Tag: big 12 basketball

Pair of college basketball powerhouses set home-and-home series

Auburn and Houston will face off early in the 2024-25 college basketball season in Houston, and again in Birmingham the following year.

The Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars – two of college basketball’s premier programs over the past half decade – will square off in a two-year series starting this season, according to Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today.

The first game is set for November 9, 2024 at the Toyota Center in Houston, with a return game planned in Birmingham in 2025.

Houston has been to each of the past six NCAA Tournaments under Kelvin Sampson, earning back-to-back No. 1 seeds in 2023 and 2024. The transition from the AAC to the Big 12 went off without a hitch, as the Coogs went 32-5 with a 15-3 record in conference play.

They’ll face a challenging early season test against Bruce Pearl and Auburn, who are looking to put last year’s first round upset loss to 13 seed Yale in the rearview mirror.

The Tigers are once again projected to be a top team in the SEC, and the return of Johni Broome and additions of JP Pegues and Miles Kelly in the transfer portal should make for another fun year.

Texas Tech and Texas A&M to square off in Fort Worth this December

Texas Tech and Texas A&M are finalizing a neutral site matchup for the 2024-25 college basketball season in Fort Worth.

A pair of powerhouse college basketball programs in Texas are reportedly finalizing an agreement to meet at a neutral site for a non-conference game this December.

According to Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today, Texas Tech and Texas A&M will square off in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena on December 8, with an official announcement expected soon.

The game will be part of a quadruple header featuring one other men’s game and two high profile women’s games.

The Aggies and Red Raiders were set to begin a home-and-home series this season in Lubbock, but that has been postponed in favor of this neutral site matchup.

Tech went 23-11 and finished third in the Big 12 under Grand McCasland last season.

They lost high profile guard Pop Isaacs in the transfer portal to Creighton, and saw Joe Toussaint and Warren Washington exhaust their eligibility, but brought in high profile big man JT Toppin from New Mexico and point guard Elijah Hawkins from Minnesota to help keep this team competing in the crowded Big 12.

Meanwhile, A&M is set to return star scorer Wade Taylor IV and added Zhuric Phelps from SMU and Pharrel Payne from Minnesota in the portal as well – setting up what should be a highly competitive game between two projected NCAA Tournament teams.

Baylor freshman VJ Edgecombe put college basketball on notice during Olympic qualifiers

Baylor Bears incoming freshman VJ Edgecombe dominated for the Bahamas in the Olympic qualifiers.

Another year, another outstanding guard prospect for Scott Drew and the Baylor Bears.

Two years ago Keyonte George was among the best guards in the country, ultimately getting selected in the lottery of the 2023 NBA draft by the Utah Jazz. Last year Ja’Kobe Walter had an outstanding season with Baylor, getting selected 19th overall by the Toronto Raptors last month.

Next year the story will be superstar guard VJ Edgecombe – and he has a real chance to be the best of the bunch.

Edgecombe played with the Bahamian squad as they competed for a spot in the 2024 Olympic Games, ultimately falling to Spain in the championship game on Sunday.

On a squad with NBA stars like Buddy Hield and DeAndre Ayton – and competing against much older professionals – the 18-year-old Edgecombe averaged 16.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game, including multiple 20+ point performances, high-flying dunks, and a dagger three pointer against Poland.

“Everything [Edgecombe] does contributes to winning – offensively, defensively, getting downhill and the way he talks [on the court],” Bahamian head coach Christopher Demarco said. “He stepped into our training camp right away, and he belonged.”

The Bahamas may not have secured a spot in Paris for the Olympic games, but Edgecombe certainly did his part and gained valuable experience against older players.

He’s now set to head to Waco to prepare for his freshman season with Drew and the Bears, who have a new look roster after bringing in transfer stars Jeremy Roach (Duke) and Norchad Omier (Miami) in a quest to challenge Kansas, Houston, Iowa State, and Arizona for a Big 12 title.

Former Texas forward Dillon Mitchell commits to Cincinnati

Former five star forward Dillon Mitchell committed to the Cincinnati Bearcats out of the NCAA transfer portal.

Former Texas Longhorns forward Dillon Mitchell is staying in the Big 12 after all, committing to join Wes Miller and the Cincinnati Bearcats out of the transfer portal.

Mitchell, a highly regarded prospect out of Montverde Academy in Florida, spent the past two seasons with the Longhorns.

The 6’8 forward averaged 9.6 points and 7.5 rebounds last year, cementing himself as a big time athlete, defender, and rebounder while working to develop a consistent offensive game.

He will now join a roster at Cincinnati that is mostly intact from last season, getting a chance to play alongside Aziz Bandaogo, Jizzle James, Daniel Skillings, and Simas Lukosius.

Mitchell, alongside fellow transfer portal additions Arrinten Page (USC) and Connor Hickman (Bradley) will help replace John Newman (out of eligibility) and Viktor Lakhin (Clemson) for the Bearcats.

The transfer trio and bevy of key returners gives coach Miller a roster capable of leading this program to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Mick Cronin was head coach back in 2019.

With Hunter Dickinson’s return, Kansas has college basketball’s best roster

Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks have made key additions in the transfer portal, and Hunter Dickinson’s return makes them the top team in the sport.

Kansas basketball star Hunter Dickinson confirmed on social media Friday he will return to the Jayhawks for the 2024-25 college basketball season, his final year of eligibility.

Dickinson was an All-American second teamer last year after averaging 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in Lawrence, having spent the previous three seasons at Michigan.

Kansas was bounced prior to the Sweet 16 by Gonzaga in March, but they are now set to return four of their six leading scorers – Dickinson, KJ Adams, Dajuan Harris, and Elmarko Jackson – and have already made major transfer portal additions.

The most notable is Wisconsin guard AJ Storr, a potential All-American brought in to help replace Kevin McCullar Jr, but Bill Self also went out and landed Riley Kugel from Florida, Zeke Mayo from South Dakota State, and most recently Rylan Griffen from Alabama.

The Jayhawks have a fantastic group of talented players on paper, but putting all the pieces together will be Self’s responsibility to ensure this team reaches their full potential – especially with Baylor, Houston, and Iowa State all boasting incredibly talented rosters of their own.

One thing is for sure: Big 12 basketball will once again be the cream of the crop in the 2024-25 season.

Former Florida guard commits to Kansas on Easter

The Kansas Jayhawks added a talented guard from the SEC on Sunday.

The Kansas Jayhawks had a disappointing year by their standards after they were bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by Gonzaga. One of the big issues was losing top scorer Kevin McCullar prior to the tournament getting underway. As head coach Bill Self looks to build for next year’s team, he already scored a major win in the transfer portal.

On Easter Sunday, former Florida Gators guard Riley Kugel announced that he would be heading to Lawrence for next season. Kugel posted his decision on X, formerly Twitter. In the post you can see a couple of photos of him wearing Kansas gear as a child. Apparently, it was always meant to be for Kugel.

The former Florida guard was listed as the No. 9 point guard in the transfer portal and No. 39 player overall by 247Sports. Coming out of high school in the 2022 cycle, Kugel was a four-star prospect and No. 56 nationally. This gives Self a good start to build around his 2024-25 roster.

Kugel is one of four newcomers to the 2024 class. He is joined by five-star center Flory Bidunga, four-star point guard Labaron Philon, and four-star shooting guard Rakease Passmore. All of who signed out of high school recently.

With the Gators, Kugel averaged 9.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 65 career games with Florida.

Kansas Jayhawks who won’t return

The following players won’t join the roster next season as each are out of college eligibility.

  • Kevin McCullar Jr, Texas Tech Transfer
  • Parker Braun, Santa Clara Transfer
  • Nicolas Timberlake, Towson Transfer

Kansas Jayhawks who could return

No players have announced yet if they will return but here is the list of players who could return. With the three signees and one transfer, that would leave the team with one open scholarship spot on the team due to NCAA penalties.

  • Hunter Dickinson, Center
  • Dajuan Harris Jr, Guard
  • Johnny Furphy, Guard
  • Jamari McDowell, Guard
  • Elmarko Jackson, Guard
  • KJ Adams Jr., Forward
  • Zach Clemence, Forward

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Colorado State Loses 56-44 to #7 Texas

Colorado State came into this game with high expectations, but a poor first half cost the Rams a chance to make a bigger splash.

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Colorado State Loses 56-44 to #7 Texas

The Rams couldn’t continue their momentum from Tuesday

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A bad first half cost CSU.

After taking it to the Virginia Cavaliers, the CSU Rams faced basically the same fate. A poor first half of just 11 points cost Colorado State. They were able to make a run in the second half, but the Texas Longhorns were just too much to overcome for the Rams.

First Half

The Rams got out to a fast start by opening an 8-2 lead, but then the Longhorns went on a 25-3 run to close out the half. The Rams were getting open looks, but they just weren’t falling. Isaiah Stevens also struggled from the field as he went 0-8 from the field in the first half.

Texas was active on defense as they didn’t allow the Rams to get comfortable. The Rams were held to just one three point make and 4-25 overall from the field with no free throw attempts. The length and physicality kept the Rams in check on both ends of the floor.

Second half

Colorado State tried to make it a game in the second half, but the week of travel they had just left them with dead legs. The Rams were missing a lot of their shots short and just couldn’t overcome the athleticism of Texas. Joel Scott and Isaiah Stevens were able to make it to double figures, but it just wasn’t enough.

Texas was held in check for the most part. Dylan Disu and Max Abmas combined to shoot 10-33 from the floor, 1-12 from three, and 3-6 from the line for 24 points. Chendal Weaver was the other player to step up for Texas. The sophomore guard was able to chip in 11 points and played strong defense for the Longhorns.

Final thoughts

This was a great season for the Rams. They were able to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three years. Niko Medved now has some things to work on for the Rams. They need to get more athletic and more physical. A lot of times they were outworked and outphysicaled this season. If the Rams can do that, they can go further in the NCAA tournament.

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Where Texas lands in ESPN’s latest bracketology

Joe Lunardi released his NCAA Tournament prediction the morning of Selection Sunday.

It’s officially Selection Sunday. Men’s and women’s basketball programs across the country will soon learn their seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Continue reading “Where Texas lands in ESPN’s latest bracketology”

Opinion: Texas tourney hopes rely on good shot taking, more Dylan Disu

For Texas to play winning offense, things have to change in the tournament.

The Texas Longhorns (20-12) await their NCAA tournament seed after an inconsistent season in Austin. The inconsistency could have something to do with how it is allotting its offensive opportunities.

The issue for Texas could lie in its offensive approach. One area that stands to improve is shot allotment. Lost in Wednesday’s loss to Kansas State was how many shot attempts each player received.

Guard Max Abmas scored 26 points but took 20 shot attempts for the game. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much help from fellow guard Tyrese Hunter, who followed a 30 point performance in the regular season finale against Oklahoma with an 0-for-7 shooting day from the field.

Texas forwards Dillon Mitchell and Dylan Disu combined for 14 shot attempts despite proving more reliable on the year. They went for a combined 8-for-14 on the day despite an off night for Disu. Perhaps the team might consider getting the ball to its higher percentage scorers.

The Longhorns lost to the Kansas State Wildcats (19-14) in their first and only Big 12 tournament matchup of the season. The Wildcats will likely be playing in the NIT after losing by 19 points in their next Big 12 tournament matchup.

If Texas doesn’t improve its approach it might be one-and-done again in March Madness.

Texas has more than one bad loss on its schedule. Its first few games in Big 12 play featured losses to West Virginia (9-23) and UCF (17-15). The aforementioned squads went 4-14 and 7-11 in Big 12 play. For the Longhorns, losses like those and Kansas State might have been the difference between a No. 6 or 7 seed and having to face a No. 1 seed in the round of 32.

In Texas’ win over Oklahoma in its regular season finale, the Longhorns took 12 three point attempts. They prioritized scoring around the basket and shot 63.5% from the field on the way to 94 points. Against Kansas State, the Longhorns went 26% from three-point range and saw a 10-point halftime lead vanish not long into the second half.

The strength of the Texas offense is its posts Dillon Mitchell and Dylan Disu. The Longhorns’ tournament approach could give an idea of whether or not they view their posts as their offensive strength.

Texas forward Dylan Disu is given first-team All-Big 12 honors

Dylan Disu was recognized as one of the best players at his position.

The All-Big 12 team has been announced. Texas forward Dylan Disu received first-team honors.

The distinction is well-earned for Disu who put up a career best season in Austin. For the year he put up a strong 16.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. The point average was bolstered by an impressive 51.3% conversion rate from three point range.

Disu was one of the few predictable players on Texas’ 2024 squad consistently producing for his team on the court. His strong performance aided Texas in reaching 20 wins on the year despite losing several key contributors from the team’s Elite Eight run a season ago.

Heading into the Big 12 tournament, Texas is seemingly a lock to reach the NCAA tournament. That said, it has plenty to gain by a strong showing over the next week including a higher tournament seed. How high the team can climb is up for debate, but one would presume a handful of resume-building win opportunities will be there if the Longhorns keep winning.

For Texas to experience continued success, Disu will likely be a huge part of it. The forward will look to secure more wins as his team enters the middle of March.