Big 12 Men’s Basketball Saturday Rundown: Final Standings Set
It’s been a crazy two+ months of Big 12 conference play. Saturday’s five games were the last of the regular season. The final standings are set as the teams head to Kansas City for this week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship.
Saturday’s games began with an upset in Waco as Iowa State defeated No. 7 Baylor by 15 points. West Virginia won another conference game when they beat No. 11 Kansas State in Morgantown. It took a long time for TCU to get into the game against Oklahoma, and by the time they did, they had dug a hole so deep that they never got out of it. In the game between the top two teams in the league, No. 9 Texas beat No. 3 Kansas. And in the final regular season game of the year, Oklahoma State squeaked by with a win in Lubbock.
Kansas finishes as the outright champion of the regular season with a 13-5 record. It’s the 21st Big 12 regular season championship for the Jayhawks and a NCAA record 64th conference championship. The Jayhawks will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming tournament.
Texas claimed the No. 2 seed, followed by No. 3 Kansas State, No. 4 Baylor, No. 5 Iowa State, and No. 6 TCU. The top six seeds earned a first-round bye and will begin play on Thursday. Wednesday's first-round matchups feature No. 8 West Virginia vs. No. 9 Texas Tech and No. 7 Oklahoma State against No. 10 Oklahoma.
All teams in the league are in the Top 67 of NET rankings; the only league to accomplish this. Kansas is ranked No. 7, followed by Texas (10), Baylor (12), Kansas State (17), Iowa State (19), West Virginia (25), TCU (29), Oklahoma State (43), Texas Tech (54), and Oklahoma (67). Every other league has at least one team ranked 175 or higher.
The Big 12 conference NET ranking of 28.3 is the lowest of all leagues; the next lowest is 58.14 (Big Ten).
March 4 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Results
Here are those results (the rankings listed were the team’s ranking at the time of the game).
#7 Baylor (22-9, 11-7) vs. Iowa State (18-12, 9-9)
Iowa State wins 73-58
Game leaders:
- Jaren Holmes (ISU) 16 points; Adam Flagler (BU) 20 points
- Jaren Holmes (ISU) 7 rebounds; Jonathan Tchamwa-Tchatchoua (BU) 7 rebounds
- Jaren Holmes (ISU) 5 assists; LJ Cryer (BU) 2 assists
West Virginia (18-13, 7-11) vs. #11 Kansas State (23-8, 11-7)
West Virginia wins 89-81
Game Leaders:
- Erik Stevenson (WVU) 27 points; Keyontae Johnson (KSU) 24 points
- Emmitt Matthews Jr (WVU) 6 rebounds; Keyontae Johnson (KSU) 6 rebounds
- Kedrian Johnson (WVU) 6 assists; Markquis Nowell (KSU) 8 assists
Oklahoma (15-16, 5-13) vs. #22 TCU (20-11, 9-9)
Oklahoma wins 74-60
Game Leaders:
- Tanner Groves (OU) 23 points; Mike Miles Jr (TCU) 17 points
- Jalen Hill (OU) 11 rebounds; Damion Baugh (TCU) 8 rebounds
- Jalen Hill (OU) 4 assists; Damion Baugh (TCU) 3 assists
#9 Texas (23-8, 12-6) vs. #3 Kansas (25-6, 13-5)
Texas wins 75-59
Game Leaders:
- Sir’Jabari Rice (UT) 23 points; Jalen Wilson (KU) 23 points
- Sir’Jabari Rice (UT) 7 rebounds; Jalen Wilson (KU) 10 rebounds
- Marcus Carr (UT) 6 assists; Da’Juan Harris Jr (KU) 7 assists
Texas Tech (16-15, 5-13) vs. Oklahoma State (17-14, 8-10)
Oklahoma State wins 71-68
Game Leaders:
- Caleb Asberry (OSU) 24 points; Fardaws Aimaq (TTU) 9 points
- Moussa Cisse (OSU) 9 rebounds; Fardaws Aimaq (TTU) 8 rebounds
- John-Michael Wright (OSU) 6 assists; De’Vion Harmon (TTU) 6 assists
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