The start of the first full week of Big 12 men’s action featured four games, with the centerpiece in Houston as the Cougars hosted Texas Tech.
Meanwhile, TCU was in Kansas to face the Jayhawks, UCF attempted to carry its good vibes on the road to Stillwater to face Oklahoma State and West Virginia hosted Cincinnati. On the women’s site there was just one game, but it was a doozy as Arizona hosted BYU in a game that went down to the wire.
Men’s Results
West Virginia 62, Cincinnati 60
Oklahoma State 87, UCF 76
Houston 69, Texas Tech 65
Kansas 104, TCU 100 (OT)
Women‘s Results
Arizona 75, BYU 72
Here are three thoughts on Tuesday’s action.
Kingston Takes The Throne
Kingston Flemings is one of the most talented freshmen in the Big 12. The Houston guard also has a great sense of timing.
Houston and Texas Tech played a gritty, grimy game filled with high basketball IQ and great performances. Flemings finished with 23 points and the biggest shots of the game.
Flemings’ pull-up jumper with 1:41 left broke a 60-60 tie with Tech. The Red Raiders cut the lead back to one on a JT Toppin layup with 57 seconds left. Flemings answered with a bomb of a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left and that set off the Fertitta Center. That was also the game.
Kansas’ Darryn Peterson and BYU’s AJ Dybansta are getting the headlines. But Flemings has, perhaps, been the steadiest freshman in the league. He’s certainly been Houston’s steadiest player all season. He’s heady. He handles big moments. He doesn’t make many mistakes. By March, he’ll be one of the best players in the country, if not the Big 12.
This one felt like an instant classic. Tech’s largest lead was six points. Houston’s largest lead was seven and that was at the end of the game. Toppin had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Tech, but Jaylen Petty led with 20. Christian Anderson had an atypical game with seven points and some critical mistakes, some of that induced by Houston’s defense.
Emanuel Sharp bounced back from his awful game against Cincinnati with 17 points. Chris Cenac and JoJo Tugler had 11 each. They also combined for 21 rebounds as each had a double-double. The rebounding numbers were basically even.
Tech had every chance to win this game. The Red Raiders have the talent to beat the Cougars. This game flipped on one thing — turnovers. That’s always the way against Houston.
Tech committed 14 turnovers and Houston scored 13 points off them. Houston committed six turnovers and Tech scored four points off them. That was the difference in the game. Heck, 14 turnovers isn’t bad against Houston. It just wasn’t good enough.
They’ll play each other again in Lubbock on Jan. 24. Don’t miss it.
Opportunity Lost in Lawrence
Kansas star Darryn Peterson is getting attention for all the wrong reasons right now. As the Jayhawks headed back to Allen Fieldhouse after losing to UCF — and Peterson’s controversial “minutes restriction” in that game — they hosted TCU.
Jayhawks coach Bill Self is playing verbal gymnastics trying to position Peterson’s absence. Before the game, he indicated Peterson didn’t play for much of the second half due to a minutes restriction.
Then why use the words “minutes restriction?” Anyway …
Peterson started and played 32 minutes. When he sat on the bench, he sat next to a team doctor and appeared to have a device wrapped around both thighs, likely devices to keep his hamstrings and quads warm. If Kansas wants to leap into the top of this conference — and right now they’re outside my Top 5 — the Jayhawks need Peterson. He showed everyone why.
Peterson had 32 points. He made the free throws that sent the game to overtime as Kansas won a game it had no business winning. He also wasn’t on the floor for a good portion of that final 1:14 as he grimaced and left the game after turning his back on a pass that went out of bounds. The Jayhawks rallied anyway.
This game had mood swings. At one point TCU went on an 18-3 run over a 3:54 span to take a 67-53 lead with 11:04 left. TCU has won in Larwrence once, and it was a doozy. The Horned Frogs beat No. 2 Kansas, 83-60, on Jan. 21, 2023, which is TCU’s highest ranked road win. All signs pointed toward the Horned Frogs walking out of Lawrence with a win.
So, what happened? Kansas found a spark down the stretch. But TCU also managed its way out of winning. No team rallies from nine points down in 74 seconds without help, and the Horned Frogs provided it. TCU panicked. The Horned Frogs made key turnovers down the stretch. Peterson got three free throws because he was fouled on a desperation 3-point heave.
The Horned Frogs kept it close in overtime and made it a one-possession game with about 30 seconds left. All they had to do was inbound it from under their basket. But they failed. They didn’t run any kind of a press break, and the pass went right into the back of a Kansas player. None of TCU’s players had ever played in Allen Fieldhouse and in those final moments it showed. This game is going to keep coach Jamie Dixon up for hours. When you get a chance to upset Kansas at home, you must close the deal.
TCU got great games from Liutauras Lelevicius, who had 23 points and made five 3-pointers, and David Punch, who had 20 points and nine rebounds and played through what appeared to be leg cramps. Tre White dropped in 22 points for Kansas.
If the Horned Frogs miss the NCAA Tournament, this game could be why. It was a Quad 1 opportunity lost on the road.
The Rest of the Night
West Virginia coach Ross Hodge got his first Big 12 Conference win as a coach as the Mountaineers beat Cincinnati, 62-60, at home. Treysen Eaglestaff scored 10 points and hit some big shots down the stretch.
Honor Huff needed one game to adjust to Big 12 defense and scored 24 points. Cincinnati struggled offensively, especially in the first half, and Jalen Celestine — the former Baylor guard — was the only Bearcat in double figures with 15 points.
UCF moved into the AP Top 25 after beating Kansas on Saturday. The Knights followed that with an 87-76 loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Three-point shooting was the key. UCF was 7-for-33 from distance. OSU was 10-of-19 from distance. Parsa Fallah led OSU with 24 points and Riley Kugel led UCF with 15 points.
I consider Arizona, BYU, Houston, Iowa State and Texas Tech to be the Top 5 teams in the conference. Below that, every game is a 50/50 game and those will help determine if OSU or UCF — or both — make the NCAA Tournament. Tough loss for UCF.
There was one women’s game, as Arizona beat BYU, 75-72, to get Wildcats coach Becky Burke her first Big 12 win and snap a three-game losing streak. Free throws made the difference down the stretch for the Wildcats and BYU turned the ball over 27 times.
All five Arizona starters were in double figures, led by Nora Francois’ 21 points. Tanyuel Welch had a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Noelani Cornfield had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists. Delaney Gibb led BYU with 21 points.
