Big 12 Men’s Basketball Saturday Rundown: Upset Alerts
Buckle up, folks. The Big 12 is loaded with talent. Every team can be competitive every week. And that was evident in Saturday’s games. Oklahoma State started the upsets with a win over #14 Texas. Tech then beat #6 Kansas, and the Sooners beat Iowa State. Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs gave Baylor an early scare as they took a six-point halftime lead and grew it to nine points in the second half before succumbing to the defending national champion and current #1 team in the nation.
Here is a recap of Saturday’s Big 12 games:
Oklahoma State (8-5, 1-1) vs. #14 Texas (12-3, 2-1)
Oklahoma State wins 64-51
OSU came out strong and maintained a lead the entire game and led by as many nine before Texas closed the gap. OSU led 30-28 at the half. It was the second straight game where Texas was behind at the half, after only being behind once in their previous 13 games. Texas cut the deficit to one point once, but never took the lead.
Guard Keylan Boone, off the bench, led the Cowboys with a career-high 17 points, including shooting 5 for 7 from the 3-point line. He also had six rebounds. Bryce Williams added 11 points, nine of which came in the last 6:33 of the game. The Cowboys also held Texas guard Marcus Carr to four points and just 1 for 6 shooting. He had averaged 19.5 points in his last two conference games.
Texas forward Timmy Allen became the sixth active D1 player to surpass 1,500 points, 600 rebounds, and 300 assists in his career. Coming into this game he needed nine points and two assists to reach this. He finished the day with 10 points, three assists, and six rebounds.
| Team Stats | Oklahoma State | Texas |
|---|---|---|
Field Goals | 20/52 (38.5%) | 20/51 (39.2%) |
3-Pointers | 8/17 (47.1%) | 6/22 (27.3%) |
Free Throws | 16/23 (69.6%) | 5/7 (71.4%) |
Assists | 13 | 11 |
Rebounds | 31 | 30 |
Offensive Rebounds | 9 | 4 |
Steals | 6 | 7 |
Blocks | 3 | 5 |
Turnovers | 9 | 14 |
Next up: Texas hosts Oklahoma on Tuesday. Oklahoma State travels to West Virginia on Tuesday for the first of three road games in five days.
West Virginia (12-2, 1-1) vs. Kansas State (8-6, 0-3)
West Virginia wins 71-68
West Virginia played from behind to pull off the win at home. They fell behind 18-4 early in the game and were behind 40-27 at the half. They tied the game at 50-50 with just over nine minutes left in the game and took their first lead just seconds after that. West Virginia guard Sean McNeil matched his career-high with 26 points, 19 of which came in the second half.
This game was close and came down to the buzzer. K-State made it a 1-point game with :05 left in the game. WVU’s Jalen Bridges made two free throws. Then KSU’s Markquis Nowell missed a game-tying 3-pointer as time expired.
| Team Stata | West Virgnia | Kansas State |
|---|---|---|
Field Goals | 26/63 (41.3%) | 25/67 (37.3%) |
3-Pointers | 7/22 (31.8%) | 13/34 (38.2%) |
Free Throws | 12/17 (70.6%) | 5/7 (71.4%) |
Assists | 9 | 17 |
Rebounds | 42 | 39 |
Offensive Rebounds | 11 | 11 |
Steals | 2 | 7 |
Blocks | 5 | 7 |
Turnovers | 11 | 11 |
Next up: West Virginia hosts Oklahoma State on Tuesday. Kansas State hosts TCU on Wednesday.
#25 Texas Tech (11-3, 1-1) vs. #6 Kansas (12-2, 1-1)
Texas Tech wins 75-67
Add another upset to the list, however, Tech fans might disagree with that term. After losing earlier in the week, by only four points to a higher-ranked Iowa State while playing with only five scholarship players, Tech fans were ready for a home game against Kansas. Tech was still missing their two top scorers, Terrence Shannon and Kevin McCullar. Even so, Tech never trailed in the second half.
Bryson Williams was the leading scorer for the Red Raiders with 22 points. And Clarence Nadolny added 17 points, which was a career-high. For Kansas, Ochai Agbaji was the lead scorer with 24 points. Jalen Wilson had 20 points.
| Team Stats | Texas Tech | Kansas |
|---|---|---|
Field Goals | 28/55 (50.9%) | 21/47 (44.7% |
3-Pointers | 4/16 (25.0%) | 10/26 (38.5%) |
Free Throws | 15/22 (68.2%) | 15/18 (83.3%) |
Assists | 18 | 12 |
Rebounds | 33 | 24 |
Offensive Rebounds | 12 | 6 |
Steals | 10 | 5 |
Block | 3 | 3 |
Turnovers | 12 | 17 |
Next up: Kansas hosts Iowa State on Tuesday. Tech travels to Waco on Tuesday night.
TCU (10-2, 0-1) vs. #1 Baylor (15-0, 3-0)
Baylor wins 76-64
TCU hadn’t played in 18 days due to COVID protocols. Despite a long time between games, the Frogs stayed with the nation’s unanimous #1 team for most of the game. The Frogs had a six-point lead at halftime and grew that to as many as nine points in the second half before turnovers got the best of them. Mike Miles led the Frogs with 26 points, most scored in the first half before a wrist injury in the second half.
Baylor’s win extended their winning streak to 21 games going back to last season. Adam Flagler led the Bears with 22 points, with 18 of those in the second half when the Bears needed them the most. James Akinjo also had 20 points and eight assists.
| Team Stats | TCU | Baylor |
|---|---|---|
Field Goals | 25/56 (44.6%) | 30/57 (52.6%) |
3-Pointers | 7/20 (35.0%) | 13/27 (48.1%) |
Free Throws | 7/10 (70.0%) | 3/7 (42.9%) |
Assists | 16 | 15 |
Rebounds | 32 | 28 |
Offensive Rebounds | 12 | 8 |
Steals | 6 | 10 |
Blocks | 2 | 4 |
Turnovers | 18 | 12 |
Next up: TCU travels to Kansas State on Wednesday. Baylor hosts Texas Tech on Tuesday.
Oklahoma (12-3, 2-1) vs #11 Iowa State (13-2, 1-2)
Oklahoma wins 79-66
In the nightcap, a third upset came in Norman. Oklahoma rallied in the second half to give the Sooners their third win this season over a ranked team (Florida and Arkansas were the other two). The Sooners took control after tailing most of the game during a 14-0 run late in the second half.
Umoja Gibson led the Sooners with 20 points. Tanner Groves scored 16, and Elijah Harkless had 13 points. Izaiah Brockington and Tyrese Hunter each had 20 points for the Cyclones. Iowa State did not make a free throw in the game.
| Team Stats | Oklahoma | Iowa State |
|---|---|---|
Field Goals | 29/47 (61.7%) | 29/52 (55.8%) |
3-Pointers | 7/12 (58.3%) | 8/17 (47.1%) |
Free Throws | 14/17 (82.4%) | 0/1 (0.0%) |
Assists | 17 | 14 |
Rebounds | 26 | 17 |
Offensive Rebounds | 4 | 2 |
Steals | 6 | 9 |
Blocks | 2 | 0 |
Turnovers | 12 | 12 |
Next up: Iowa State travels to Kansas on Tuesday, and Oklahoma travels to Austin to play Texas.
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