The Big 12 is one of the deepest basketball conferences in the country with five teams ranked in the top 25 of the USA TODAY Sports coaches poll.
It certainly makes for some interesting basketball in conference play. You can add that Texas, Cincinnati, Iowa State, TCU, and Texas Tech are all worthy of being ranked as well. Welcome to the murderer’s row of basketball.
With the college football season finished, eyes are coming back to the hardwood just in time for the run to March. On Saturday, there are plenty of games in the Big 12 to keep an eye on but here are the best ones.
No. 9 Oklahoma Sooners at No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks
The Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas Jayhawks are both coming off disappointing losses for different reasons. The TCU Horned Frogs were able to take down OU thanks to the Sooners’ inability to score consistently in an 80-71 loss. Oklahoma trailed 78-61 with under two minutes to go but only managed a 10-2 run to cut the lead to nine before the final buzzer. On the other hand, Kansas built a nice first half lead at 35-19 with under four minutes to go. The Knights outscored the Jayhawks 46-25 over the next 24 minutes of basketball.
Who will get off the snide and avoid back-to-back losses just three games into Big 12 play? Tune in for the game at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
No. 2 Houston Cougars at TCU Horned Frogs
The aforementioned TCU Horned Frogs will host the No. 2 team in the country in the early evening hours. The Houston Cougars are coming off their first loss of the season to a stingy Iowa State squad. The Cougars have averaged 75.3 points per game but were held to 22 points under that number by the Cyclones’ defense. They forced Houston to turn the ball over 16 times in that game. On the other side, you have a TCU squad that is coming off the upset victory of No. 3 Kansas, can they keep it going against No. 2 Houston? The plan should be the same as the Oklahoma matchup, keep your turnovers to a minimum while forcing the Cougs into making mistakes.
Does TCU get another huge win or does Houston rebound? Tune into that game at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.
Bonus Game: Kansas State Wildcats at Texas Tech Red Raiders
Jerome Tang (Kansas State) and Grant McCasland (Texas Tech) were longtime assistants for Scott Drew at Baylor, now they are adversaries. On Saturday, Texas Tech looks to extend their longest winning streak in the conference to 9 games. They are 2-0 in conference play after knocking off Texas and Oklahoma State. Kansas State is also 2-0 after wins over UCF and West Virginia.
Which team stays unbeaten in Big 12 play? Tune in at 3 p.m. CT on ESPN2