It was an unusual night in the Big 12, especially after such a heavyweight bout between BYU and Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday.
There were no matchups of Top 25 teams. There were blowouts. There were two 50/50 games that turned out to be the best games of the night. And, Kansas coach Bill Self didn’t make the trip to Colorado for Tuesday’s game as he was under the weather. Jacques Vaughn took over for the night against the Buffs.
Men’s Results
No. 9 Iowa State 87, UCF 57
TCU 68, Oklahoma State 65
Kansas State 81, Utah 78
No. 12 Texas Tech 92, Baylor 73
No. 19 Kansas 75, Colorado 69
Women
Kansas 80, Arizona 69
Here are three thoughts on Tuesday’s action.
Kansas State Wins, But Here’s the Reality
The Kansas State Wildcats won their first Big 12 game on Tuesday, ending the program’s worst start in Big 12 play since they started 0-9 in 1996-97. After the game, head coach Jerome Tang headed up to the student section and did the Wabash Cannonball, something he does after victories.
It was a nice reward for the win, but here’s the reality — the worst team in the Big 12 beat the second-worst team in the Big 12 and Tang is still perilously close to losing his job.
The Wildcats nearly lost this game the way they lost the game with Oklahoma State over the weekend — big mistakes late after shooting the lights out. David Castillo started in place of Abdi Bashir, scored 11 of Kansas State’s first 15 points and hit five first-half 3-pointers. The reward for the hot first-half start? Just a three-point lead over Utah.
PJ Haggerty had a huge game scoring 34 points. He had a counter on the Utah side in Terrence Brown, who had 33 points. It might have been the best one-on-one scoring matchup of the season to this point. Both were terrific. Kansas State was short-handed. Along with Bashir, Khamari McGriff was out for the game.
Kansas State wasn’t good on the defensive end. That’s been a constant all season. Utah shot nearly 50% from the floor, outrebounded Kansas State, 34-29, outscored Kansas State in the paint, 40-32, and only committed nine turnovers.
Tang’s first season was a fever dream. He turned over most of the roster he inherited from Bruce Weber but was able to keep guard Markquis Nowell. The star guard, along with key transfer Keyontae Johnson, led the Wildcats to a 26-10 record and a trip to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.
He looked like the perfect coach for the transfer portal and NIL era. His infectious energy endeared him to everyone in Manhattan. He pulled quality players out of the portal. He even had the NIL resources to do it. K-State athletic director Gene Taylor gave him a massive extension.
Since then? Tang has missed the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons and has seen the win total drop each season. It’s possible these Wildcats could win fewer games than last season’s 16 games. He said at media days that he had “the best point guard in the country, the best forward in the country and the best center in the country.” He may have said it partially in jest, but aside from Haggerty it hasn’t panned out that way.
If Tang is fired after this season, he’s owed $18.5 million. That’s an awful penalty to absorb but it might be necessary for the Wildcats. The program is increasingly showing less progress under Tang. Weber’s final three years with K-State are informative, too. He had three straight losing seasons after three straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight berth.
Tang replaced Weber. Now, it feels like someone is going to replace Tang come March.
Kansas on Big 12 After Dark
Kansas was the late game on Tuesday, as the Jayhawks were in Colorado to face the Buffaloes. Self didn’t make the trip, as noted above. Colorado coach Tad Boyle was a Kansas player back in the 1980s. Darryn Peterson rolled an ankle in the second half, and the Buffs were their usual pesky selves. The Jayhawks also went into the game having lost seven of their last eight Big 12 road games. Colorado hasn’t beaten Kansas since 2013.
So, it was a strange one. Peterson was basically a non-factor in the second half after he rolled the ankle — until he banked a 3-pointer inside of three minutes left. Tre White (17 points, 15 rebounds) had a double-double, Flory Bidunga had one of his best games of the season (11 points, nine rebounds) and Melvin Council Jr. showed shades of being a go-to guy with 18 points.
Colorado could have won this game. The Buffs’ shot selection was questionable at times, especially late. They’re young, talented and play with a chip on their shoulders. But as talented as they are, the Buffs shot 33%. CU stayed in the game because it won the turnover margin (12-3). But going 2-for-14 at one point down the stretch doomed Colorado. Barrington Hargress led with 17 points.
Finally, the Bidunga “block” and the Council “steal” are going to be on every Big 12 ref’s tablet before Wednesday’s games. Two glaring missed calls for which, objectively, there is no excuse to miss.
Big Blowouts
Worried about No. 9 Iowa State? Well, be worried about UCF after that 30-point beatdown in Ames. The Knights picked the worst possible time to play the Cyclones, who were coming off two straight losses and were likely quite ticked off. Joshua Jefferson had the second triple-double of his career and became the first ISU player to have two career triple doubles. Never put Iowa State in a corner. They say that, right?
Texas Tech followed up beating BYU with a sharp-as-a-tack game at Baylor, winning by 19 points and shooting 60% from the floor. It wasn’t close and NBC Sports Network cut away from the game to Purdue-UCLA.
Of the two losing teams, I’m far more worried about Baylor. The Bears can’t seem to get out of this tailspin. Dan Skillings Jr. is back and played 23 minutes. I haven’t seen a Scott Drew-coached team play like this since the first season I covered this league in 2017-18. Those Bears went 19-15, 8-10 in Big 12 play and finished tied for sixth in the conference. Baylor went to the second round of the NIT.
At this rate, Baylor may not even be relegated to the College Basketball Crown, where the first four Big 12 teams that don’t make the NCAA Tournament go by contractual obligation.
It’s just … weird to see a Baylor team be this average at this point in the season.
