Entering the weekend the Big 12 Conference had four undefeated women’s basketball teams. By Sunday evening, there was only one.
It turned into a chaotic weekend for the teams that were front-runners in the conference. A few teams proved themselves with great performances. And one team is creating echoes of a championship team long ago.
The scores of the third round of league games included:
Saturday
Utah 87, TCU 77 (OT)
Texas Tech 80, Arizona 49
Colorado 79, Cincinnati 68
Oklahoma State 83, Houston 52
BYU 71, Arizona State 62
Sunday
West Virginia 60, Kansas State 58
Kansas 83, UCF 68
Baylor 72, Iowa State 70
Here are three takeaways from the weekend’s action
Heavyweight Showdown in Ames
The Big 12 saved the best for last with the Baylor-Iowa State game. It was just an incredible game and an incredible finish. So much to unpack.
Baylor’s Taliah Scott hit the game-winner with 2.8 seconds left. While she finished with 21 points, she didn’t make a field goal in the first half.
Baylor’s Darianna Littlepage-Buggs was incredible with 13 points and 20 rebounds and created some chaos late in the game defensively.
Baylor went 17-for-18 from the free throw line and outrebounded Iowa State, 46-39.
Iowa State’s Jada Williams set a career high of 28 points and made six 3-pointers, including a big one that tied the game at 70-all before Scott hit the game winner.
Iowa State’s Audi Crooks had another great game, scoring 26 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. But, Crooks scored just four points in the second half and none in the fourth quarter.
So, what happened? Baylor figured out how to slow down Crooks, but it may not be a template for other teams to use. The Bears defended her one-on-one in the first half and Crooks just ate them up. The worry with Iowa State is its perimeter shooting and it’s why teams have such a hard time doubling Crooks.
Baylor had the height and the physicality to match up with Crooks, but it wasn’t enough. So, coach Nicki Collen and her staff made an adjustment. They played Crooks’ defender behind her in the second half and led Williams’ defender sag down to help. Baylor dared Williams, who isn’t a good 3-point shooter historically, to beat them. She nearly did. But she was 6-for-17, just 33% from distance. The gamble paid off.
By putting Littlepage-Buggs on Williams late and letting her sag on Crooks, she was able to create some key tips and steals. But not every team in the conference has Baylor’s personnel. It won’t work for everyone. But it worked for Baylor and now there is just one undefeated team in the conference and we’re going to get to that.
Problems in Utah
Apparently going to Utah undefeated is not a good idea.
Two of the league’s four undefeated teams fell on Saturday. Arizona State, which was 15-0, fell to BYU, 71-62 in Provo. Up the road in Salt Lake City, Utah dealt 14-0 TCU its first loss of the season, 87-77, in overtime.
The strange thing about TCU is that the Horned Frogs had been there for a few days after playing BYU on New Year’s Eve. They were acclimated. But they weren’t sharp. Olivia Miles had a huge game with 31 points, while Marta Suarez dropped in 23 points. TCU’s defense had little answer for Utah’s Lani White, who had 25 points in 41 minutes. The Utes scored 13 3-pointers and outscored the Horned Frogs, 20-10, in the overtime. While TCU wasn’t as sharp as when I saw them in person against Kansas State, Utah met the moment at home.
BYU shouldn’t have beaten Arizona State after committing 26 turnovers, including nine by Brinley Cannon. But, the Cougars drained 10 3-pointers, held ASU to four made shots from the arc and outscored the Sun Devils 43-28 in the second half.
Neither ASU or TCU played to what I expected, but road games are tricky for undefeated teams in January. The target on the back gets bigger. And a lot of undefeated teams took hits this weekend across the country.
Both Utah and BYU know they have a lot on the line if they want to make the NCAA Tournament. In my December predictions piece, I had both teams making the postseason, but not the NCAA Tournament. Their data and the league’s overall data that I collected didn’t support it. But, if either wants to be an outlier, each needs to win games like this.
Arizona State and TCU, to me, are safe NCAA Tournament teams. BYU and Utah are not. These are huge wins when it comes to March.
In case anyone is wondering, Texas Tech heads to Utah for back-to-back games with the two teams starting Jan. 21. Let’s get to Tech, shall we?
Tech’s Incredible Start
I’m going to keep writing about Texas Tech until, you know, the Lady Raiders stop winning, I guess. Tech defeated Arizona on Saturday, improving to 16-0 on the season. This caught my eye.
Immediately, I thought, “The national title team in 1993 didn’t start that well?” Correct. In fact, the Lady Raiders never had a chance. They lost their season opener at Stanford on Dec. 1, 1992, 75-67. I know? A season opener on Dec. 1? Wow.
This was the best team in Lady Raiders history. Current head coach Krista Gerlich was the point guard and Sheryl Swoopes was the country’s best player. That team won the national championship in March.
That’s how special this team is right now. Their new signee, Stephanie Okechukwu, isn’t eligible to play yet. But she’s 7-foot-1 after she was re-measured when she got to Lubbock.
I’m heading to Lubbock on Jan. 17 to see them play Kansas State. There is a chance the Lady Raiders could be 19-0 by then. The road trip to West Virginia looms large right now, as the Mountaineers are undefeated in league play. That game, set for Wednesday, will test Tech like no game since the Baylor contest in December.
Tech feels like not just an NCAA Tournament team, but a team that could make some noise once they get there.
