Tag: big 12 basketball

Oklahoma Sooners drop regular season finale to Texas Longhorns

The Oklahoma Sooners dropped their Big 12 regular season finale to the Texas Longhorns 94-40.

The Oklahoma Sooners recovered from another slow start to close the first half trailing by only five. But the Texas Longhorns took it to another level by outscoring the Sooners by nine to win 94-80.

The Sooners fell to 20-11 and 8-10 in Big 12 play.

The Sooners struggled to get their offense going in the first half, especially from three. But late in the half, the Sooners began to find their rhythm and were hitting from deep to close the gap.

But the Longhorns took control in the second half, pushing their lead to as many as 20 over the final 20 minutes. The Sooners struggled to contain Tyrese Hunter, who had a career-high 30 points for the Longhorns, shooting 9 of 13 from the field. Hunter was also 3 of 4 from the three.

Oklahoma got a big game from [autotag]Rivaldo Soares[/autotag], who led the Sooners with 21 points on 7 of 9 from the field and 3 of 4 from three.

Despite the return of [autotag]Javian McCollum[/autotag], the Sooners offense wasn’t consistent enough to hang with the Longhorns for a full 40 minutes and the defense wasn’t much better, allowing the Horns to shoot 63.6% from the field.

The Sooners now head into Big 12 tournament play hoping to make a statement and solidify their NCAA tournament hopes. The Sooners will be the No. 9 seed in the Big 12 tournament and will have a difficult road in Kansas City.

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Texas HC Rodney Terry: ‘We’re one of the best teams in the country’

Rodney Terry thinks Texas is one of the best teams in college basketball.

The Texas basketball program has won five of its last 12 games. It currently sits at 19-11. Still, its head coach Rodney Terry believes the Longhorns are one of the top teams in college basketball.

Terry said the following of his team on Monday.

“We’ve played one of the hardest schedules in the country. Have we had a stumble here or there, just like every other team in this league has? Yeah, we’ve had that. But we’re one of the best teams in the country. We can play with anybody.”

It’s unclear how widely Terry is expanding the list of college basketball’s best teams, but he paints a different picture than the team’s record would indicate. While the Longhorns have played a difficult schedule, they haven’t performed to the level of a college basketball contender.

The Longhorns lost their two marquee nonconference games in the early going. They lost by 10 points to reigning national champion UConn before losing by 21 points against former Texas coach Shaka Smart and Marquette.

The conference slate has only been marginally better. The Longhorns are 3-6 in ranked games in conference play. That’s to say nothing of ugly losses to unranked West Virginia (9-20) and UCF (15-13).

Texas is good enough to make the NCAA tournament, but hasn’t earned much more acclaim than that. While there is still time to improve heading into college basketball’s postseason, there is work left to do for the Longhorns.

Texas will play Oklahoma for a higher tournament seed in Saturday’s regular season finale at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Baylor defeats Texas, 93-85

Baylor’s 34-for-42 performance at the free throw line provided enough cushion to run away with the game.

We had a high scoring matchup in Waco on Monday night. The Baylor Bears and Texas Longhorns ran the score high despite only 18 combined three-point baskets made.

The Longhorns got off to a fast start from three-point range, but finished the game at 9-for-23 from the three-point line. The cold streak proved costly.

Baylor did much of its damage from the free throw line hitting 34 of 42 free throw attempts. Texas head coach Rodney Terry noted the disparity of free throw opportunities as the Longhorns had just 21 attempts to the Bears’ 42 from the free throw line.

Midway through the second half, Baylor stormed back into the game. Nevertheless, the game took a turn for the worst when Texas forward Dylan Disu went down with injury. Then the Longhorns’ lack of depth was on full display.

Baylor went from falling behind by double digits early to running away with the game.

Despite falling to 19-11 on the season, an earlier win against Texas Tech and dominant victory over Oklahoma State should have the Longhorns in the NCAA tournament field. Whether they can win in the tournament is still to be seen.

The Longhorns will end the season with a home Red River game with the Oklahoma Sooners (19-10) who also look to solidify tournament seeding. The teams will play Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Texas basketball falters at Kansas, 86-67

After falling to Kansas, it’s time to accept that the Longhorns aren’t a viable contender for postseason success.

Texas basketball is not a legitimate contender heading into March. It’s time to embrace it. Continue reading “Texas basketball falters at Kansas, 86-67”

Houston beats Baylor on the road, are they the No. 1 team in college basketball?

The Houston Cougars picked up a massive win over the Baylor Bears in overtime, and have an argument as the top team in college basketball.

The Houston Cougars earned an incredibly hard fought victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Baylor Bears on the road in overtime by a score of 82-76.

Houston had a 16 point halftime lead but Baylor erased it with a strong second half, tying the game with 4.4 seconds left on an and-1 bucket from Yves Missi. Missi missed the free throw and Jamal Shead hit what looked like a game winning three pointer, but replay showed he just missed getting it off. Blowing a 17 point lead and going into overtime on the road against a team with momentum is a monumental task, but Kelvin Sampson and the Coogs calmly took care of business in the extra frame.

Houston is No. 2 in the country according to the AP Poll, and with UConn going down on the road to No. 15 Creighton earlier this week, this win could move Houston into the No. 1 spot.

The Coogs are 24-3 on the season, the same record as both Purdue and UConn, and being in first place in the toughest conference in college basketball is certainly a strong argument for the top spot.

Regardless of who is No. 1, Houston has the inside track on a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the way they are playing lately they are a great bet to be back in the Final 4 this April.

Texas prepares for massive matchup with No. 9 Kansas

There’s no better resume building opportunity moving forward for Texas than Kansas on the road.

Another opportunity to move off the bubble will take place on Saturday. The Texas Longhorns (17-9) take on the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks (20-6) in Allen Fieldhouse.

Like the Houston Cougars who Texas faced last Saturday, the Jayhawks are good at protecting their home floor. Kansas is 13-0 at home on the season compared to a 3-5 record on the road. That doesn’t make them any less vulnerable.

The Jayhawks have five losses in Big 12 conference play with an 8-5 record in such games. College basketball’s toughest conference has got the better of most teams. Kansas is no exception. Pulling an upset will still be a tall task for the Longhorns.

Texas enters the game with conference wins over No. 11 Baylor (19-7), Oklahoma (18-8) and TCU (18-8). Another top victory could solidify the team’s NCAA Tournament resume and take pressure off of its final four regular season games.

It’s not a must-win game for the Longhorns, but like Houston, Iowa State and BYU it’s an opportunity to earn a difficult win that they failed to earn in previous tries. Texas will face Kansas on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

Houston-Baylor headlines Big 12 contests on Saturday

A major top-15 showdown is coming Saturday between two of the top teams in the loaded Big 12.

Nothing comes easy in the Big 12 when it comes to the conference’s slate of games on the hardwood. The Houston Cougars have proven to be the best of the best with their 23-3 record and 10-3 record in Big 12 play.

That doesn’t mean it has come easy for one of the newcomers to the conference, they had to survive games against Iowa State, Texas, and Cincinnati while losing other games to Iowa State and TCU.

Currently, Houston is joined by the aforementioned Iowa State Cyclones, Kansas Jayhawks, Baylor Bears, and Texas Tech Red Raiders in the top five of the conference standings. They are separated by just two games. Baylor has an opportunity to close the gap this weekend as they host Houston, which headlines the slate of games on Saturday.

No. 2 Houston Cougars at No. 11 Baylor Bears

IndyStar-USA TODAY Sports
  • Game Time: 11 a.m. CT
  • Location: Waco, Texas
  • Broadcast: CBS

Houston and Baylor is a rematch of the 2021 Final Four matchup. Ultimately the Bears came out victorious en route to their national championship run. This game will only be the third matchup all-time between the two schools and the first time they will face off on Baylor’s home court. Houston is 0-2 in both games and now looks to continue their stranglehold on the Big 12’s No. 1 seed after they vanquished Iowa State earlier this week.

Baylor was upset on Tuesday night in Provo against the BYU Cougars. They currently sit tied for the No. 3 spot in the conference with Kansas and Texas Tech. Perhaps this time around they can come out victorious against a Cougars squad they haven’t fallen victim to in two matchups all-time.

The Best of the Rest

  • No. 21 BYU Cougars at Kansas State Wildcats (1 p.m. CT on ESPN+)
  • Cincinnati Bearcats at No. 25 TCU Horned Frogs (2 p.m. CT on ESPN+)
  • Oklahoma Sooners at Oklahoma State Cowboys (3 p.m. CT on ESPN2)
  • Texas Longhorns at No. 10 Kansas Jayhawks (5 p.m. CT on ESPN)

Texas wins a rockfight over Kansas State, 62-56

Texas isn’t done yet after a huge win over Kansas State.

The Texas Longhorns (17-9) are still alive in the NCAA Tournament race. It wasn’t pretty nor impressive, but the Longhorns earned a win over the Kansas State Wildcats (15-11) at home.

Texas guard Max Abmas headlined the game reaching 3,000 career points. Much of the Oral Roberts transfer’s points came from elsewhere, but the high scoring guard accomplished the milestone on Monday.

Texas was the first to 50 points with under five minutes left to play. Despite the low scoring output the Longhorns never trailed in the game.

An intentional foul by Kansas State on an airborne Texas forward Chendall Weaver nearly cleared the Longhorns bench late in the contest, but cooler heads prevailed. The cheap foul resulted in a technical and allowed the ‘Horns to further separate.

There’s still plenty of work to do, but Texas is still in the hunt for March Madness. In a must-win game, the Longhorns won. Nevertheless, there’s five games left and head coach Rodney Terry’s squad will need to win two or three more to reach the tournament.

Texas next faces the No. 9 Kansas Jayhawks in Allen Fieldhouse Saturday at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN.

No. 3 Houston defeats Texas, 82-61

Texas stays on the NCAA Tournament bubble in a blowout loss to Houston.

The Houston Cougars (22-3) shellacked the Texas Longhorns (16-9) on Saturday. The loss continues the Longhorns’ recent trend of following a win with a loss in Big 12 play.

Texas falls to 2-4 in its last six games. It’s not the stretch the team hoped for after a slow start to conference play. While the effort was there for the Longhorns early, the game wasn’t close.

Houston reached 60 points before Texas scored 40. The Cougars weren’t all that efficient from the three-point line either. The team built a decisive early lead despite a 2-for-10 start from three-point range. They finished 8-for-23 from behind the arc.

Texas’ didn’t have many good offensive performances on the day. Texas guard Max Abmas shot a disappointing 2-for-14 from the field with seven points. The closest to a good offensive performance came from Texas forward Dylan Disu who scored 16 points on 5-for-13 shooting. Forward Chendall Weaver added 11 points.

With six games remaining, the Longhorns have two losses to spare to comfortably reach the NCAA Tournament with 20 wins. The final six games are home battles with Kansas State, Oklahoma State and No. 25 Oklahoma, and road trips to face No. 6 Kansas, Texas Tech and No. 12 Baylor.

Texas Basketball: Preparation begins for a rematch with No. 3 Houston

The Longhorns face another tough test against the Houston Cougars.

It’s crunch time in college basketball. Teams on the bubble across the country are looking to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Texas is one of those teams.

The Texas Longhorns (16-8) face the Houston Cougars (21-3) on Saturday. With no game in between now and then, the Longhorns should have plenty of time to prepare. They’re going to need it.

The two teams faced earlier this season in the Moody Center in Austin. Texas battled back from an 11-point second half deficit to send the game to overtime, but the better team separated. Houston won the game on an 11-7 overtime period, 76-72.

Fast forward to Saturday where Texas will again face one of the top NCAA title contenders on the road. The venue ramps up the degree of difficulty for the Longhorns and head coach Rodney Terry.

Houston doesn’t often lose at home. The Cougars are 13-0 when playing at the Fertitta Center in Houston. Terry and company will be due significant credit if they can find a way to win.

The battle for Texas will come down to rebounding perhaps more than anything else. Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson reiterated the importance of rebounding following the Cougars’ win over the Longhorns stating that rebounding has been key to his teams’ success. It wasn’t coachspeak.

Houston won the rebounding battle in the last matchup, 47-36. In a game that went to overtime, a disparity that wide can change the outcome.

Texas is still an unfinished product. Even in Saturday’s 94-58 win over West Virginia, the Mountaineers brought in more rebounds than the Longhorns. It took Dylan Disu shooting 7-for-10 from the three point line to earn that margin of victory.

Despite room for growth, the Longhorns played well in spurts in recent losses to Houston and Iowa State. They will look to put it all together in a big game at 12 p.m. CT on CBS.