Tag: big 12 basketball

Sooners on the rise in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

The Oklahoma Sooners moved up three spots in the latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

The Oklahoma Sooners responded from their first losing streak of the season to go 2-0 last week with wins over West Virginia and Cincinnati.

Oklahoma beat the Mountaineers by 14 at home to get back to their winning ways. In beating Cincinnati, the Sooners picked up their first Big 12 road win of the season and stayed one game out of first in the conference standings.

After a strong week, the Sooners moved up three spots to No. 13 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.

In a wild and frenetic Big 12 season, the Sooners are the third-highest-ranked team in the conference. The Houston Cougars moved up one spot to No. 4, while the Kansas Jayhawks dropped four spots to No. 8 in the nation.

The Baylor Bears also suffered a big drop, falling back five spots to No. 14. Iowa State is at No. 18, and BYU comes in at No. 19. The Texas Tech Red Raiders, who are currently in first place in conference play, rank No. 21 in the nation, moving up four spots in the most recent poll.

The top of the poll remained the same from last week, with UConn at No. 1, picking up 24 first place votes. Purdue sits at No. 2, and North Carolina, who the Sooners lost to in Charlotte, is at No. 3.

After rising into the poll last week with upset wins over top 10 teams Houston and Oklahoma, TCU dropped out of the top 25 this week after losses to Iowa State and Cincinnati.

The Sooners have a pair of big-time matchups coming up this week at home against Red River rival Texas and a top-25 showdown with the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

A look at the full Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports:

Rank Team Record Points Change
1 UConn 17-2 791 (24) –
2 Purdue 17-2 769 (8) –
3 North Carolina 15-3 734 –
4 Houston 16-2 678 +1
5 Tennessee 14-4 671 +2
6 Kentucky 14-3 609 +4
6 Auburn 16-2 609 +5
8 Kansas 15-3 576 -4
9 Arizona 14-4 528 +4
10 Wisconsin 14-4 480 -2
11 Illinois 14-4 437 +3
12 Duke 13-4 421 -6
13 Oklahoma 15-3 401 +3
14 Baylor 14-4 362 -5
15 Marquette 13-5 360 +3
16 Creighton 14-5 299 -1
17 Dayton 15-2 277 +6
18 Iowa State 14-4 220 +2
19 BYU 14-4 181 –
20 Utah State 17-2 176 -3
21 Texas Tech 15-3 148 +4
22 Memphis 15-4 130 -10
23 Colorado State 15-3 119 +3
24 Florida Atlantic 15-4 101 +3
25 New Mexico 16-3 54 +20

Schools Dropped Out

No. 21 Ole Miss; No. 22 TCU; No. 24 San Diego State

Others Receiving Votes

San Diego State 43; Alabama 43; Seton Hall 33; Gonzaga 30; TCU 26; Texas 18; Clemson 15; Kansas State 14; Princeton 13; Utah 10; Saint Mary’s 6; Boise State 5; Indiana State 4; Grand Canyon 4; Ole Miss 2; James Madison 2; Michigan State 1

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Texas Tech, Kansas State lead Big 12 basketball standings

An updated look at the Big 12 standings as of Monday morning.

Week 11 is in the books for the 2023-24 college basketball season, and as expected the Big 12 is chockfull of talented teams.

The ranked teams in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll include the Kansas Jayhawks, Houston Cougars, Baylor Bears, Oklahoma Sooners, Iowa State Cyclones, BYU Cougars, and Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Texas Longhorns are making a case for the top 25 after knocking off then-ranked No. 9 Baylor thanks to Tyrese Hunter’s buzz-beater heroics.

The surprise might be Texas Tech and Kansas State who sit atop the conference standings with identical 4-1 records. Tech’s lone loss came against Houston, while KSU fell to the Red Raiders in Lubbock recently. What isn’t a shock is seeing two teams led by former Scott Drew assistants achieving early success. Grant McCasland is in his first season with Texas Tech, while Jerome Tang is in Year 2. He led Kansas State to the Elite 8 last season.

Here are the full standings as of Monday morning:

Team Conf Rec Overall Rec
Texas Tech 4-1 15-3
Kansas State 4-1 14-4
Houston 3-2 16-2
Kansas 3-2 15-3
Oklahoma 3-2 15-3
Baylor 3-2 14-4
Iowa State 3-2 14-4
BYU 2-3 14-4
TCU 2-3 14-4
Texas 2-3 13-5
Cincinnati 2-3 13-5
UCF 2-3 11-6
West Virginia 2-3 7-11
Oklahoma State 0-5 8-11

West Virginia picked up their second win in Big 12 play of the season when they upset the Kansas Jayhawks. The Mountaineers’ other win came against Texas, both games were played in Morgantown.

Here is a look at the scheduled games on Jan. 22 through Jan. 24:

Date Away Home
Jan. 22 Cincinnati Kansas
Jan. 23 West Virginia Central Florida
Jan. 23 Texas Oklahoma
Jan. 23 TCU Oklahoma State
Jan. 23 Houston BYU
Jan. 24 Kansas State Iowa State

Texas Tech won’t play again until Saturday, Jan. 27 against Oklahoma in Norman. Baylor’s next game will also be on Saturday when they host TCU in Waco.

Can Texas sustain the same level of play after defeating No. 9 Baylor?

We look at how Texas can ride positive momentum after Baylor.

There’s a glimmer of hope emanating from a surprising upset win in the Moody Center. We are unsure what to make of it.

The Texas Longhorns (13-5) defeated the No. 9 Baylor Bears (14-4) on Saturday. The win resurrects the program from the low point of Rodney Terry’s tenure as head coach in Austin.

We have not forgotten the circumstances that seemingly already put Terry on the hot seat. Terry and company followed a loss to conference cellar dweller West Virginia (7-11) with another loss to an inferior opponent in UCF (11-6). Those losses are as informative of the team as Saturday’s win over No. 9 Baylor.

At its best, Texas can compete with and beat some of the best teams in basketball. The issue is that multiple other high ceiling, low floor teams can say the same thing. It’s who the team is capable of losing against that is more noteworthy.

The margin for error is incredibly low for the Longhorns. If the team gets the performance it did from the guard-forward combo of Tyrese Hunter and Dylan Disu on Saturday, it may not lose many other games. That said, it’s a high bar for the team to ask the two to match their performance against Baylor.

Hunter and Disu combined for 40 points shooting 15-for-24 from the field and 6-for-10 from three point range. Needless to say, Texas probably isn’t going to get that efficiency every game.

What will it take from Texas to continue to win games and make it into the NCAA Tournament? It will take consistent high scoring nights from Texas’ Hunter, Disu, guard Max Abmas and forward Dillon Mitchell. And it will take more of the offense it saw from reserve post player Kadin Shedrick who scored 10 points against Baylor.

The Longhorns did themselves a huge favor in a bounce back win over No. 9 Baylor. The question is whether or not its key players will continue to produce high scoring performances to carry the team. We will have a better idea of how consistently the team can produce when it takes on the No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners (15-3) on Tuesday night.

Texas basketball rallies, defeats No. 9 Baylor at buzzer, 75-73

Texas got a much needed win on Saturday over No. 9 Baylor.

Texas basketball got back in the win column with a surprising upset over the No. 9 Baylor Bears. The program needed the win like it needed air. Continue reading “Texas basketball rallies, defeats No. 9 Baylor at buzzer, 75-73”

Social media reacts to the Sooners win over the Cincinnati Bearcats

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up a big win over Cincinnati on the road and here’s how social media reacted.

The Oklahoma Sooners picked up a huge Big 12 road win over a tough and athletic Cincinnati Bearcats squad. It was their first road win in conference play after dropping games in Fort Worth and Lawrence last week.

It was also their first win away from the Lloyd Noble Center since they beat the Arkansas Razorbacks in Tulsa back on December 9.

The Sooners were challenged by the Bearcats throughout. It was tied at halftime, and just when it looked like Oklahoma was about to run away with the game, Cincinnati battled back to keep it close.

It was a gritty win, and Oklahoma made the plays down the stretch to keep the Bearcats at bay. In a wild Big 12 where anybody can beat anybody, coming home to Norman with a road victory is huge in the Big 12 race and for NCAA tournament positioning.

The Sooners are now 15-3 and 3-2 in Big 12 play and right in the thick of the conference title race.

Tyrese Hunter seals victory for Texas over No. 9 Baylor

Texas-sized heroics from Tyrese Hunter in the matchup against Baylor.

It has been a rough start to Big 12 play for the Texas Longhorns men’s basketball season with losses in three of the first four games. They dropped two at home to the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Central Florida Knights. Those losses also sandwiched a road loss against the West Virginia Mountaineers.

On Saturday afternoon at the Moody Center, Texas had the opportunity to start to gain some momentum but it wouldn’t be easy against the annual Big 12 power, No. 9 Baylor Bears. It is the first of six straight games against top-25 opponents.

It was a close game throughout the afternoon with a 42-41 lead for the Horns over the Bears at halftime. The Bears led by Ja’Kobe Walter never could put much distance between them and Texas. The biggest lead of the second half for Baylor was a mere six points.

Max Abmas was able to put the Longhorns up 73-70 with under 15 seconds left in the game before Jalen Bridges nailed a three-point shot to tie it all up at 73. It looked like this game was heading to overtime before Tyrese Hunter, raced down the floor to put this game away.

The victory gave Texas their second win in Big 12 play in five chances. They also knocked off Cincinnati on the road in a one-point victory. Hunter led the Longhorns with 21 points on the day.

Social media reacts to Rodney Terry being upset about horns down

Rodney Terry didn’t take kindly to the Golden Knight’s post-game handshakes.

Texas basketball lost an embarrassing game on Wednesday to UCF, 77-71. Continue reading “Social media reacts to Rodney Terry being upset about horns down”

Was Rodney Terry the right hire for Texas basketball?

The Longhorns have lost three of their last four games and sit near the bottom of the Big 12 conference.

Blowing a 12-point lead at home to UCF is inexcusable, but that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night. Continue reading “Was Rodney Terry the right hire for Texas basketball?”

Texas basketball blows 12-point lead vs. UCF in new season low

Texas basketball collapses against UCF and blows a 12-point halftime lead.

Texas basketball is a sinking ship. The season reached a new low in an surprising collapse against the UCF Golden Knights.

The Longhorns led the Knights by a score of 44-32 at halftime. It was an impressive half, but the Longhorns stopped impressing after that. UCF stormed back outscoring the Longhorns in the second half, 45-27.

Texas guards Ithiel Horton and Max Abmas attempted a combined 21 three-point field goals. Needless to say, that wasn’t a winning formula, but the two guards weren’t getting much help from elsewhere.

The Longhorns bench scored a grand total of seven points on the game. For context, the Knights bench scored 34.

Some saw our criticism of the Longhorns’ lack of portal acquisitions as unfair. After watching a 1-3 start to Big 12 play, the team’s lack of depth has shown up in a huge way with not enough stepping up to help the primary scorers.

There are great players on this Texas team. There just aren’t enough of them, and certainly not as much as there could have been had there been more urgency in building a more complete team in the offseason.

Texas got outscored by 18 points in the second half against UCF at home. This isn’t the start we hoped for in head coach Rodney Terry’s first full season. Due to the lack of depth, there probably won’t be much of any improvement.

The Longhorns are on the verge of missing the NCAA Tournament barring dramatic improvement. We will see if Terry can make do with the roster he assembled.

Pair of Big 12 clashes are must-see TV on Saturday

These are the best games to check out in the Big 12 on Saturday.

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

NATHAN J. FISH/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

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

Chris Jones-USA TODAY Sports

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

Olivia Raymond/For the Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

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