Big 12 Men’s Basketball Midweek Rundown: Texas Now Alone at the Top

We keep saying that the Big 12 is a gauntlet. With six ranked teams now for the third straight week, nearly every Big 12 game will feature at least one ranked opponent, sometimes two. Any team can beat any other team on any given day. Texas Tech, winless in conference play until this week, proved just that when they beat No. 13 Iowa State in Lubbock on Monday night.

In a battle of ranked teams, No. 10 Texas held off No. 11 Baylor to get the win at home on Monday. In Tuesday’s two games, No. 15 TCU beat West Virginia, and Kansas got the big win over Kansas State, giving each team a home win in this year’s Sunflower Showdown. Oklahoma State swept this year’s Bedlam series with a win in Norman over the Sooners.

Here are some other interesting stats about the conference

After this week’s games, Texas stands alone in first place at 7-2, just over the halfway mark of conference play.
There is now a four-way tie for second, with Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, and TCU all at 6-3. Baylor is just one more game back at 5-4.
The Big 12 is the only league in which all teams have reached double-digit wins and are at .500 or above.
A nation-high 60% of the league is ranked in the Top 25 in both the AP Top 25 and the Coaches Poll. This is the third straight week to have six ranked teams.
All teams in the league are in the Top 64 of NET rankings; the only league to accomplish this. Kansas is ranked No. 7, followed by Texas (9), Iowa State (13), Baylor (15), TCU (16), Kansas State (19), West Virginia (24), Oklahoma State (39), Oklahoma (58), and Texas Tech (64).
The Big 12 conference NET ranking of 26.4 is the lowest of all leagues; the next lowest is at 57.29 (Big Ten).
The 8.4-point average scoring margin in Big 12 conference games is the smallest of the A5 leagues and the second-smallest overall.

Midweek January 30-February 1 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Results

Here are those results (the rankings listed were the team’s ranking at the time of the game).

#10 Texas (18-4, 7-2) vs. #11 Baylor (16-6, 5-4)

Texas wins 76-71

Game leaders:

Sir’Jabari Rice (UT) 21 points; LJ Cryer (BU) 19 points
Dillon Mitchell (UT) 7 rebounds; Jalen Bridges (BU) 7 rebounds
Timmy Allen (UT) 4 assists; Adam Flagler (BU) 4 assists

Texas Tech (12-10, 1-8) vs. #13 Iowa State (15-6, 6-3)

Texas Tech wins 80-77

Game Leaders:

Kevin Obanor (TTU) 24 points; Caleb Grill (ISU) 24 points
Kevin Obanor (TTU) 13 rebounds; Gabe Kalscheur (ISU) 7 rebounds
De’Vion Harmon (TTU) 5 assists; Tamin Lipsey (ISU) 4 assists

#15 TCU (17-5, 6-3) vs. West Virginia (13-9, 2-7)

TCU wins 76-72

Game Leaders:

JaKobe Cole (TCU) 17 points; Erik Stevenson (WVU) 17 points
Emanuel Miller (TCU) 7 rebounds; Tre Mitchell (WVU) 6 rebounds
Damion Baugh (TCU) 10 assists; Erik Stevenson (WVU) 4 assists

#8 Kansas (18-4, 6-3) vs. #7 Kansas State (18-4, 6-3)

Kansas wins 90-78

Game Leaders:

Jalen Wilson (KU) 20 points; Markquis Nowell (KSU) 23 points
Kevin McCullar Jr. (KU) 13 rebounds; Keyontae Johnson (KSU) 12 rebounds
Jalen Wilson (KU) 4 assists; Markquis Nowell (KSU) 4 assists

Oklahoma (12-10, 2-7) vs. Oklahoma State (13-9, 4-5)

Oklahoma State wins 71-61

Game Leaders:

Kalib Boone (OSU) 18 points; Grant Sherfield (OU) 14 points
Woody Newton (OSU) 10 rebounds; Tanner Groves (OU) 5 rebounds
Bryce Thompson (OSU) 5 assists; Grant Sherfield (OU) 2 assists

Big 12 Men's Basketball Standings

Team	Conference	Overall
Texas	7-2	18-4
Kansas	6-3	18-4
Kansas State	6-3	18-4
TCU	6-3	17-5
Iowa State	6-3	15-6
Baylor	5-4	16-6
Oklahoma State	4-5	13-9
West Virginia	2-7	13-9
Oklahoma	2-7	12-10
Texas Tech	1-8	12-10

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