The Big 12 Conference was busy on Wednesday, as the men wrapped up the second round of Big 12 play while the women played the bulk of the fourth round of their schedule.
There were no matchups of Top 25 teams on the men’s side. But three of the league’s five ranked teams were in action, including No. 1 Arizona, which was at home against Kansas State.
On the women’s side, Texas Tech puts its undefeated record on the line at West Virginia, one of the hardest places to play in the Big 12.
Men’s Results
Iowa State 70, Baylor 60
Colorado 85, Utah 73
BYU 104, Arizona State 76
Arizona 101, Kansas State 76
Women
Texas Tech 71, West Virginia 66
Utah 62, Kansas 59
TCU 69, Oklahoma State 61
Cincinnati 71, Iowa State 63
Kansas State 71, Houston 62
Arizona State 68, UCF 45
Here are three thoughts on Wednesday’s action.
The Top 5 Gap Widens
Earlier Wednesday, our HCS site owner Pete Mundo and I podcasted about Big 12 basketball. Check it out on our YouTube page and anywhere you get your podcasts. During the conversation, I mentioned that I felt there was a definite gap between the Top 5 teams in the league, which to me are — in alphabetical order, — Arizona, BYU, Houston, Iowa State and Texas Tech.
Doesn’t mean they can’t lose to someone. All of them will. But, most likely, they’re going to lose to each other, as Tech did to Houston on Tuesday night.
Wednesday night was a clear throughline for that argument, starting with Arizona’s win over Kansas State.
There were a couple of times Kansas State cut the lead to single digits in the second half. But Arizona led the entire game. In fact, the contest was only tied for 49 seconds. The Wildcats were dominant. Just a few ways to look at it?
Arizona outscored Kansas State, 56-36 in the paint.
Arizona outscored Kansas State, 26-13, on the fast break.
Arizona shot just 19% from the 3-point line, but it didn’t matter because it shot 31-of-56 inside the arc.
Brayden Burries went off and scored 28 points. Koa Peat had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Both are freshmen. Motiejus Krivas, a 7-foot-2 center, feasted on Kansas State’s smaller front line for 25 points and 12 rebounds.
Arizona dominated a team that it should have dominated. That doesn’t always happen in the Big 12. BYU did the same thing to Arizona State, though the Sun Devils had seven players out for the game due to injury. Kansas State emptied its bench, so it didn’t have that excuse.
I knew this Arizona team would be good. But the way the parts have come together — especially the freshmen — to create a team that fits perfectly in this conference in the program’s second year in the league is impressive. Coach Tommy Lloyd clearly picked up on what he needed, attacked it in the transfer portal and in recruiting and it’s paid off. The Wildcats are the best team in the conference — but they’re not my pick to win the Big 12 Tournament. You’ll have to check out the podcast to find out who.
Iowa State’s Incredible Start
Road games are a nightmare in this conference. While I don’t believe Baylor is on that Top 5 tier I just wrote about, the Bears are talented and capable of beating anyone, especially at Foster Pavilion. That made them dangerous for Iowa State. The Cyclones are heading back to Hilton with the best start in program history.
Baylor only shot 31% from the floor. That won’t cut it in a Big 12 game, especially when it’s coupled with a 19% clip from the 3-point line. Iowa State shot well enough — 41% — but the Cyclones maximized turnovers (forced 14 turnovers and scored 20 points) and handled Baylor in the paint (36-28 points in the paint). Yet, this was a back-and-forth game. Iowa State led for 20 minutes, and Baylor led for nearly 17 minutes.
Joshua Jefferson was the difference, as he always seems to be of late. He followed his conference opening triple-double with a double-double — 19 points and 17 rebounds. He also dished out three assists. He was the best passing big man in the Big 12 last season (and quite possibly the country). Now, he’s elevated his ability to score, no doubt feedback from his own coach, T.J. Otzelberger, and any NBA scouts that might have wandered by Hilton Coliseum this offseason. Perhaps no holdover player from last year’s Big 12 rosters has helped his NBA Draft case more than Jefferson.
With Milam Momcilovic held to four points and Blake Buchanan going scoreless, the Cyclones needed Jefferson’s double-double, along with guard Tamin Lipsey’s 24 points, to push them over the top.
As for Baylor, I think the Bears are in soul-searching mode right now. You don’t roll the dice on a former NBA Draft pick and take the national heat for signing him if you don’t know you have issues. This team just doesn’t seem like it has much offensive firepower right now.
Tech Women Stay Undefeated
The Texas Tech Lady Raiders remained the Big 12 women’s only undefeated team on Wednesday, pulling out a 71-66 win over West Virginia in Morgantown on Wednesday. Texas Tech has now won Big 12 games in two of the toughest places to play in this conference — Waco and Morgantown.
Bailey Maupin had a huge game for Tech, as she scored 27 points and hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with under two minutes to play. It was a clutch performance for Tech, which also got 19 points from Snudda Collins off the bench.
West Virginia forced 20 Texas Tech turnovers and balanced the offense between Jordan Harrison (22 points), Carter McCray (15 points), Kierra Wheeler (11 points) and Sydney Shaw (10 points).
The difference in the game was the 3-point shooting. Tech shot 47% (8-of-17) and West Virginia shot 29% (6-of-21).
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