The Big 12 Tournament Semifinals took place as we near closer and closer to Selection Sunday.
Houston and Arizona showed why they are national title threats, picking up big wins to advance to the Big 12 final. Read below for three takeaways from tonight’s Big 12 tournament semifinals.
Takeaway #1: Houston stays true to themselves
We talked about it in Thursday’s takeaways, but Houston wasn’t that punch in the noise, grit and grid defensive team we’re used to against Colorado. Friday, against a team coming off a 96 point performance the night before, we saw just that. BYU didn’t score until the 13:16 mark in the first half, and at that point, Houston was up 15-0. They finished with 20 first-half points, the lowest this season, and shot 20% from the field and 18% from three.
It was cruise control from there, and BYU would never get it back into single digits. BYU failed to score 60 points twice this season, and both times were against Houston. Houston doing this against a top 10 offense just serves as a reminder that they’re the best of the best and one to take seriously in March.
They still have only lost once game since late November, and defensively, they’re a nightmare. Emanuel Sharp got the game ball, scoring 26 points, and LJ Cryer provided 20 himself.
For BYU, the live and die by the three unfortunately didn’t work today. They shot 6-28 from deep and even when they did start to make them in the second half, they didn’t have the defense to match it. BYU has to hope they get a draw of offensive-heavy teams because they stand a much better chance against a team that wants to run rather than a slow it down and grind style.
Takeaway #2: Arizona stays composed down the stretch
From the nine minute mark to the end of the game, Arizona held a lead between 4-8 points. They never let Texas Tech go on a run, and they never put pressure on themselves to try to pull away and make bad decisions. Doing so takes a lot of maturity, and that’s what this team has. All five of their starters are upperclassmen, and the two key bench players, KJ Lewis and Henri Veesaar, play with a level of maturity that not even most seniors possess.
In the NCAA Tournament, most likely the Round of 32 on, they will most likely be in this position. Having a game like today to use as a reference point will be extremely important for this team, and could be the difference between a deep run and an early exit. Caleb Love was the star, scoring 27 points on 10-15 shooting, including 5-8 from three. Lewis was the quiet hero, though, finishing with 15 points while also adding 8 rebounds, 6 assists, two steals and three blocks.
For Texas Tech they need to get healthy. They did all they could with Darrion Williams and Chance McMillian, but they can only go so far without two of their three leading scorers. There’s no clear indication of how long they’ll be out, and both played yesterday, so this could be more of a precaution for next week. JT Toppin couldn’t do much Friday night, shooting 4-13 from three, and when you look to your fifth option, freshman Christian Anderson, to be your go-to guy, you’re going to be out of luck.
Takeaway #3: The over and the underdog are having success in Kansas City
As we enter the last day of the Big 12 Tournament, it’s interesting to take a step back and look at what’s happened over the last few days. Two things stand out: the over and the underdog against the spread. In the 14 games so far, the over is 10-4, and the underdog is 9-5. Is it the court? Is it the crowd? Who knows, but it’s hard not to look at that.
We are not a betting site, and this is not a recommendation for tomorrow’s final, but they are definitely some interesting stats to monitor.
[…] talked about it in yesterday’s takeaways, but Houston’s identity is to punch the opponent in the nose until they quit kind of defense. […]