Tag: kansas basketball

Texas named a finalist for 2023 four-star guard Chris Johnson

The Longhorns may be able to add the former Kansas commit to their class of 2023.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry has found success in the transfer portal this offseason, but hasn’t been able to retain his high school commitments. Continue reading “Texas named a finalist for 2023 four-star guard Chris Johnson”

Top ranked 2024 shooting guard Tre Johnson speaks on his top schools

Arkansas, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky and Texas are standing out to the nation’s top prospect.

Five-star shooting guard Tre Johnson is at the top of the recruiting board for many premier programs across the nation. Continue reading “Top ranked 2024 shooting guard Tre Johnson speaks on his top schools”

How each Big 12 team fared in the first weekend of March Madness

Only Texas and Kansas State are alive in the Big 12.

The Big 12 Conference sent seven teams to the NCAA Tournament this weekend. Despite being regarded as the nation’s top league in college basketball this season, only two Big 12 schools are off to the Sweet 16.

Texas and Kansas State are still alive after winning their first two matchups in March Madness. The Longhorns took down Colgate and Penn State, while Kansas State topped Montana State and Kentucky in a thriller.

Texas and Kansas State took care of business but other top-seeded Big 12 schools did not play up to expectations.

Kansas’ national title defense fell short in the second round as the Jayhawks were upset by Arkansas. Baylor ran into a red-hot Creighton team in the Round of 32. The Bears dropped its second-round matchup for the second straight season.

Here is a complete look at the results for each Big 12 team in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

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Arkansas’ Davonte Davis choked up while talking about defeating No. 1 Kansas

Davonte Davis was overwhelmed with emotion while talking about Arkansas upsetting Kansas.

Arkansas guard Davonte Davis knew how much his team upsetting No. 1 Kansas meant to everyone in Razorback nation.

Davis led his team with 25 points as No. 8 Arkansas toppled No. 1 Kansas in Saturday’s round of 32 contest in the the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament.

As he was being interviewed postgame by CBS reporter Allie LaForce, Davis became overwhelmed with emotions while considering all that his team did to get to this moment.

“I feel good; I’m glad we came out with the win,” an emotional Davis said after the huge victory. “This team’s been struggling, and we figured it out…I’m glad we did at the right time, and hopefully we continue to do it.”

As you could imagine, making the Sweet 16 as a No. 8 seed is never something you can take for granted.

Davis played a phenomenal game on Saturday, and it’s very understandable as to why he showed such emotion after the victory. It’s upward and onward for Arkansas, who will live to fight another day in this year’s tournament.

Arkansas coach Eric Musselman immediately took off his shirt to celebrate upsetting No. 1 Kansas

Eric Musselman didn’t let his shirt keep him from celebrating Arkansas’ men’s NCAA tournament upset of Kansas.

After his No. 8 Arkansas Razorbacks took down No. 1 Kansas in the 2023 men’s NCAA tournament round of 32, coach Eric Musselman didn’t keep his shirt on for long as he celebrated.

Yes, Musselman threw his shirt off as he hyped up the crowd after the victory. He swung it around his head like it was a dinner napkin at a Walt Disney World character breakfast.

Kansas was a favorite to take home the title this year in the tournament, but Arkansas had other plans.

Musselman’s team defeated the Jayhawks, 72-71, on Saturday to advance to the Sweet 16, and the coach didn’t let his collared shirt from keep him from getting rowdy.

Well, that is certainly one way to celebrate your team making it to the Sweet 16. Musselman’s Arkansas is no NCAA tournament shock, having won games here before.

However, taking down a top-ranked Kansas is never a small feat. Musselman will undoubtedly hope that many more celebrations will await his Razorbacks during this year’s March Madness.

Kamala Harris delivered a classy postgame speech to Howard after NCAA tournament loss

This was such a classy move by Vice President Kamala Harris.

The Howard men’s basketball team got a special visitor to the locker room after its 96-68 loss to the Kansas Jayhawks in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

After making history and punching its ticket to March Madness for the first time in about three decades, the No. 16 seed Howard couldn’t quite get past No. 1 seed Kansas during Thursday’s West Region game in Des Moines, Iowa.

However, Howard alumna and Vice President Kamala Harris attended Thursday’s game and visited with the Bison after the loss. She gave them words of encouragement and talked about how proud their fellow Bison were of the program.

“You played hard; you played to the very last second,” Harris told the locker room. “You made all us Bison so, so proud. You hustled out there. You are smart. You are disciplined. You put everything you had into the game.”

It’s an incredibly classy move by the vice president, and her message likely gave this locker room the encouragement it needed after such a tough defeat.

While Howard didn’t advance in the NCAA tournament, the team did get a really special moment to mark its March Madness experience.

The Bison also got an invitation from Harris for a tour of the White House, which is a pretty cool consolation prize.

Ceiling and floor for each Big 12 team in the NCAA Tournament

The battle-tested programs of the Big 12 are ready to compete in March Madness.

March Madness is officially upon us as the 2023 NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed on Sunday afternoon.

Seven Big 12 Conference schools are featured in this season’s field, including four teams as top three seeds. The 70% mark of programs who qualified for the tournament is among the highest for any conference in the entire nation.

The last three national championship games have all featured a Big 12 program. Kansas (2022) and Baylor (2021) won it all, while Texas Tech (2019) finished second.

Kansas earned a No. 1 seed after winning the Big 12 regular season crown. The Jayhawks are in a great position to defend their national title led by a trio of excellent guards.

Texas sits as a No. 2 seed coming off a Big 12 tournament title run. Baylor and Kansas State both got slotted as a No. 3 seed, while TCU (No. 6), Iowa State (No. 6) and West Virginia (No. 9) round out the field.

The Big 12 has been the most competive league in college basketball this year. The battle-tested programs are ready to compete for a national title in the coming weeks.

Here is a look at each Big 12 school’s ceiling and floor entering March Madness.

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Big 12 CHAMPIONS: Texas tramples Kansas, 76-56

Drop the Tournament champs moniker. Texas is unequivocally your Big 12 Champion.

The Texas Longhorns splattered the Kansas Jayhawks on Saturday night. The win left no doubt who was the better team this season. Texas is your Big 12 Champion.

Undoubtedly, some will quibble over semantics and make the claim that Kansas, who got bludgeoned in a virtual home game, is the true champion of the league. Nevertheless, one team will earn the Big 12’s automatic bid. That team won’t be Kansas.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry coached a masterpiece on Saturday night. Terry, or whoever orchestrated the offensive game plan, schemed up wide open dunks and layups with back door cuts and screens. One of those screens set by Marcus Carr sprung Dylan Disu for a wide open dunk.

In addition to earning the league’s automatic bid, Texas improved to 26-8 and earned yet another Quad 1 victory. The Longhorns (14) have more Quad 1 wins than everyone but Kansas (17).

It’s unclear whether the win will be enough to earn a No. 1 seed. What is clear is that Texas is among the hottest teams in the country heading into the NCAA Tournament.

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Reliving past Big 12 Championship Finals between Kansas and Texas

Texas entered Saturday 0-4 against Kansas in past Big 12 Championship final games.

Everything is as it should be in Big 12 basketball. The Kansas Jayhawks (27-6) and Texas Longhorns (25-8) face off in the Big 12 Championship final.

Not long ago, the two teams faced each other in three consecutive conference finals from 2006 to 2008. The conference rivals met for a fourth time in 2011. In each of the championship games, the Jayhawks emerged victorious.

Texas’ struggles in the championship largely revolve around the inability to get past Kansas. Former Texas head coach Shaka Smart and company broke a six-game losing streak in the championship final to improve to a 1-6 record in the final game.

Saturday marks the fourth time that the two teams have met as the No. 1 and No. 2 conference seed (2006, 2008, 2011) in the deciding game of the tournament.

The stakes are higher for the Longhorns than the Jayhawks on Saturday night. One could argue Kansas has already locked up the No. 1 overall seed with 17 Quad 1 victories. Texas is on the outside of the No. 1 line with eight losses, despite a strong resume.

Texas head coach Rodney Terry will look to secure the first conference championship victory over Kansas in program history.

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