Thursday night was one filled with college basketball and just about everywhere you looked, action from the SEC-Big 12 Challenge was in play. We’re now through the first two days of the conference battles and up to this point; the Big 12 is in complete control with a 4-1 record against the SEC.
Six victories are required for a conference to win the challenge and with some marquee matchups coming later today, the Big 12 will be looking to secure its place as the dominant conference. But for now, let’s take a quick look at the teams who were in action last night and how they fared.
Baylor beats Vanderbilt 66-63
Baylor looked like the better team for the vast majority of this one. The Bears shared the ball extremely well, which led to 15 assists, and that was a huge contributing factor to their 10 connections from beyond the arc. Vandy started to make a push late down the stretch, and the game ultimately came down to Baylor needing some free throws to seal the deal, but after hitting seven more threes than Vanderbilt and being carried on the dual-shoulders of Tarean Prince and Royce O’Neale, who had 19 and 22 points respectively, Baylor outlasted Vandy and accounted for the Big 12’s first win of the night.
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No. 16 West Virginia falls to LSU 73-74
If you weren’t able to catch No. 16 West Virginia’s matchup with LSU last night, you missed an extremely fun game that came down to the final shot. It was a game of defensive stops and runs that saw each team register six blocks, while West Virginia had 19 steals – which they lead the NCAA in – compared to LSU’s nine. The game started off in a defensive brawl with each passion being a struggle. Then offense kicked in and West Virginia made their big run, not to be outdone by LSU who clawed back. Ultimately, the Bayou Bengals looked like the better team down the stretch, but by a very slim margin and you can argue that if even 10more seconds had been on the clock, the Mountaineers might still have an unblemished record.
No. 20 Iowa State topples No. 18 Arkansas 95-77
I’ll just make this one short and sweet. Iowa State dominated the Razorbacks from the tip and played as if they were one of the best teams in the entire country. The entire starting five scored in double-digits with Georges Niang and Bryce Dejean-Jones leading the way with 26 and 27 points apiece. Iowa State was simply hitting on all cylinders offensively and when any team, especially one with the talent of depth of the Cyclones, shoots 64 percent from the field, they’re going to be extremely difficult to beat.
Undefeated TCU cruises past Ole Miss 66-54
The somehow undefeated Horned Frogs earned the honors of another win and most unentertaining Big 12-SEC matchup last night, but they did play Ole Miss and pretty much remained in control the entire game. TCU’s win over the Rebels was practically a case of getting a slight lead early and never really losing it before pulling away at the end. Four different Horned Frogs reached double figures on the scoring sheet, which was a result of selfless basketball and great ball movement, as seen by their 18 assists.
A Look Ahead
Tonight’s matchups feature No. 6 Texas traveling to Lexington to lay the top ranked Kentucky Wildcats. Texas is arguably the only team in the country with the interior size to match UK, but with the absence of Isaiah Taylor, the Horns’ might not have that scoring edge needed to hang with the platoons of Kentucky.
Florida will have to head to Allen Fieldhouse and play the No. 11 Kansas Jayhawks in The Phog. Florida has disappointed with a 3-3 record, while Kansas is looking to continue climbing back up in the ranks after their blowout loss to Kentucky early in the season. This should be a good game, but ultimately, Kansas has more skill and more depth, which should be the difference.
Oklahoma and Missouri will be the final game in tomorrow’s lineup. Long story short, there’s no way Missouri can beat the Sooners. Oklahoma simply has too much talent and far too much scoring for Mizzou to be able to keep up on the scoreboard.