The Big 12 Conference had seven teams play in the first round of the women’s NCAA Tournament on Friday and Saturday, with the league going 4-3 for the first round.
First-Round Results
No. 2 TCU 73, No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson 51
No. 4 Baylor 73, No. 13 Grand Canyon 60
No. 5 Kansas State 85, No. 12 Fairfield 41
No. 6 West Virginia 78, No. 11 Columbia 59
No. 6 Michigan 80, No. 11 Iowa State 74
No. 9 Indiana 76, No. 8 Utah 68
No. 10 South Dakota State 74, No. 7 Oklahoma State 68
Second Round Games
Sunday
No. 5 Kansas State at No. 4 Kentucky, 1 p.m. CT, ESPN
No. 5 Ole Miss at No. 4 Baylor, 3 p.m. CT, ESPN
No. 7 Louisville at No. 2 TCU, 5 p.m. CT, ESPN
Monday
No. 6 West Virginia vs. No. 3 North Carolina, time and TV TBA
Here are five takeaways from the latest day of men’s basketball action.
HOME RULES
TCU and Baylor earned home sub-regionals based on their seasons. TCU won the Big 12 regular season and tournament title, while Baylor finished second. The Bears solidified that home sub-regional with a great run down the stretch.
Both rolled at home. In fact, TCU drew a huge crowd as it returned to March Madness since before the women’s tournament was allowed to use the term.
It was a big deal at Schollmaier.
This is somewhat old hat for Baylor, though the Bears haven’t hosted a sub-regional since coach Nicki Collen’s first year in 2021-22. Before she arrived, home sub-regionals were the norm under Kim Mulkey.
The Bears got some grew news as Darianna Littlepage-Buggs, their All-Big 12 first team selection, returned from an injury and gave them 18 minutes off the bench. She only scored two points, but she’ll probably get more run in the second round.
The Horned Frogs and the Bears have their eyes on the Sweet 16. They’ll both needs wins on Sunday to get there.
A BIG 12 PREVIEW
Baylor faced Grand Canyon in its first-round game. Turns out it was GCU coach Molly Miller’s last game with the Lopes. But she’s not going far and Big 12 fans are going to have to get used to her.
She replaces Natasha Adair, who lasted three seasons with the Sun Devils.
The 38-year-old played at Division II Drury, latched on as an assistant there and then became the program’s head coach before taking the Grand Canyon job in 2020. With Drury she won five conference titles. With GCU she and the Lopes broke through for their first WAC title this year. She has a career record of 297-55.
Right now, the jobs at BYU and Houston remain open.
EMILY RYAN’S FINAL GAME
One of the bad things about this time of year is that you have to wave goodbye to players you’ve truly enjoyed watching the past few years. Iowa State’s Emily Ryan falls into that category.
Few have thrown themselves into a program like Ryan, who played five seasons for the Cyclones and during their first-round loss to Michigan became the Big 12’s all-time assists leader. A player with a relentless motor who scored more than 3,000 points in high school, she had the talent to be the program’s focal point.
Instead, she became its greatest facilitator. And there’s greatness in that.
The Cyclones will be fine next year. They have two more years with Audi Crooks and Addy Brown, and something tells me Brown becomes their primary ball handler.
But, in the context of Iowa State basketball, I won’t get to write “Emily Ryan doing Emily Ryan things” anymore.
A TOUGH FINISH
I felt Oklahoma State was the one team in the Big 12 that was under-seeded going into the tournament. The Cowgirls played well enough this season to be a No. 6 seed. But they were slotted at No. 7.
Well, perhaps it didn’t matter. OSU drew a strong No. 10 seed in South Dakota State and lost, 74-58.
Coach Jacie Hoyt rode her starters. Stailee Heard played all 40 minutes and scored 20 points. All five starters hit double figures. What stood out was the Jackrabbits taking it to the Cowgirls on the glass. SDSU outrebounded OSU, 47-29. Heard had 10 rebounds. The rest of the team had 19.
So what do the Cowgirls need next season? More rebounding. Now, their first transfer portal pull won’t help with that. But she’ll help soften the blow of Anna Gret Asi playing her final game with the Cowgirls.
The BYU star leaves the Cougars after two seasons after she averaged 10.3 points per game last season — and after BYU fired her mom as head coach.
YOKIE’S BACK, AS PROMISED
Ayoka Lee returned for the Kansas State Wildcats in their first-round NCAA Tournament game. The Wildcats didn’t need much from her to take care of Fairfield.
In fact, Lee had 17 points and 10 rebounds in 15 minutes. She’s been that model of efficiency all season, even though she surely wants to play more.
That time should come on Sunday when Kansas State faces Kentucky. The Wildcats will need to play much more in a contest that will determine if the Wildcats go to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2002.
It’s Lee’s last shot. For that matter, it’s also Serena Sundell’s last shot. In fact, it’s the last shot for about half of the roster.
If you’re into drama, this is a game to watch.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
