With Houston and Iowa State’s losses in the Sweet 16, there are no more Big 12 men’s basketball teams remaining in the tournament.
Eight of the 14 Big 12 teams made the tournament and five advanced to the second round. Houston entered the tournament as the highest-seeded team in the conference, earning the No. 1 seed in the South Region.
Let’s take a look at how the teams performed in the tournament, sorted in alphabetical order.
Baylor
The Bears were the No. 3 seed in the West Region and knocked off 14th-seeded Colgate 92-67 in the first round. They shot the ball very well against Colgate, shooting 57.9% from the field and 53.3%. Baylor committed more turnovers in the game, 12-8, but out-rebounded the Raiders 33-24. In the second round, the Bears were matched up against No. 6 Clemson. They would lose to the Tigers 72-64 after being unable to find the same offensive success they had against Colgate as they only shot 38.9% from the field and 25% from three. Ja’Kobe Walter was Baylor’s top-scorer averaging 19.5 points per game in the tournament through their two games. Clemson would go on to make it to the Elite Eight, where they fell to Alabama 89-82.
BYU
BYU was the No. 6 seed in the East Region and was upset by No. 11 seed Duquesne in the first round. Despite out-rebounding the Duke’s 25-29, the Cougars were unable to keep up with the team from Pittsburgh. BYU shot just 38.6% from the field compared to Duquesne’s 46.4% and committed more turnovers. Jaxson Robinson was the Cougars top-scorer, scoring 25 points in 35 minutes coming off the bench, he also had two rebounds and an assist. Duquesne would suffer a 89-63 loss to 3rd-seeded Illinois in the next round.
Houston
As mentioned Houston was the No. 1 seed in the South Region. They handled No. 16 seed Longwood 86-46 in the first round 86-46, where they dominated the Lancers in just about every statistic and had four players end with 10+ points. In the second round, Houston was on the right side of an offensive barnburner that went to OT as they defeated No. 9-seeded Texas A&M 100-95. In the win, Emanuel Sharp had 30 points, L.J. Cryer 20 and Jamal Shead had a double-double scoring 21 with 10 rebounds. On Friday, in another tightly contested affair, the Cougars were knocked out by No. 4 seed Duke 54-51. Both teams shot 40.8% from the field, but Houston had less success from the arc, shooting just 25%. During Houston’s run, Cryer was the Cougars top-scorer, averaging 17.3 ppg. In the Elite Eight, Duke would fall to No. 11-seeded NC State.
Iowa State
Coming in as the second highest-seeded team in the conference and having won the Big 12 tournament, Iowa State also made it to the Sweet 16. They were the No. 2 seed in the East Region and had no trouble defeating 15th-seeded South Dakota State 82-65 in the first round. The Cyclones had five players end in double-digit points in the game and committed six fewer turnovers on their way to victory while shooting just under 58%. Iowa State had a tougher task in the second round facing No. 11 seed Washington State, who bounced new WVU coach Darian DeVries’ Drake team in the first round. The Cyclones were out-rebounded and Washington State shot better overall from the field, however, they forced more turnovers and were far more successful from the arc shooting 50% resulting in a 67-56 win. In the Sweet 16, it was an extremely close loss for Iowa State to third-seeded Illinois 72-69. They were once again, out-rebounded, but committed fewer turnovers and shot better from three, however they were unable to pull it out in the end. Senior guard Curtis Jones scored the most points for Iowa State in the tournament with 51 total, averaging 17 ppg.
Kansas
Injuries were a huge question entering the tournament for the fourth-seeded Jayhawks in the Midwest Region. They barely scraped by 13th-seeded Samford in the first round 93-89 after committing 11 more turnovers and shooting worse from three compared to the Bulldogs. However, Kansas shot it well from the field overall at 60.3% and had their entire starting five end with 13 or more points. Although they shot better from the arc in the second round, the Jayhawks would lose to No. 5 seed Gonzaga 89-68. They were out-rebounded by the other Bulldogs in the region but committed two fewer turnovers. Through their two games, Hunter Dickinson was Kansas’ top scorer, scoring 19 points in the first game and a team-high 15 points in the second game, not surprisingly the big man also led the team in rebounds with 25, after grabbing 20 boards against Samford.
TCU
TCU, the No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region, struggled offensively in the first round against eight-seeded Utah State after playing it close early in the first half. They shot 35.8% from the field and committed 14 turnovers compared to the Aggies’ nine. However, they out-rebounded Utah State 41-30, but couldn’t find the same success scoring in the paint as the Aggies scored 20 more points down low. Just two Horned Frogs ended in double figures for points, with junior forward Jakobe Coles scoring a team-high 19 points and senior Emanuel Miller scoring 13 to go along with 11 rebounds.
Texas
Although they made just one three-pointer in the game, the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region Texas defeated No. 10 seed Colorado State 56-44 in the first round. Turnovers helped the Longhorns get past the Rams as they had nine steals in the game. They were slightly out-rebounded but shot better from the field overall helping them reach the second round. In a close game vs second-seeded Tennessee in the second round, Texas would lose 62-58. They were shot much better from the arc, 7-23 (30.4%), but were on the opposite side of the turnover battle in this one, committing five more than the Volunteers and were out-rebounded once again. Dylan Disu scored the most points for the Longhorns in their short run with 12 points each game.
Texas Tech
The sixth-seeded Red Raiders were the first casualty of the No. 11 seed NC State Wolfpack, who have since reached the Final Four. Both teams had 33 rebounds and 10 turnovers, but Texas Tech couldn’t keep up offensively as NC State shot better from both three and the field overall. Former Mountaineer Joe Toussaint has the most points for Texas Tech with 16, playing all 40 minutes. Pop Isaacs struggled shooting the ball making just one three on 10 attempts and just three shots on 15 overall.
