena.
Oklahoma State only shot 41% from the floor, but the Cowboys shot better than TCU at both the 3-point line and the free-throw line. They only committed five turnovers (but only forced nine from TCU).
The Cowboys’ offensive woes in key stretches continued. They didn’t make a field goal in the final 5:57 of the game, including each of their last six shots. Jon-Michael Wright led the Cowboys with 16 points.
When will Oklahoma State get a win? I’m not sure at this point. I’m also not sure about coach Mike Boynton Jr.’s job security, either.
TCU Women Back With A Win
Before we begin, here’s a quick thread of the four players that TCU added to their program after open tryouts last week.
We all know what happened. TCU forfeited two games last week due to health reasons (the team was down to six scholarship players). So, naturally, I was interested to see how many scholarship players played against UCF on Tuesday.
The starters were all scholarship players — guards Tara Manumaleuga, Una Jovanovic, Agnes Emma-Nnopu, Victoria Flores and forward Aaliyah Roberson.
Missing from the starting lineup was normal starter Madison Conner. She was in street clothes along with the rest of the injured players for the Horned Frogs.
So which scholarship players didn’t play? Conner, Sedona Prince, Jaden Owens, K’Nisha Godfrey, Bre’Yon White, Paige Bradley and Daija Turner. That’s seven players.
Along with the starting five, scholarship players Jade Clack and Sydney Harris saw time. In fact, the five starters played 30-plus minutes.
TCU won the game, 66-60. Aaliyah Robertson had 17 points, while Sydney Harris had 14, Emma-Nnopu scored 10 and Jovanovic added 11. TCU went on a 9-0 run to rally to win.
TCU coach Mark Campbell was clearly happy after the win.
UCF got 22 points from Kaitlin Peterson and 17 more from Mya Burns as their first Big 12 win eluded them again. Turnovers killed them in the fourth quarter — six in the final 5:44.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
