2017 Big 12 Tournament Open Thread and Live Updates

Tournament Bracket

Tournament Schedule/Results

Wednesday, March 8:

First Round Game #1: (8) TCU 82, (9) Oklahoma 63

First Round Game #2: (10) Texas 61, (7) Texas Tech 52

Thursday, March 9:

Quarterfinal #1: (4) Iowa State 92, (5) Oklahoma State 83

Quarterfinal #2: (8) TCU 85, (1) Kansas 82

Quarterfinal #3: (2) West Virginia 63, (10) Texas 53

Quarterfinal #4: (6) Kansas State 70, (3) Baylor 64

Friday, March 10:

Semifinal #1: (4) Iowa State 84, (8) TCU 63

Semifinal #2: (2) West Virginia 51, (6) Kansas State 50

Saturday, March 11:

Championship: (4) Iowa State 80, (2) West Virginia 74

Game-by-Game Recaps

First Round:

(8) TCU vs. (9) Oklahoma

The Horned Frogs were able to use a 15-2 run late in the 1st half to pull away from the Sooners. TCU would never give up the lead again and was thoroughly in control of the game for the entire 2nd half. The Frogs shot an incredible 60% from the field and were led by Vladimir Brodziansky, Kenrich Williams, and Alex Robinson. Those three players combined for 56 points on 24/33 shooting and also combined for 19 rebounds and 14 assists.

The Sooners were led by Khadeem Lattin, who did a solid job of trying to keep up with Brodziansky. Lattin finished the game with 18 points on 7/10 shooting and also pulled down 9 boards along with 2 emphatic blocks. Kameron McGusty, who had scored in double-digits in 17 of his past 18 games, was held to 9 points on 3/11 shooting. With the loss, Oklahoma finishes their season a disappointing 11-20 after getting to the Final Four last season. TCU will move on to face #1 seed Kansas tomorrow hoping to add a big win to their NIT resume. Who knows, maybe with a win they can work their way back into the NCAA Tournament conversation.

(7) Texas Tech vs. (10) Texas

After an abysmal 1st half, the Longhorns were able to dominate the Red Raiders in the 2nd half and came away with a 61-52 win. Texas outscored Tech 41-26 in the final 20 minutes in order to pull off the upset. Freshman Andrew Jones led the way for the Longhorns, finishing with 15 points and throwing down some explosive dunks. Kerwin Roach Jr. also played very well, dropping in 13 points and knocking down a couple threes. Star big man Jarrett Allen was surprisingly a non-factor in the game, only scoring 10 points and going 2/9 from the field.

Texas Tech was led by Keenan Evans, who finished the game with 11 points on 5/12 shooting. Matt Temple, who was a surprise starter, also played well and went 4/4 from the field, finishing with 10 points. Anthony Livingston provided Tech with a boost off the bench, adding in 10 points. For the Red Raiders, this could be the end of their season as a loss drops them to 18-14 and could take them out of NIT consideration due to a poor non-conference schedule. As for Texas, they’ll have the tough task of taking on Press Virginia tomorrow on short rest.

Quarterfinals:

(4) Iowa State vs. (5) Oklahoma State

The Cyclones used a dominant shooting performance, especially from deep, to get past the Cowboys 92-83. Iowa State shot 53.6% from the field and it wasn’t much of a drop-off beyond the arc, where they shot 50%. Monte Morris was the star of the game for the Cyclones and nearly finished the game with a triple-double. Morris had 21 points on 9/15 shooting and also pulled down 10 rebounds to go along with 9 assists. Deonte Burton, who has been on a roll as of late, added in another 17 points and finished with 10 rebounds for a double-double. Naz Mitrou-Long and Matt Thomas also helped the effort by knocking down 3 threes each.

Oklahoma State will be heading back home to Stillwater for the weekend, but they are a team that will definitely be hearing their name called on Sunday. Jawun Evans put on a show for the Cowboys, finishing with 29 points, and Jeffrey Carroll added in another 21 points. Oklahoma State played a complete game but just couldn’t get enough shots to fall to keep pace with the red-hot Cyclones. They’ll still be a very tough out in the NCAA Tournament though. Iowa State will be back in action again tomorrow in the semifinals against the winner of Kansas/TCU.

(1) Kansas vs. (8) TCU

For the 2nd time in this tournament, the Horned Frogs were able to use a late 1st half run to spur themselves to victory, this time shocking the #1 team in the nation Kansas. The game went down to the wire but Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk fouled Desmond Bane on a three point attempt and the freshman knocked down all three to give TCU an 85-82 victory.

Bane finished the game with 16 points off the bench for the Frogs and was 5/6 from the field. Kenrich Williams, despite fouling out, was able to stuff the stat sheet again, finishing with 18 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals. Alex Robinson also put together a phenomenal performance, dropping in 13 points to go with 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 steals. In total, 5 players scored double-digits en route to one of the biggest victories in program history, if not the biggest.

For the Jayhawks, Big 12 Player of the Year Frank Mason led the team with 29 points and was 12/13 from the free throw line. Despite the foul, Mykhailiuk also put together a great performance and finished with 18 points and knocked down 4 threes. Big man Landen Lucas had to control the paint for Kansas and ended up with a double-double by scoring 13 points and grabbing 14 boards.

Even with the loss, Kansas is likely to be named a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Horned Frogs have clinched a bid to the NIT most likely now and are in the “Next Four Out” category of ESPN’s Bracketology. They will be looking to move even closer to the bubble with a win over Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament Semifinals tomorrow night at 6 pm.

(2) West Virginia vs. (10) Texas

Press Virginia turned out to be too much to handle for the Longhorns and was able to come away with a 63-53 win. Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year Jevon Carter stood out on the offensive end and led the Mountaineers with 21 points. He was able to do most of that damage from deep, where he went 5/8. Carter was the only West Virginia player to score in double-digits, but 9 players total were able to get on the board. Elijah Macon was a force down low for the ‘eers and finished the game with 10 rebounds to go along with his 8 points. As a team, they outrebounded the Longhorns 42-39 and they assisted on 15 of their 23 made field goals.

For Texas, this means the end of their season, finishing 11-22 overall. Freshman Andrew Jones led Texas with 13 points and also pulled down 7 rebounds. Another freshman, Jarrett Allen, was held to 9 points, but did manage to grab 10 boards. The biggest question for this offseason will be whether or not each of those players decide to go pro or come back. Both are projected to be potential 1st round picks, but if they choose to come back, Texas could be a team to watch for next season. For the Mountaineers, they’ll be in the 2nd game of the Semifinals tomorrow night and they await the winner of tonight’s game between #3 seed Baylor and #2 seed Kansas State.

(3) Baylor vs. (6) Kansas State

Both teams were tied at the half at 25, but the Wildcats were able to control the game in the 2nd half and managed to come away with the 2nd upset of the day by knocking off Baylor 70-64. The big win for Kansas State on the neutral court will likely put them into the NCAA Tournament. They were able to get the win despite a -11 margin on the boards. Barry Brown was they key to victory for K-State, leading the team with 21 points and going 9/13 at the line. D.J. Johnson also put on a strong performance for the Wildcats, finishing with 13 points and 7 rebounds. They have to be happy to get the win despite a relatively quiet game from Kamau Stokes, who scored 9 points, but was 3/9 from the field.

For the Bears, not too much was lost since they’ll still be heading to the NCAA Tournament, likely as a #2 or #3 seed. Tonight, Al Freeman led Baylor with 16 points off the bench and Manu Lecomte had another 13 points off the bench on 5/7 shooting. Star Johnathan Motley, the conference’s leading rebounder in the regular season, was kept fairly quiet, scoring 13 points, but only grabbing 7 boards. Jake Lindsey was the main facilitator on offense for Baylor, finishing with 11 assists to go with his 5 points. For Kansas State, they’ll square off with West Virginia tomorrow night for a chance to play in the Big 12 Championship game.

Semifinals

(4) Iowa State vs. (8) TCU

The Horned Frogs’ run in Kansas City came to an end after they ran into an all-out offensive assault from Iowa State. The Cyclones began to pull away late in the 1st half and it was never really close after that. Iowa State had great flow on offense and ended the game shooting 56.4% from the field and an impressive 48%from beyond the arc. Deonte Burton led the charge for the Cyclones and finished the game with 22 points and 5 boards. It was a relatively quiet night all around for Monte Morris, but he did add in 15 points. Solomon Young was a key player in the post for them, finishing with 9 points and 9 rebounds while also blocking 4 shots.

For TCU, it was a disappointing end to a great run in the Big 12 Tournament, but likely won’t be the end of their season. Thanks to their win over #1 Kansas, they are a lock for the NIT and should be a high seed at that. Tonight, it was a rough night for point guard Alex Robinson, who finished with 2 points on 1/8 shooting. Kenrich Williams went into halftime scoreless, but managed to finish the game with 9 points and 8 rebounds to go with 5 assists. TCU struggled from beyond the arc, shooting only 26.3%, which is a big reason they couldn’t catch up. For Iowa State, they’ll be looking to win their 3rd Big 12 Tournament in 4 years tomorrow against whoever wins tonight’s West Virginia/Kansas State matchup.

(2) West Virginia vs. (6) Kansas State

The Wildcats took a 9-8 lead about halfway through the 1st half and would hold on to that lead until there were 19 seconds left in the game. That’s when West Virginia’s Esa Ahmad knocked down a free throw to put his team up 51-50, which would end up being the final score. It was a heartbreaking defeat for Kansas State, who entered the day as the last team in according to ESPN’s Bracketology. Now, they’ll have a long wait until the selection show on Sunday. They led the Mountaineers by 12 with 13 and a half minutes to go, but couldn’t hold on after West Virginia went to the zone defense.

For the Wildcats, Wes Iwundu led the way with 13 points and Kamau Stokes added in another 10 points. Barry Brown also helped with the effort, finishing with 9 points. West Virginia had to be happy to get the win despite shooting 26.7% from the field. The Mountaineers were led by Ahmad, who finished with a double-double by dropping in 15 points and grabbing 10 boards. Elijah Macon also pulled down 10 rebounds and Tarik Phillip had a big impact off the bench with 13 points. For West Virginia, they’ll be headed to the Big 12 Tournament Championship game tomorrow at 5 pm against Iowa State.

Championship

(2) West Virginia vs. (4) Iowa State

West Virginia was able to get off to a good start in this game and raced out to an 8-point lead, but the Cyclones were able to close out the 1st half strong and took a 35-29 lead into halftime. Much like their game against TCU, Iowa State was able to continue their momentum out of the break and held on to win the Big 12 Tournament title 80-74.

Press Virginia tried to copy their recipe for success from the night before, switching to a 1-3-1 zone in the 2nd half to try and come back. The Mountaineers played well and shot 51.8% from the field, but they struggled at the free throw line, where they went 8/17. Jevon Carter was the leader for West Virginia, finishing with a game-high 18 points on 6/10 shooting. Elijah Macon, Esa Ahmad, and Daxter Miles Jr. each contributed 10 points, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to win. Going forward, the Mountaineers will be heading to the NCAA Tournament and should be a #4 or #5 seed.

For the Cyclones, this is their 3rd time winning the conference tournament in 4 years. Iowa State wasn’t as locked in from beyond the arc as they were in the Semifinals, but they did shoot 54.2% from the field. Senior point guard Monte Morris led the way for them, finishing with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Deonte Burton also put together another solid performance and added in an additional 16 points. Darrell Bowie, who wasn’t much of a factor in Big 12 play during the regular season, provided a big lift off the bench for the Cyclones, especially in the 1st half. He finished the game with 10 points on 4/5 shooting to go with 6 boards. Iowa State will take the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and should likely be a #5 or #6 seed.