LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – Six first-round NCAA Tournament games may not be the all-encompassing sample size needed to make a definitive declaration on the topic.
But the six representatives of the Big 12 made a collective and pointed on-court demonstration Thursday and Friday as to their conference may be the strongest in men’s college hoops this season.
They won their six games by an average margin of 23 points, with No. 1 regional seeds Baylor (East/85-49 vs. Norfolk State) and Kansas (Midwest/83-56 vs. Texas Southern) pounded their No. 16 opponents in Fort Worth on Thursday.
It was much of the same against Big Sky champion (and No. 14 seed) Montana State was bopped by 3 seed Texas Tech (97-62) in a West region contest Friday in San Diego.
And to illustrated by that average margin wasn’t juiced strictly based on the Bears, Jayhawks and Red Raiders whacking over-matched “lowest-of-major, auto-qualifiers”.
Friday, No. 6 Texas, in Milwaukee, toppled 11 Virginia Tech (the ACC Tournament champion, with consecutive wins over Notre Dame, North Carolina and Duke), 81-73.
And, in the same building later Friday night, No. 11 Iowa State “upset” (mild as it may have been), No. 6 LSU, 59-54.
Finally, on Friday night in San Diego, No. 9 TCU pick up the program’s first NCAA tourney in 35 years by rocking No. 8 Seton Hall, 69-42.
The “advancing”, no doubt, becomes considerably tougher Saturday and Sunday for each of the 32 remaining teams concerned – including the Big 12 reps.
Saturday, Kansas appears to have the most “manageable” of roads to the Sweet 16 to navigate via a Creighton squad that not only had to stay a furious rally to overcome San Diego State (72-69) Thursday night but one that will be without is best player.
Seven-one sophomore Ryan Kalkbrenner suffered a knee injury late in the game with the Aztecs after collecting 16 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
But Baylor (vs. UNC, which beat down Marquette by 32 points Thursday) and its stout half-court defense and underrated offensive attack should be at least tested on Saturday.
Sunday, Texas Tech runs into a Notre Dame perimeter offense that is as fluid and efficient as any in the tournament while TCU faces a top seed in Arizona that is clicking on ally cylinders and is getting dominant post play from Christian Koloko.
And, even with its massive Madison fan base moved 80 miles east, the Wisconsin Badgers – who struggled to get past Colgate in the final game Friday night in Milwaukee – will face a considerable challenge to knock off an Iowa State team that has overachieved in T.J. Otzelberger’s first season as the program’s head coach.
The Cyclones were 2-22 and didn’t win a Big 12 game (zip for 18) in 2020-21.
Their record going into Sunday’s game with the Badgers: 21-12 (7-11 in the Big 12).
The “Frank’s Compelling-to-Watch” pecking order for Saturday games:
- Gonzaga vs. Memphis (Portland/West): The Tigers “NBA staff” of Head Coach Anfernee Hardaway, Rasheed Wallace and Larry Brown had 36 hours or so to come up with a plan to slow down the best offensive team in the sport.
- UCLA vs. Saint Mary’s (Portland/West): The respective runners-up to top seeds Arizona and Gonzaga in the Pac 12 and WCC; this is a matchup whose outcome seems destined to be “65-62”.
- Tennessee vs. Michigan (Indianapolis/South): The Volunteers’ SEC tourney dominance was impressive; putting the Wolverines away in comparable fashion could make them a favorite of many to win the regional title next week in San Antonio.
- Murray State vs. St. Peter’s (Indianapolis/East): The all-too-rare second-round matchup of teams from “non-power conferences”.
- Providence vs. Richmond (Buffalo/Midwest): One of the oh-so-cool things about the NCAA Tournament – Richmond needed to win four games in four days in the A-10 tournament to get into the Field of 68 as a 12 seed. Then the Spiders beat 5 seed and Big Ten tourney champion Iowa Thursday
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