Big 12 Basketball had itself another loaded Saturday of hoops with several games on the schedule. There were surprising upsets, one key Top 25 match up, and teams trying to get back on track with the league schedule entering its third week of play. So with that, here are two buys, two sells, and one hold after Saturday’s games.
Buy: UCF Knights
It might seem odd to put a losing team in the “buy” category, but the Knights gave No. 1 Arizona a run for its money behind Themus Fulks, who finished with an efficient 30 points and eight assists. The Milwaukee transfer continues to impress and get more comfortable for the Knights. And this team showed depth, balance and grit against the Wildcats, including racking up more offensive rebounds (14-9) than the Cats. UCF continues to keep teams in check as one of the best three-point defenses in the Big 12, as the Knights held Arizona to just 3-13 from downtown.
Yes, they lost the game, but UCF is 3-2 in Big 12 play, but they get a reeling Iowa State team this week, followed by Colorado and Arizona State. This team can find itself playing in March if it keeps growing.
Sell: Iowa State Cyclones
The Iowa State Cyclones started the week No. 2 in the country in the latest AP Poll. Then, they lost two games this week. They got crushed on the road vs. Kansas, and then fell to Cincinnati on Saturday, giving the Bearcats their first win vs. a Top 2 team since Syracuse back in March of 2012.
Iowa State’s big problem has been its slow starts all season, but this week it came back to bite them. Take a look at this from CBS Sports’ Chris Hassel.
At some point, Iowa State can’t be a top team in the country and keep having to dig out of holes to win games. Even with the talent of the Cyclones, it’s just asking for too much game after game, especially in the Big 12.
Iowa State made a couple of runs in the second half, but the deficit was just too much to overcome. And for the Cyclones, who are No. 2 in the Big 12 in turnover margin, they struggled in that area on Saturday, finishing -4.
Hold: Texas Tech Red Raiders
No. 15 Texas Tech needed a confidence boost vs. a Top 25 team, as they entered this game with a 1-4 record against ranked teams, with Duke as the lone victory, and Illinois, Purdue, Arkansas and Houston in the loss column. And BYU entered with some of the top talent in the country, but Texas Tech beat BYU from three-point range and on the boards to solidify the win at home. And for Tech to come back in the final nine minutes, after being down nine points, was a huge turnaround and confidence boost. Tech definitely got the home whistle as part of the comeback in the second half, but it’s still a massive victory.
However, I can’t “buy” Tech, despite the emotional comeback win. The Red Raiders are struggling to find depth beyond their Top 5, but that Top 5 can hang with the best in the country. The question will be if they can develop more of a bench in the weeks to come. But the Big 3 of Anderson, Watts and Toppin can hang with the best of them, and beat the best of them, which is what we saw on Saturday vs. BYU.
Buy: Kansas Jayhawks
Well, after a slow start in league play (1-2), the Kansas Jayhawks have now won two in a row, both at home, by a combined 39 points. Earlier this week, KU blasted No. 2 Iowa State, and then on Friday, it was another dominant win vs. Baylor.
Kansas blew an early 19-4 lead to trail late in the first half, but then the second half included a 15-3 run which then allowed KU to coast to a comfortable win. For a young team that has had its struggle, the Jayhawks did not allow the end of the first half to impact them. Freshman Darryn Peterson scored 26 points on 11-of-13 shooting, Flory Bidunga had an excellent game with 23 points, 11 rebounds and five blocks.
Kansas has games coming up vs. Colorado and Kansas State, which should be comfortable wins based on how this team is playing in recent days.
Sell: Kansas State Wildcats
The Wildcats are off to an 0-5 start in Big 12 play for the first time in nearly 30 years (1996-97). The historically bad start continued on Saturday night with an 84-83 loss to the Cowboys in Stillwater.  Anthony Roy scored 23 points, Vyctorius Miller was fouled on a corner 3-point shot with 2.8 seconds left and hit all three free throws and the Pokes ended up escaping with a win.
Once again, they were sloppy with the ball on Saturday, losing the turnover battle 16-7. They don’t do a great job getting to the free throw line either, which was apparent on Saturday night, as the Pokes took 24 free throws to just five for the Cats.
Jerome Tang said after the game the team is “close”. Close to what, is in the eye of the beholder.
Hold: West Virginia Mountaineers
I’m not sure if even West Virginia fans knew what to expect entering the season, but WVU is sitting at 3-2 as we roll into the second half of January after beating Colorado on Saturday. Treysen Eaglestaff scored 22 points, Honor Huff scored nine of his 14 points in the final seven minutes, and West Virginia blew a 12-point lead before beating Colorado 72-61 on Saturday.
WVU led by 12 in the first half, and then found themselves down by one point with 13 minutes remaining in the game. However, Jasper Floyd made a layup that put West Virginia in front for good less than one minute later as part of a 13-3 run, which included eight points by Eaglestaff, that made it 55-46 with nine minutes remaining.
West Virginia shot 52% from the field, holding Colorado to 39% shooting and outrebounded the Buffaloes 38-22. The Mountaineers only have one ranked opponent in their next five games (at Arizona next Saturday), so WVU has opportunities in the weeks to come.
