Top Three Takeaways From Monday’s Big 12 Basketball Games
Here are three takeaways from Big 12 Conference men’s and women’s basketball on Monday, as there were just two games on the schedule.
So what happened? The Big 12 showed the country a Top 10 matchup while Texas hosted Kansas State and — guess what — free balloons!
Here are three thoughts on the day.
Cougars Turn Over Cyclones
Houston and Iowa State gave the Big 12 a great showcase on Big Monday. It was your typical Big 12 game. And Houston protected its home court, winning 73-65.
Entering the game Houston hadn’t lost a home game all season and most of those wins were blowouts (none were decided by one score or fewer). Iowa State was one of the few teams in the Big 12 with a winning record on the road.
Houston moved up to No. 2 and Iowa State moved up to No. 6 in the AP Top 25 on Monday.
The Cougars did to the Cyclones what they do to opponents at home in the Fertitta Center — they wore them down and in doing so they won their Division I-leading 20th straight game at home.
Start with the defense. Houston and Iowa State entered the game with the No. 1 and No. 3 defensive efficiency ratings in the country per Ken Pomeroy’s rankings. So a quick check of the turnovers showed that Houston turned Iowa State over 16 times. The Cougars turned that into 20 points.
That set the tone from the start of the game. The Cyclones never led. The Cougars led for nearly 39 minutes. At one point Houston led Iowa State by 13 points. The Cyclones didn’t let the Cougars run away with the game. But the Cougars never let the Cyclones draw close enough to get the lead, either.
All of that helped Houston, which was outrebounded by nine by Iowa State.
Jamal Shead did more than his fair share, leading the Cougars with 26 points and dishing out six assists. Emmanuel Sharp added 20 points. They helped the Cougars shoot nearly 57% in the second half.
Iowa State stayed in the game by shooting 50% in the second half. Keshon Gilbert had 17 points, Tre King had 13 points and Curtis Jones had 13 points. But the Cougars handed Tamin Lipsey a bad night, as he scored just four points on 1-of-8 shooting.
So in two meetings the home team held serve. So, perhaps one more meeting in Kansas City in a month? We’ll see. But right now there is no question Houston is the conference’s best team. The record says so (the Cougars now have first place to themselves). So does the play.
Longhorns Outlast Wildcats
Texas is a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament per ESPN’s Bracketology. The Longhorns keep doing just enough to get into March Madness and there was more evidence in their 62-56 win over Kansas State on Monday.
Both teams shot 36% from the floor. Both teams had the same amount of points off turnovers (13). Texas barely won the rebounding battle and Kansas State barely won the points in the paint battle. It was basically an evenly matched game.
Texas built a five-point lead at halftime and maintained it to win the game. Dylan Disu had a big night for Texas with 20 points. But he was the only Longhorn in double figures.
Kansas State’s Arthur Kaluma led the Wildcats with 15 points. Tylor Perry scored 13 and David N’Guessan added 12.
In other words, ESPN made the right choice to flip this game out of Big Monday.
Plus, as promised, free balloons!
Shouldn’t have to fight that hard to get the student section packed, if we’re being honest.
A Big 12 Women’s Bracket (as of now)
One of the good things about the Big 12 under its new leadership is that the league has stepped up its social media game. And I’m not talking about big things, either. I’m talking about small things.
Like, you know, letting everyone know what the Big 12 Women’s Tournament bracket looks like two weeks out from the tournament? I can’t remember the old regime doing that.
Oklahoma tips things off on Tuesday when it travels to Cincinnati on Tuesday. There are just four rounds of games left before we head to Kansas City. I cannot wait.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
