The Big 12 men’s basketball teams continued conference play on Tuesday, with four games across the country as the game’s best conference concluded Round 1 of 20.
The results included:
West Virginia 62, No. 7 Kansas 61
UCF 87, Texas Tech 83
BYU 76, Arizona State 56
The Big 12 swings back into action on Saturday with seven games on Saturday and one on Sunday.
Here are five takeaways from the second day of conference action.
Best Game
Well, it has to be Kansas-West Virginia, especially if you like your game with mood swings.
At one point, West Virginia (10-2, 1-0 in Big 12) led by 18 points and the Jayhawks (9-3, 0-1) looked dead. Then, the game played out much like Kansas’ loss to Missouri as it made a massive comeback.
This time, Kansas got much closer than it got against Missouri. West Virginia survived with a free throw from Javon Small with 1.8 seconds left. He expertly drew two fouls down the stretch and did just enough at the free-throw line to hand the Mountaineers their first win at Allen Fieldhouse.
Related: Three Takeaways From West Virginia’s 62-61 Win Over Kansas
WVU did it without two of their leading scorers, Tucker DeVries and Amani Hansberry, who were out for the game. Small played big (13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists) and center Eduardo Andre put together a terrific effort (15 points, six rebounds).
Zeke Mayo went off for Kansas with 27 points. Hunter Dickinson had a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) but wasn’t dominant. This was supposed to be a better 3-point shooting team but the Jayhawks were 25% from the arc.
It’s not time for Kansas to panic yet. But, a couple more games like this and coach Bill Self will have to make some adjustments. WVU now has three wins over high-major teams, two of which were AP Top 10 teams and all of which were away from home. Coach Darian DeVries needed 12 games to do something Bob Huggins couldn’t.
Best Performance
UCF’s (10-2, 1-0) win over Texas Tech (9-3, 0-1) was fueled by many players, including the returns of Jaylin Sellers and Mikey Williams. But Keyshawn Hall had a terrific game — 22 points, with four 3-pointers, on 9-of-13 shooting, along with eight rebounds and two assists. Darius Johnson was no slouch (he had 22 points). But Hall’s 3-point shooting and rebounding was a difference-maker.
Most-Needed Win
Hot debate here. WVU, as noted, hadn’t beaten Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. But, I feel UCF’s win is a little bigger. Right now the Knights are on the outside looking when it comes to bracketology. They were 1-2 in high major games entering Big 12 play, and that win was over Texas A&M in the opener. The Red Raiders are in bracketology right now. TTU is in the Top 20 in NCAA Net and UCF was No. 80 entering the game. That’s a Quad 1 win for the Knights, just their second of the season.
WVU now has three with the victory over Kansas and they’re in bracketology, too. So Tuesday’s win is going to boost UCF’s resume significantly.
Worst Loss
Arizona State’s loss was pretty bad. The Sun Devils (9-3, 0-1) were a team I just wasn’t sure about going into Big 12 play. They had a great record but no high major wins (0-2 against Gonzaga and Florida). BYU (10-2, 1-0) was a chance for Arizona State to show what it could do against a team that I felt was on the same level.
The Cougars pulled away in the second half. Guard Richie Saunders went off (30 points, six 3-pointers). ASU was outrebounded by 10 and shot less than 37%. BJ Freeman was the only Arizona State player in double figures with 11 points.
The Sun Devils didn’t necessarily need the win. But they certainly needed a better showing.
Bracketology Update
Before the games started on Tuesday I checked out ESPN’s Bracketology. They’re moving to twice-a-week updates starting this week, so it was their most recent update. The Big 12 had eights seeds:
Iowa State: No. 1
Kansas: No. 3
Houston: No. 4
Baylor: No. 6
Cincinnati: No. 7
Texas Tech: No. 9
West Virginia: No. 10
Arizona State: No. 11
West Virginia received one of the last four byes, which means the Mountaineers are close to the bubble. Arizona State was one of the last four in, which means the Sun Devils are definitely on the bubble.
BYU and Arizona were among the next four out.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
