On the first day of five, The Big 12 Tournament’s first round delivered one blowout and one exciting finish.
UCF used a big second half to defeat the Oklahoma State Cowboys with ease, while Cincinnati used a huge comeback in the second half to keep their postseason hopes alive. With teams doing whatever they can to either make their tournament or improve their seed, on Tuesday didn’t let down.
Takeaway #1: UCF’s start the second half strong and don’t look back
While UCF looked like the better team in the first half, they led by just four at the half. UCF then started the second half on a 13-0 run, blowing this game wide open. Oklahoma State didn’t score in the first five minutes and just one point in the first eight, and UCF never really had to sweat from then on.
If UCF wants to go the distance, they’ll have to win five games in five days, so having a game like this definitely makes that easier. Darius Johnson and Jaylin Sellers still played 32 and 33 minutes, but certainly didn’t have to bring their A-game.
Meanwhile, for Oklahoma State, this pain of a season is finally over, and they really didn’t put up a fight. Is this the end for Mike Boynton? I assume we’ll find out very soon.
Takeaway #2: Kobe Johnson’s technical foul flips the switch
After a two-point halftime lead, West Virginia came out hot, going on a 26-12 run to take 16 16-point lead with 11:45 to go. West Virginia was shooting the ball well, and Cincinnati couldn’t buy a basket no matter how open they were. Then, after a Kobe Johnson layup to make it 64-48, he was called for a technical foul.
Cincinnati immediately went on a 7-0 run to cut it back down to 7, then chipped away for the last few minutes until the two teams were trading baskets for the lead. Eventually, Day Day Thomas would hit a three with 15 seconds to go to put the Bearcats up five, and there was nothing West Virginia could do to win this game.
West Virginia actually received two additional technicals in that half after Johnson’s but none were as important as that. Cincinnati used this to their advantage to regain the momentum, and it proved to work, and as a result, they get the chance to play a Kansas team without their top 2 players in an attempt to strengthen their spot on the bubble.
Meanwhile, West Virginia’s defense continues to struggle. This was the third straight game allowing 90+ points, and even though they shot 55% from the field and 45% from three none of it mattered when they couldn’t get a stop. It seems like Josh Eilert, who was put in an incredibly difficult situation this offseason, has coached his last game with the team, making the Mountaineers offseason one to watch.