These Upcoming Big 12 Games Are Critical For The Houston Cougars
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Big 12 basketball is absolute cinema.
It’s going to get really interesting in the next couple of weeks because teams will start separating themselves from the others, and that is when fans start thinking about seeding for the conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament.
For Houston, they’ll be studying film and watching how their opponents like to scheme. That’s one of the reasons they should care about these contests: all four schools are still on their schedules and might have to go on the road, host them, or even play them on a neutral court.
Texas Tech, Baylor, UCF and Iowa State play this week, so here’s more about who Houston will play on January 24, February 4, February 16 and March 4.
Texas Tech @ Baylor
The Bears are hosting an in-state game in Waco, Texas, against the Red Raiders, and it is always compelling to watch these two programs go head-to-head. The Cougars will face both teams again and want to learn everything they can before playing them.
Right now, coach Grant McCasland has his team in the right position to make a run, but there is still plenty of ball left for them. Coach Scott Drew is in a similar position, but didn’t start out as strongly, so they’ll be searching for more resume-building wins.
Tech is a 14-4 team and in third place in the Big 12, while Baylor is an 11-6 team with a 1-4 conference record. Offensively, there are some similarities but differences that Houston might be wondering about.
From the field, the Red Raiders are shooting 46.7 percent while the Bears are at 48.9 percent. From the free-throw line, the Red Raiders are 69.9 percent, which is slightly worse than the Bears, who are going 73 percent. Behind the arc, the Bears are not as big a threat at 36.7 percent compared to the Red Raiders, who go 37.8 percent. Once the Cougars play both, these numbers will look different, but this is something to note for later, especially with seeding getting important.
UCF @ Iowa State
Here’s a matchup that features two of the powerhouse teams this season that haven’t had a ton of losses on their resume, so it will be entertaining to see what happens when the Knights hit the road.
The Cyclones are coming off back-to-back losses that have caught many fans off guard, given they were ranked No. 2 in the nation. After those losses to the Jayhawks and Bearcats, there will be slight changes to get back to their winning ways.
As for the Knights, they are coming off a loss to the No. 1 Wildcats but are feeling good about their 14-3 record, which is good enough to tie them for fifth in the Big 12 with the Cyclones.
If the Knights’ offense can get going, this program is going to be right behind the Cougars. It’s intriguing to see which one of these teams can pull out a win that both desperately need to stay in the race with the top programs right now, which have one or no losses, while the loser falls to three in the conference.
Who knows? Maybe one of these teams gives Houston the first conference loss. But, watching this one gives a better idea of what's ahead for Kelvin Sampson's program.
Kolton Becker is a journalist for Texas A&M Aggies and Houston Cougars On SI from Port Lavaca, Texas. He is a graduate from Texas A&M University with a degree in agricultural communications and journalism and a minor in sport management. As a former sports reporter with TexAgs and The Battalion, he has covered Texas A&M football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, track & field, cross country, swim & dive and equestrian. In his spare time, he loves to hunt, fish, cook, do play-by-play announcing at high school sporting events, spend time with family/friends as well as be involved with his local church.
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