The Big 12 Conference had a rare Saturday — all 16 men’s teams were in action. Six women’s teams were in action, too.
It was a fateful Saturday because the NCAA Tournament committee released its Top 16 seeds and the Big 12 figured prominently. Plus, we had a huge Top 25 matchup between Arizona and Houston.
With that as the backdrop, here are three takeaways from the day.
Seeding Day Ramifications
Before games started on Saturday the NCAA released its Top 16 seeds as of now. The NCAA started doing this several years ago and it gives us a nice picture into what they’re thinking when it comes to how they’ll seed the top four teams in each region come March.
What stuck out to me was Iowa State being a number one seed along with Arizona.
During the unveiling, analysts were happy to see that the NCAA Tournament committee give Iowa State credit for that win over Houston on Monday. I couldn’t agree more. Behind them, Houston was a No. 2 seed, Kansas was a No. 3 seed and Texas Tech was a No. 4. The NCAA said they dropped the Red Raiders a seed line after JT Toppin’s injury.
It’s through this lens that we can look at the big games on Saturday.
Iowa State lost to BYU, 79-69, as AJ Dybansta carried the Cougars to the win, with considerable help from Kennard Davis Jr. and Mihalio Boskovic, who had a combined 30 points. Does a loss like that knock the Cyclones off the top seed line? We will see.
I think Arizona further solidified itself as the number one seed with its 73-66 win over Houston. In beating the Cougars in Houston, the Wildcats did this.
Arizona still has Kansas and Iowa State. But I can see these Wildcats winning 30 or more games by the end of the Big 12 Tournament being impossible to ignore for a No. 1 seed.
As for Houston, the Cougars should stay on the No. 2 line. Kansas, in my opinion, should stay on the No. 3 line, even after its embarrassing 84-68 loss to Cincinnati at home. But the Jayhawks and Cougars play on Monday and the stakes are enormous.
Texas Tech blew out Kansas State, 100-72. That should keep the Red Raiders on the No. 4 line, but every win and loss will be scrutinized down the stretch. Oh, and Donovan Atwell had a day.
A Bubble Kind of Saturday
We’ve reached the time of year where the teams that are on the fringes of the NCAA Tournament field are scrapping for every win they can get. Earlier this week I highlighted four of them. How did they do?
UCF: The Knights escaped from the Huntsman Center with a 73-71 win over Utah, preventing the Utes from creating more bid chaos on the bubble. The Knights (19-7, 8-6) needs one more win to reach 20 wins in the regular season, a number that should assure them of a berth. But UCF would be wise to not take it foot off the gas the next two weeks.
TCU and West Virginia: The Horned Frogs beat the Mountaineers, 60-54. TCU (17-10, 7-7) is in the field per ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. But earlier this week Lunardi participated in a mock selection process and TCU was not in the field. The Horned Frogs responded but still need to get to 20 overall wins. As I wrote earlier this week, there’s a pathway to do it.
West Virginia (16-11, 7-7) can’t be considered out yet. But after their loss to Utah — the Mountaineers’ first Quad 3 loss of the season — they can’t afford to squander Quad 1 chances. The loss to TCU was one of those chances. Right now, WVU has two more. They need both or they can start thinking about the Crown in Las Vegas.
Oklahoma State: The Cowboys lost to Colorado, 83-69. I think OSU (16-11, 4-10 is done. It’s the conference record that will probably get the Cowboys. The worst conference record for an NCAA Tournament team in my time covering the league was Oklahoma in 2017-18. With Trae Young, the Sooners only won seven league games but snuck in as an at-large.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats (15-12, 7-7) have won four straight and their 84-68 win over No. 8 Kansas was an enormous victory the committee will have to pay attention to now. UC’s league record is better than OSU’s and the same as TCU and WVU. So, we must consider the possibility the Bearcats could get in the picture if they keep winning. I think it’s a hard ask. But winning at Allen Fieldhouse will make everyone pay attention.
Colorado Women Keep Rolling
The hottest team in the Big 12, men or women, might be the Colorado Buffaloes. CU has won five straight games, which includes two ranked wins. The latest was Saturday’s 75-68 win over No. 20 Texas Tech. The Buffs now have 20 wins for the season. Before the game, they were one of the last “Four Teams In” the NCAA Tournament. After this win, the Buffs might move to the Last Four Byes to get off the bubble.
That was a big win for the Buffs. Colorado is now tied for fourth place in the Big 12 with Texas Tech. With the win, CU would get the No. 4 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and a double bye.
Tech’s Krista Gerlich is the leading candidate to be the Big 12 coach of the year. Colorado’s JR Payne is exceeding her peers’ expectations this season. CU was picked ninth in the preseason coaches poll.
