Big 12 weekly recap: Marcus Foster clutch in Oklahoma upset
By Brian Spaen
If there’s one thing we learned from the Big 12 on Saturday, it’s been reaffirmed that all 18 league games will be tough from start to finish. Iowa State and Kansas are the lone teams that are undefeated in the conference — partially because they’ve only played two Big 12 games while everyone else has three.
Let’s take a look at what happened around the league this week.
Men’s basketball
(12)Kansas 86, Texas Tech 54
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Player of the game: Perry Ellis (KU F) – 15 pts, 5 reb, 2 stl. Hit all three 3-point attempts.
Notable team stat: Kansas had quadrouple the amount of assists (24) that Texas Tech had (6).
Notable player stat: Cliff Alexander (KU F) went 6-for-8 from the field off the bench.
What happened? What else did you expect in Allen Fieldhouse? The Jayhawks demolished the Red Raiders from the start. TTU was held to 32.7 percent from the field and were dominated in every category. Kansas also went 50 percent from downtown (11-22).
(21)Baylor 66, TCU 59 (OT)
Player of the game: Rico Gathers (BAY F) – 17 pts, 18 reb, 9-15 from FT line. He recorded 10 offensive boards — mainly because Baylor missed 40 shots.
Notable team stat: Baylor shot 29.8 percent from the field (1-12 from downtown) and still managed to win.
Notable player stat: Taurean Prince (BAY F) came off the bench and had a double-double (17 pts, 10 reb).
What happened? TCU turned it over late and only scored one field goal in overtime. They’ve now lost 23 straight in the Big 12.
Oklahoma St 69, (10)Texas 58
Player of the game: A tie. OSU relies on Le’Bryan Nash and Phil Forte on offense and they constantly deliver. They both had 20 points each.
Notable team stat: Texas had a Big 12-record 12 blocks in one game — and lost.
Notable player stat: Anthony Hickey Jr. (OSU G) had a team-high nine rebounds and seven assists. Another notable is Jonathan Holmes (TEX F), who went 0-for-10 from the field.
What happened? Texas had a late surge, but the OSU defense was too stout to overcome. They finished shooting 34.4 percent from the field. The Cowboys’ duo was great, but the rest of the starters stepped up in other areas.
Kansas St 66, (16)Oklahoma 63 (OT)
Player of the game: Marcus Foster (KSU G) – 14 pts. It doesn’t show it in the box score, but he drained a shot to force overtime and hit the 3-point game winner with four seconds left in OT.
Notable team stat: Kansas State nearly had quadrouple the assists (15) as Oklahoma (4).
Notable player stat: Buddy Hield (OU G) – 31 pts, 5 reb, 3 stl. Despite losing, he scored a truckload and made five 3-pointers and all four FT attempts. Also, Jordan Woodard (OU G) went 0-6 from the field despite playing 41 minutes.
What happened? Thanks to Foster’s clutch Kobe finishing gene, he helped his team get a badly-needed victory in a very tough venue.
Jan 10, 2015; Morgantown, WV, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers guard Juwan Staten (3) brings the ball up court against the Iowa State Cyclones during the second half at the WVU Coliseum. Iowa State won 74-72. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
(17)Iowa St 74, (14)W Virginia 72
Player of the game: Abdel Nader (ISU F) – 19 pts, 7 reb, 1 blk. He scored a team-high off the bench.
Notable team stat: Iowa State had twice the amount of turnovers (19) than WVU (8) and still managed to win.
Notable player stat: Juwan Staten (WVU G) finished with a game-high 23 pts. He did everything he could to help his team win.
What happened? It was a scrappy game from start to finish that saw 50 combined total fouls called. West Virginia couldn’t take advantage of all the extra possessions they had, and Iowa State pulled out a huge victory on the road.
Women’s basketball
Scoreboard
Sunday, Jan 4
- Texas Tech 52, TCU 27
- Oklahoma 71, W Virginia 60
Tuesday, Jan 6
- Baylor 74, Kansas St 44
Wednesday, Jan 7
- Oklahoma 69, Kansas 57
- Texas 61, W Virginia 55
- Oklahoma St 66, Texas Tech 35
- TCU 86, Iowa St 84
Saturday, Jan 10
- TCU 70, Oklahoma St 66
- Oklahoma 75, Texas Tech 58
- Baylor 66, W Virginia 62
- Iowa St 59, Texas 57