Big 12 Tournament Notebook – Wednesday 3/13

By Jackson Schneider March 14, 2024

Meridian Media Sports Director Jackson Schneider has boots on the ground in Kansas City this week for the Phillips 66 Big 12 MBB Championship.

ROUND 2 – WEDNESDAY

(5) BYU 87, (12) UCF 73

  • The matchup between BYU and UCF was the first time that Big 12 newcomers have faced off in the Phillips 66 Big 12 MBB Championship in their first season of conference membership.
  • The Cougars and Head Coach Mark Pope earned their first Phillips 66 Big 12 MBB Championship victory.
  • UCF’s Darius Johnson scored 32 points, a tournament high thus far, and the 9th most points in a Phillips 66 Big 12 MBB Championship game all-time. Johnson made six three-pointers in the effort, shooting 4/4 from deep in the second half. His six makes from three-point range set a new Tournament record for the new second-round.
  • BYU led the conference in 3-pointers per game this season, and that trend continued on Wednesday, with the Cougars making 14 three-pointers against UCF, which are tied for the second most threes made in a Big 12 Tournament game.
  • BYU will move on to play #4 seed Texas Tech on Thursday at 11:30 AM in the Quarterfinal Round. The game will be televised on ESPN2.

(8) TCU 77, (9) Oklahoma 70

  • TCU improved to 8-11 all-time at the Big 12 Championship, and 6-7 under Head Coach Jamie Dixon. They are also 10-11 all-time at the T-Mobile Center. As the #8 seed in the Tournament, TCU is 3-2 all-time.
  • Emmanuel Miller broke the TCU Big 12 Championship record for points in a game with 26. He shot 9/13 from the field. Miller broke his teammate Chuck O’Bannon’s record of 22 points, previously set in last season’s Big 12 Tournament vs Texas.
  • Oklahoma now falls to 24-24 all-time in the Big 12 Tournament, as they play their final game in the Tournament before moving to the SEC next season.
  • Emmanuel Miller, Jameer Nelson Jr., and Micah Peavy were named to All-Big 12 teams this season, with Miller being the only player to score in double figures in every Big 12 game this season.
  • TCU will move on to play #1 seed and Big 12 regular season champion Houston on Thursday at 2PM in the Quarterfinal Round. The game will be televised on ESPN.

(10) Kansas State 78, (7) Texas 74

  • Kansas State used a 7-0 run to start the second half to erase a 10-point deficit, defeating Texas in the Big 12 Tournament on Wednesday night. Kansas State trailed 39-29 at the break, but the Wildcats rallied for a critical four-point win to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
  • Tylor Perry led Kansas State with 21 points, including three made three-pointers and a perfect 10-10 at the free throw line. Perry overcame a slow start, committing four of K-State’s eight turnovers in the first half. Perry did not commit a turnover after the intermission.
  • Arthur Kaluma scored 14 points and pulled in eight rebounds on the night, while David N’Guessan scored 13 points and tallied six rebounds for the Wildcats, who as a team out-rebounded Texas 39-32.
  • K-State outrebounded Texas, 39-32, including 8 offensive rebounds that resulted in 11 second-chance points. The Wildcats have now outrebounded their opponent in 19 of 32 games.
  • Cam Carter and Dai Dai Ames each scored 10 points for Kansas State in the win.
  • K-State is now 38-44 all-time at the Big Eight/12 Championship dating back to 1977, including 18-26 at the Big 12 Championship. The Wildcats are now 37-39 all-time in conference championship games in Kansas City, including 11-14 at the T-Mobile Center.
  • K-State scored its 78 points on 47.2 percent (25-of-53) shooting, including 38.5 percent (5-of-13) from 3-point range, and 74.2 percent (23-of-31) from the free throw line.
  • K-State tied a season-low with just 10 turnovers. They had eight in the first half, before just two in the second half.
  • With the victory, K-State improves to 19-13 overall.
  • K-State will move on to play #2 seed Iowa State on Thursday at 6PM in the Quarterfinal Round. The game will be televised on ESPN2. Radio coverage will begin at 5PM on 1150 KSAL/106.7 FM in the Salina-area.
  • Kansas State split the regular season series with Iowa State, losing in Ames 78-67 on January 24th, but winning in Manhattan on Senior Day 65-58 just four days ago.

K-STATE POSTGAME AUDIO

Kansas State Head Coach Jerome Tang and players Tylor Perry and Arthur Kaluma met with the media following the win.

 

(11) Cincinnati 72, (6) Kansas 52

  • Playing without starters Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr., the shorthanded Jayhawks struggled offensively, putting up its second-lowest points total of the season, just more than the 50 points scored in Kansas’s loss at Texas Tech.
  • KJ Adams Jr. led Kansas offensively with 22 points on 9/14 shooting. No other Jayhawk would score more than eight points in the game.
  • The loss is KU’s 10th of the season, and ends their trip to Kansas City the earliest in school history, as the Jayhawks will have failed to make the quarterfinals for the first time in Big 12 history.
  • The loss is also Kansas’s first opening-game defeat in the Big 12 Tournament since 2017, which was an 85-82 loss to TCU. Kansas wound up making a run to the Elite 8 that season.
  • As a team, KU shot just 34% in the game (21-62 overall), and an abysmal 15% from three-point range, making just three of their 20 attempts.
  • Cincinnati will move on to play #3 seed Baylor on Thursday at 8:30PM in the Quarterfinal Round. The game will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2.

UPDATED BIG 12 TOURNAMENT BRACKET