Big 12 Men’s Basketball Midweek Rundown: Top-Ranked Teams All Fall
The Big 12 men’s basketball season is underway, and so is the chaos that comes with playing in the most competitive conference in the nation. All teams played their second conference games of the season either on Tuesday or Wednesday this week.
On Tuesday night, there were five conference games. The biggest shocker of the night came in Ames, Iowa, where No. 2 Houston, the only undefeated team in the nation at tipoff, lost 57-53 to Iowa State.
In a battle of ranked teams, No. 14 Baylor beat No. 18 BYU 81-72. No. 25 squeaked by with a 1-point road win against Cincinnati. Texas Tech and Kansas State, two teams facing each other on Saturday, had no problem in their games against Oklahoma State and West Virginia.
Jameer Nelson Jr. and the TCU Horned Frogs defeated the #9 Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday night in Fort Worth.
Brian McLean, On Assignment Photo/KillerFrogs
There were two more games on Wednesday, both of which turned out to be upsets, with Top Ten teams losing on the road to unranked opponents. UCF took care of No. 3 Kansas, then TCU beat No. 9 Oklahoma by nine points.
The Big 12 is poised to be one of the most, if not the most, competitive conferences in the nation. The parity among the teams is such that any team can beat another team any day, either at home or on the road.
After the first two conference games for each team, only Baylor, Texas Tech, and Kansas State are 2-0. Home teams went 5-of-7 in the midweek games, taking home teams to 9-5 for the season in league play.
This week’s rankings had six of the teams ranked in the Top 25 –Houston (2/2), Kansas (3/3), Oklahoma (9/9), Baylor (14/14), BYU (18/17), and Texas (25/RV). In addition, Cincinnati, Iowa State, TCU, and Texas Tech received votes. The Big 12, with six ranked teams, leads the nation for the seventh consecutive week.
The conference’s NET ranking of 48.5 is the lowest of all leagues. The next-lowest are the Big Ten at 64.1 and the SEC at 65.3.
The Big 12 is the only conference with six of the top 23 and 12 of the top 76 teams in the NET rankings with 1. Houston, 4. BYU, 10. Iowa State, 14. Baylor, 16. Kansas, 23. Oklahoma, 31. Texas Tech, 32. Cincinnati, 36. TCU, 45. Texas, 74. K-State and 76. UCF.
Big 12 Men’s Basketball – January 9 & 10 Results
West Virginia (5-10, 0-2) vs. Kansas State (12-3, 2-0)
Kansas State wins 81-67
Game leaders:
- Cam Carter (KSU) 23 points; Raequan Battle (WVU) 21 points
- Will McNair Jr. (KSU) 9 rebounds; Patrick Suemnick (WVU) 5 rebounds
- Tylor Perry (KSU) 5 assists; Kerr Kriisa (WVU) 5 assists
Cincinnati (12-3, 1-1) vs. #25 Texas (12-3, 1-1)
Texas wins 74-73
Game leaders:
- Dylan Disu (UT) 33 points; Simas Lukosius (Cincinnati) 19 points
- Dylan Disu (UT) 6 rebounds; John Newman III (Cincinnati) 6 rebounds
- Max Abmas (UT) 5 assists; Simas Lukosius (Cincinnati) 4 assists
Iowa State (12-3, 1-1) vs. #2 Houston (14-1, 1-1)
Iowa State wins 57-53
Game leaders:
- Tamin Lipsey (ISU) 14 points; Emanuel Sharp (UH) 20 points
- Tre King (ISU) 9 rebounds; J’Wan Roberts (UH) 8 rebounds
- Keshon Gilbert (ISU) 4 assists; Jamal Shead (UH) 3 assists
Texas Tech (13-2, 2-0) vs. Oklahoma State (8-7, 0-2)
Texas Tech wins 90-73
Game leaders:
- Pop Isaacs (TTU) 24 points; Bryce Thompson (OSU) 17 points
- Darrion Williams (TTU) 9 rebounds; Quion Williams (OSU) 6 rebounds
- Warren Washington (TTU) 5 assists; Bryce Thompson (OSU) 2 assists
#14 Baylor (13-2, 2-0) vs. #18 BYU (12-3, 0-2)
Baylor wins 81-72
Game leaders:
- Jalen Bridges (BU) 25 points; Spencer Johnson (BYU) 15 points
- Jalen Bridges (BU) 5 rebounds; Noah Waterman (BYU) 6 rebounds
- Rayj Dennis (BU) 4 assists; Aly Khalifa (BYU) 6 assists
UCF (10-4, 1-1) vs. #3 Kansas (13-2, 1-1)
UCF wins 65-60
Game leaders:
- Jaylin Sellers (UCF) 18 points; Kevin McCullar Jr. (KU) 16 points
- Shemarri Allen (UCF) 6 rebounds; KJ Adams (KU) 7 rebounds
- Darius Johnson (UCF) 6 assists; Dajuan Harris Jr. (KU) 8 assists
TCU (12-3, 1-1) vs. #9 Oklahoma (13-2, 1-1)
TCU wins 80-71
Game leaders:
- Emanuel Miller (TCU) 27 points; Javian McCollum (OU) 17 points
- Emanuel Miller (TCU) 9 rebounds; Milos Uzan (OU) 7 rebounds
- Avery Anderson III (TCU) 5 assists; Milos Uzan (OU) 10 assists
Upcoming Big 12 Men’s Basketball Games:
(All times listed are Central Time)
Saturday, January 13
- #3 Kansas vs. #9 Oklahoma – 1 p.m.
- UCF vs. #18 BYU – 3 p.m.
- Texas Tech vs. Kansas State – 3 p.m.
- West Virginia vs. #25 Texas – 5 p.m.
- Iowa State vs. Oklahoma State – 5 p.m.
- TCU vs. #2 Houston – 5 p.m.
- #14 Baylor vs. Cincinnati – 7 p.m.
Big 12 Men’s Basketball Standings
| Standings | Conference | Overall |
|---|---|---|
Baylor | 2-0 | 13-2 |
Texas Tech | 2-0 | 13-2 |
Kansas State | 2-0 | 12-3 |
Houston | 1-1 | 14-1 |
Kansas | 1-1 | 13-2 |
Oklahoma | 1-1 | 13-2 |
Cincinnati | 1-1 | 12-3 |
Iowa State | 1-1 | 12-3 |
TCU | 1-1 | 12-3 |
Texas | 1-1 | 12-3 |
UCF | 1-1 | 10-4 |
BYU | 0-2 | 12-3 |
Oklahoma State | 0-2 | 8-7 |
West Virginia | 0-2 | 5-10 |
Want to join the discussion? Click here to become a member of the Killer Frogs message board community today!
Follow KillerFrogs on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest TCU news! Follow KillerFrogs on Facebook and Instagram as well. Download the KillerFrogs app on Google Play or in the Apple App Store.
