Let’s get the easy part out of the way — the Houston Cougars beat the Utah Utes on Tuesday evening to complete their Beehive State road trip.
The No. 3 Cougars beat the Utes, 66-52, to remain in a tie for first place in the Big 12 after No. 1 Arizona fell to No. 9 Kansas on Monday. The superlatives keep coming in for the Jayhawks after that win.
Meanwhile, BYU ended its losing streak and two teams on the fringes of the NCAA Tournament hunt went in two different directions. Plus, one Big 12 women’s team is emerging to muck up tournament seeding.
Here are three takeaways on Tuesday’s games.
Baylor Welcomes Back Robert Wright (Kind of)
So, there was a little drama going into Tuesday’s game in Waco, which you usually get on the court from Baylor, not off it. But coach Scott Drew did a little, oh I don’t know, digging at Robert Wright III, his former guard who is now at BYU.
It takes a lot to get Drew to turn his back on the “Culture of Joy,” even for a minute. It was actually a nice change of pace. But it didn’t bother Wright, who had 30 points in BYU’s (18-6, 6-5 in Big 12) 99-94 victory over Baylor (13-11, 3-9) on Tuesday night. Baylor’s fans booed him, as expected.
I was interested in seeing whether the Cougars could build on their defensive performance in their loss to Houston over the weekend. Well … Baylor shot 52%, made 10 3-pointers and narrowly outrebounded BYU, 34-33. The one thing the Bears didn’t do that really would have helped was force turnovers. The Cougars only committed five. That was probably BYU’s saving grace, even as it shot 56% from the floor, with an awful 3-of-19 from the 3-point line.
For now, this is how BYU is going to have to beat teams — offense. The Cougars were a great second half team once again, dropping 58 points on Baylor. AJ Dybansta blew up for 36 points. Richie Sanders only had 15 points. Turns out Cougars coach Kevin Young is right about one thing — they need more guard options. The problem is that help may not be coming.
We may be witnessing BYU’s ceiling as a team. Exciting, but perhaps one with a more limited shelf life in March than we anticipated.
Life on the NCAA Tournament Fringes
The Big 12 seems to have seven teams solidly in the field. The league is hoping at least one more team slips in. There were plenty of candidates entering Tuesday.
Three of them were in action on Tuesday night. I don’t believe Baylor is a team destined for the NCAA Tournament. But Oklahoma State and TCU both have chances to get there. One of them took advantage of a terrific opportunity.
TCU defeated No. 5 Iowa State at home, securing a Quad 1 win that should be durable for the rest of the season. The Horned Frogs’ 62-55 win in Fort Worth was their fourth Quad 1 win. It’s only TCU’s second win over a ranked team. The Horned Frogs now have 15 wins and are probably poised to flip with OSU on Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology because the Cowboys lost to Arizona State, 85-76.
That was a Quad 2 loss for the Cowboys, who now have 16 overall wins. OSU doesn’t have a Quad 3 or Quad 4 loss, unlike TCU, which has one of each. But Oklahoma State only had one Quad 1 win. TCU’s four Quad 1 wins give it a bigger resume boost.
I’ve written throughout the season that getting to 20 overall wins before the Big 12 Tournament is a good harbinger for NCAA Tournament selection. I wasn’t expecting TCU to beat Iowa State so that’s an unexpected boost. I though Oklahoma State would beat Arizona State, so that’s a big loss, even if it’s only Quad 2.
What’s coming up next for these two teams is compelling. They play each other in Stillwater on Saturday. The winner might just put the loser in a position where it has little to no shot at March Madness unless it wins the Big 12 Tournament.
Kansas State (Women) Will Make Everyone Sweat
I covered the Kansas State women’s conference opener against TCU in December. At the time, the Wildcats were exhausted and simply not on the same page. Coach Jeff Mittie acknowledged it. I wrote at the time that I felt the Wildcats were not a team anyone would want to play in February. K-State got a head start when it handed Texas Tech its first win in Lubbock in mid-January, a game I covered.
Well, guess what? It’s February and at least one K-State team is worth watching.
The Wildcats beat Oklahoma State, 70-61, on Tuesday, a win that boosted Kansas State (14-12, 7-6) over .500 in league action. K-State has now won three of their last four games, all three of which against teams that are serious candidates for the NCAA Tournament — Arizona State, BYU and Oklahoma State. Only a road loss to Arizona kept the Wildcats from a four-game winning streak.
Kansas State is now in a position where it can influence seeding in the Big 12 Tournament, including its own. The Wildcats are tied for eighth place with Iowa State and play the Cyclones twice down the stretch. The Wildcats face Baylor in Waco, travel to UCF and host Kansas.
After spending most of the season around .500, Kansas State is trending up and a single bye in the Big 12 Tournament is a possibility.
