With non-conference play starting to wind down, this means each conference only has a few more chances to impress against other conferences before league play begins. And for the Big 12, the league had a couple of great opportunities on Saturday, and the league made it count, going 6-1 on Saturday, December 20th, including some Top 25 wins.
Three Ranked Big 12 Teams Win
The best win of the day came from No. 19 Texas Tech, who beat No. 3 Duke 82-81. Christian Anderson scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half, including the tiebreaking free throw with 3.4 seconds left, and No. 19 Texas Tech rallied from 17 down to beat Duke on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The other Top 25 win came from No. 8 Houston who beat No. 14 Arkansas 94-85. Emanuel Sharp scored 22 points, Kingston Flemings added 21 and No. 8 Houston shot 44% from 3-point distance (11 for 25) and 52% from the field overall in winning their fifth straight game.
As for the rest of the conference, No. 1 Arizona put on a defensive clinic, beating San Diego State 68-45, with the Wildcats holding the Aztecs to just 18 points in the second half, including 26% shooting in the game and 7% from three-point range.
Unranked Big 12 Performances
As for Big 12 teams who came into the weekend outside of the Top 25, they went 3-1 on the day. Kansas State crushed South Dakota at home 106-76. PJ Haggerty scored 24 points, leading five in double figures, as the Wildcats shot 68% in the first half and scored 57 points with Haggerty making all eight of his shots for 16 points before halftime. He finished 10-for-12 from the field to go with six rebounds and three assists.
UCF handled Florida Gulf Coast 102-80.  Jordan Burks and Themus Fulks combined to score 44 points, and Jamichael Stillwell posted a double-double. Utah beat Eastern Washington 101-77. Don McHenry hit six 3-pointers and finished with 27 points, Terrence Brown had 20 points and a career-high 11 assists
The only loss was Colorado, who fell to Stanford 77-68. Colorado was up two at halftime, but got outscored 44-33 in the second half. Freshman Ebuka Okorie scored a season-high 32 points to help Stanford pull out the win in the Hall of Fame Series at Mortgage Matchup Center.
