Big 12 Basketball Recap (February 9-15)

Weird things continue to happen in the Big XII each and every week. This week was no exception. The games recaps are in chronological order and don’t include games that involved Kansas.

Note: The picture at the top of this article is Lon Kruger trying to come to terms with the fact that his team is now three games behind Kansas despite having played one more game.

Oklahoma State 74, Baylor 65

With the win over Baylor, OSU can now say that it has beaten a ranked team three consecutive times, something which had eluded the Cowboys in years gone by.  And this game was won in the late stages of the first half where Oklahoma State scored the last seven points, second half where they dominated.  Down by one at the intermission, the Cowboys came out of the locker room possessed, canning a few threes and taking an early lead in the half that they'd never relinquish.  OSU's bench scored zero points but didn't have to because LeBryan Nash scored 22, Phil Forte added 18, Jeff Newberry put in 19, and Anthony Hickey cashed in for 12 points.  Rico Gathers had another double-double for the Bears in the loss, as he went for 16 and 16.

Oklahoma 94, Iowa State 83

Oklahoma is peaking at the right time and beating Iowa State in Norman is a statement win beat Iowa State. Iowa State star Georges Niang was held to just three of nine shooting and only one of two from beyond the arc.  Meanwhile, of the six scorers for OU, five of them hit for double figures including Buddy Hield with 17, and Ryan Spangler and TaShawn Thomas each racked up double-doubles (14/12 and 22/11 respectively).

West Virginia 76, Kansas State 72

This wasn't really a game for a long stretch, but a furious K-State 12 point run late in the game actually gave the Wildcats the lead (and hope), but that run zapped the 'Cats of any energy and scoring that they would need for the rest of the game.  The Mountaineers outscored KSU nine to three in the home stretch to grab its seventh conference win and snap a two game losing skid.  Nino Williams led the way for the Wildcats with 22 points while four players scored in double figures for West Virginia. 

Texas 66, TCU 43

Texas head coach Rick Barnes recorded with 600th career win as the Longhorns inched closer to the .500 mark in conference play. Cameron Ridley had 15 points and four blocks in this one, and Javan Felix added 16 points in his first game back after missing two straight due to concussion.  This was another game that Texas was expected to win, but at this point, they'll take whatever they can take as they try to claw their way into the upper echelon of the conference.

Iowa State 79, West Virginia 59

This game was far closer than the final score indicated, but in the end, an Iowa State win seemed to be the only possible outcome. Bryce Dejean-Jones has taken his role as the sixth man in stride and had another good game grabbing 10 points off the bench, but the main man for ISU was Monte Morris who was a perfect four of four from downtown and finished with 19 points. West Virginia is realizing that playing the good teams in the Big 12 is hard.

TCU 70, Oklahoma State 55

Oklahoma State was within 3 points with less than five minutes to go in the game, but a scoring drought lasting three and a half minutes combined with ten straight Horned Frog points, put this one out of reach late.  The Horned Frogs, who had played many opponents close without tasting success finally have a win to hang their hat on.  Kyan Anderson,  Amric  Fields, Trey Zeigler, and Karviar Shepherd scored 49 of the 70 TCU points.

Kansas State 59, Oklahoma 56

Thanks K-State! The Wildcats nearly blew a late seven point lead, but a key offensive rebound kept the ball with the Wildcats as time was ticking down in a 56 all game.  Fresh off a three game suspension, Marcus Foster hoisted a long three with just a few seconds remaining and the ball swished through giving K-State a much needed win and in the process, helping their in-State “rivals” in their quest for an 11^th straight conference crown.  Foster finished with 14 points as K-State bounced their overall record back up to .500.

Texas 56, Texas Tech 41

Myles Turner scored 25 and grabbed 12 rebounds as Texas beat a struggling Texas Tech squad. Not much to report in this one other than Texas has rescued its floundering season with three straight wins.  Granted, those games have been relatively easy, the real work now begins in earnest for Longhorns.  Their next five games are against Oklahoma, Iowa State, West Virginia, Kansas, and Baylor.

Win of the Week: K-State over Oklahoma

I originally had the OU win over Iowa State slated here, but had to switch it out after Oklahoma’s surprise loss to the Wildcats. Both of the marquee wins of the week happened to the Sooners, and both made the conference race a little more defined.

Team of the Week: Kansas

KU was the only team besides Texas to win both games this week and since those wins were over more impressive foes (ok, at least the Baylor win), Kansas gets the nod. The award was Oklahoma’s to lose…..and they managed it.

Player of the Week: Perry Ellis, Kansas

Bill Self has said that we’re likely seeing the version of Perry Ellis that we’ve all longed to see. He can still get tougher, but his 16 point average this week combined with the fact that he recently scored his 1000^th career point gets him the nod over all other players. Also, see above. His team won.

WTF of the Week: Oklahoma Losing to K-State

Some teams just match up really well with certain opponents. Maybe K-State is that team for the Sooners. There is no reason for anyone to get swept by K-State this season, let alone a team of Oklahoma’s caliber, but it happened. Some things you just can’t explain. 

Updated Big XII Standings:

Kansas, 10-2, 21-4

Iowa State, 8-4, 18-6

Oklahoma, 8-5, 17-8

West Virginia, 7-5, 19-6

Oklahoma State, 7-6, 17-8

Baylor, 6-6, 18-7

Texas, 6-6, 17-8

K-State, 6-7, 13-13

TCU, 2-10, 15-10

Texas Tech, 2-11, 12-14

Upcoming Big XII Schedule:

Monday, February 16

Kansas at West Virginia

Tuesday, February 17

Baylor at Texas Tech

Texas at Oklahoma

Wednesday, February 18

Kansa State at TCU

Iowa State at Oklahoma State

Saturday, February 21

Oklahoma at Texas Tech

Kansas State at Baylor

West Virginia at Oklahoma State

Iowa State at Texas

TCU at Kansas