The Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals tipped off on a sunny Thursday in Kansas City, with the 1-4 seeds playing the winners of Wednesday’s matchups.
The top four seeds all won, setting up a great semifinal. All three games were close, and if you’re a gambler, the over hit in all four games.
It was the last day with four games, so here are four takeaways from the four games of the Big 12 tournament quarterfinal.
Final Scores
BYU 96 Iowa State 92
Houston 77 Colorado 68
Texas Tech 76 Baylor 74
Arizona 88 Kansas 77
Takeaway #1: BYU shoots the lights out from three, and they do it as a team
BYU has been an elite shooting team all season long, averaging 10.6 a game, 7th best in the country. Thursday, they obliterated that mark, making 18. What’s more impressive is that they did it on 18-36 shooting. Eight different players hit a three, with six of those hitting multiple. When everyone’s hitting and a defense can’t single out one player, it’s impossible for the opposition to win, and that’s why BYU was able to do so today.
They don’t have to shoot 50% on 18 makes, but if everyone is hitting shots, the team’s ceiling expands exponentially. Trevin Knell shot 4-4, and Richie Saunders led the team with 23 points.
On the Iowa State side, Curtis Jones looked like he was on BYU, hitting seven threes in this one, including six in the first half. Not having Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert definitely hurt, and health is the number one priority for this team. We’ll see what everyone’s status is when they tip off on either Thursday or Friday.
Takeaway #2: Houston shows they can win with their offense
When you think of Houston basketball, you think of punch-in-the-nose defense, where there are no easy baskets and teams are lucky if they get close to 60 points a game. Thursday, that wasn’t the case against a team that’s really not great offensively, allowing 68 points to Colorado. Colorado did only shoot 40% from the field and 25% from three, but they never went on a long scoring drought or dealt with turnover issues.
Houston responded though with 75 points, shooting 49% from the field and 44% from three. While they never pulled away, they had the offensive firepower to stay comfortably ahead the whole game, and even when J’Wan Roberts twisted his ankle, they still remained composed.
This honestly felt like a look-ahead game for Houston, knowing they will play a high-powered offense in BYU tomorrow and that Colorado would never be a threat. They beat Colorado with offense today, but can they do the same tomorrow against BYU, or will they get in a defensive stance and shut them down all night, like they did when they won 86-55 in early January?
Takeaway #3: JT Toppin doesn’t skip a beat
In his first game after being named the Big 12 Player of the Year, JT Toppin showed the world why he earned that honor. Against Baylor, he scored 26 points on 10-19 shooting and added 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. 6 of those 10 rebounds were offensive, and he had a +/- of 8 in a two-point win. In the second half, Toppin shot 4-9 from the field. The rest of the team, 2-22.
Texas Tech has a national championship ceiling because of him, and if he keeps playing like this, there’s no player in the country who can stop him. He got a lot of help today, too, with three other players scoring in double figures and Elijah Hawkins dishing out 11 assists.
Baylor kept it close due to the poor second half shooting, but also the performance of Norchad Omier. Omier finished with 29 points on 12-18 shooting while also adding 15 rebounds and 2 blocks. Baylor’s resume is a little shaky, but it should be good enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament. They’ll need Omier’s Final Four experience from Miami, plus consistency from the freshmen VJ Edgecombe and Rob Wright if they want to make a run.
Takeaway #4: Arizona controls the paint
The theme of the day was three-point shooting, and while Arizona made eight and shot 44% from deep, it did its damage down low. Arizona scored 46 points in the paint, a sizable amount more than the 20 that Kansas was able to contribute. Tommy Lloyd took advantage of Hunter Dickinson’s inability to drop back on pick and rolls and got several easy buckets.
They moved around and caused the Kansas defense to overreact, and it paid off, especially in the second half when the three-point shot wasn’t falling. Just looking at the box score, you can see who benefitted. Henri Veesaar and Trey Townsend, the two forwards, scored 19 and 16 in this one. If Arizona controls the paint, that’ll open up the perimeter, which will make all the difference in the NCAA Tournament. They’ve got Toppin, the best forward in the Big 12 and one of the best in the country tomorrow, so it’ll be a good test for this Wildcat team.
For this Kansas team, defense remains a concern. They allowed 88 today and are coming off a 94-point allowed performance yesterday. If they can’t get it under control, their season won’t be much longer. Zeke Mayo was terrific offensively, making three on the night, the third straight game hitting that mark, but it wasn’t enough.
Big 12 Tournament Second Round Takeaways
Big 12 Tournament First Round Takeaways
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