Top Five Takeaways From Tuesday’s Big 12 Basketball Games
Here are five thoughts on the Big 12 Conference men’s basketball games on Tuesday, as 10 teams were in action across the country.
There was one Top 25 matchup and two other games that involved at least one Top 25 teams. By the end of the night, the last undefeated team in the country fell.
As Jalen Bridges of Baylor said after his career night in Waco, “Same old Big 12, right?”
Here are five thoughts on the night.
And Houston Falls
As Milan Momcilovic took the entry pass near the baseline and dribbled to his right and tossed up a fadeaway jumper with two Houston Cougars in his face, the Iowa State freshman drained the bucket and broke the last tie of the Cyclones’ 57-53 win over the No. 2 Cougars.
With that, the Cougars, the college game’s last undefeated team, fell. With that, Houston saw its 25-game regular-season win streak and its 12-game road win streak end.
Welcome to the Big 12. Welcome to Hilton Magic.
The Cyclones brought the defense, as they always do, to get their first Big 12 win. The job they did on Houston guard L.J. Cryer, the former Baylor star who transferred after last season, was incredible. He had just five points and made just one 3-pointer.
The points off turnovers were critical, too. ISU forced 16 Houston turnovers and scored 17 points.
Tamin Lipsey led ISU with 14 points and Momcilovic — one of the members of ISU’s incredible freshmen class — had 11.
Interestingly, ISU and Houston shot the same percentage — 38%.
As for Houston (14-1, 1-1), it knew this was coming in their first Big 12 road game. The Cougars fell behind by as much as 14 in the first half and that can happen in Hilton. But Houston climbed all the way back and briefly took the lead.
Don’t mistake the loss with Houston not being a tough team. That’s what the Cougars are. They showed it by rallying around the struggling Cryer. Emmanuel Sharp (20 points) and Jamal Shead (14 points) stepped up.
But, Houston’s tepid shooting from the arc — 26.9% — did the Cougars in, along with the turnovers.
No one gets through the Big 12 unscathed, especially if you’re in the Top 10 and you go to Hilton. The win was ISU’s seventh over a Top 10 team in the last two seasons.
Disu Delivers
Texas brought in Max Abmas for moments like the waning seconds of Texas’ 74-73 win over Cincinnati. His baseline jumper with eight seconds left was the game-winner for the Longhorns (12-3, 1-1), who were in prove it mode after losing at home to Texas Tech.
But don’t twist it — Dylan Disu carried the Longhorns. He dumped in 33 points on 13-of-23 shooting including four 3-pointers. He needed until December to get back from an injury and he now looks like the player that dominated the Big 12 Tournament last March.
Tyrese Hunter and Dillon Mitchell each had 10 points. Abmas finished with 15 points. Texas scored 22 points off 15 Cincinnati turnovers.
As for the Bearcats (12-3, 1-1), this team is proving to be a great Big 12 fit. The atmosphere at their arena was electric. They outrebounded Texas by six and got quality games from Simas Lukosius (19 points), Viktor Lakhin (17 points) and Jamille Reynolds (11 points). Cincinnati’s overall height is going to be a real problem for Big 12 teams.
There were 14 lead changes in the game. Abmas made the last one. As Big 12 games go, this will be one to remember at the end of the season.
A Bridge to Love For Baylor
As Baylor beat BYU, 81-72, in the final game of the night, the Big 12’s legacy schools held serve against the newbies.
The Bears (13-2, 2-0) rode a career night from Jalen Bridges and a tremendous game off the bench from Langston Love to win.
Bridges ended up with 25 points and went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line. Love generated 15 points. He and Bridges combined for a half-dozen 3-pointers, part of a 10-for-23 night from the arc for the team.
Baylor had three other players in double figures, but what made this game for Baylor was its defense. The Bears forced 14 BYU turnovers (to Baylor’s five) and the Bears turned those mistakes into 18 points. The Bears needed it because BYU shot nearly 50% from the floor and made nine 3-pointers of its own, led by Spencer Johnson and Trevin Knell, who had 15 points each.
BYU (12-3, 0-2) had chances to win this game. The Cougars led by six at the break. They outrebounded Baylor, scored more points off the bench and scored more points in the paint. The lead time in this game was evenly split between both teams.
But execution mattered late. Baylor made key shots. BYU missed key free throws.
Sometimes the margin in this conference is narrow, even in a game decided by nine points.
Wrecked By Tech
If you thought Texas Tech (13-2, 2-0) would suffer a letdown after defeating Texas on Saturday, well, you were wrong.
The Red Raiders blew out Oklahoma State (8-7. 0-2), 90-73, in the Red Raiders’ Big 12 home opener. The game swung in the first half. At one point the Cowboys led by nine points. By halftime, Texas Tech led by nine points. And that was that.
All five starters for Tech hit double figures. Pop Isaacs was special once again. He had 24 points and hit four 3-pointers, but he’s not settling for outside shots anymore. Warren Washington and Kerwin Walton each had 16 points, while D’Maurian Williams had 14 points and Joe Toussaint — who passed 1,000 career points in the game — scored 13.
Tech shot nearly 60% from the floor and 54% from the 3-point line. That’s nearly impossible to beat. But Texas Tech also edged Oklahoma State on the boards by one and forced nine OSU turnovers to its four. Yes, the Red Raiders had just four turnovers.
Where does OSU go from here? Was this a game where they ran into a buzzsaw or is it more indicative of who the Cowboys are? They lost to Baylor at home in overtime on Saturday.
Bryce Thompson scored 17, Javon Small scored 15 and John-Michael Wright added 14 off the bench.
The Cowboys need to show the rest of the conference something and fast.
As for the Red Raiders, overlook them at your own peril.
Purple Reign
Kansas State improved to 2-0 in league play with an 81-67 win over West Virginia.
The starters ruled for Kansas State (12-3, 2-0), as Cam Carter scored 23 points, Arthur Kaluma and David N’Guessan scored 17 each and Will McNair Jr. scored 12 points. The Wildcats didn’t take their foot off the gas, shooting 54 percent.
RaeQuan Battle had another great game for WVU (5-10, 0-2) with 21 points. It’s easy to see why they fought to get him on the floor this season. Kerr Kriisa and Noah Farrakhan scored 11 points each. But the Mountaineers clearly miss forward Jesse Edwards, who is still recovering from his hand injury. WVU was outrebounded by 13.
But, the fact that WVU ruled Edwards out for the game an hour before could be a sign he’s close to returning. The Mountaineers need him inside.
iframe src=”https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1986400/1964875/” width=”510″ height=”500″ frameborder=”0″>You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
