Big Upsets in Big 12 Basketball

February 3rd was Upset Saturday in the Big 12, with several Top 25 teams in action.

The #4 Houston Cougars headed up north to Lawrence, Kansas to take on the #8 Kansas Jayhawks. The Cougars had allowed just 52.9 points per game going into this one, which was the nation’s best scoring defense. But Allen Fieldhouse is a tough venue for road teams—the Jayhawks came into the game 12-0 at home—and remained undefeated after this one. Hunter Dickenson scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Jayhawks to a 78-65 victory. It was the most points allowed by the Cougars this season. Houston is now 19-3, while Kansas is 18-4, overall. They are tied for first place at 6-3 in Big 12 conference games.

In Waco, Texas, the #18 Baylor Bears hosted the #12 Iowa State Cyclones. This one came down to the wire and was decided by Baylor’s Jayden Nunn putting in a layup with two seconds left to give the Bears a 70-68 victory. Even at that, it looked like Iowa State would pull it out as Milan Momcilovic fired in a three pointer, but upon review, the shot came after time had expired. Baylor and Iowa State are both 5-3 in conference play and 16-5 overall.

Still in Texas, in this case Lubbock, the #16 Texas Tech Red Raiders hosted the unranked Cincinnati Bearcats. This game had 14 lead changes, but the one that mattered the most was at the end, and it belonged to Cincinnati as the Bearcats won 75-72. Simas Lukosius led Cincinnati with 16 points, while Texas Tech’s Pop Isaacs led the Red Raiders with 22. Texas Tech is tied with Iowa State and Baylor at 5-3 in conference games and 16-5 overall. Cincinnati is 4-5 in the Big 12 and 15-7 in all games.

In Orlando, Florida, the Central Florida Knights hosted #23 Oklahoma. This one was all Central Florida, as the Knights led by as much as 17 on the way to a 74-63 win over the Sooners. Jaylen Sellers led the Knights with 20 points. Central Florida improved to 4-5 in the Big 12 and 13-8 overall, while Oklahoma dipped to 4-5 in conference play and 16-6 overall. The Sooners have lost 3 of their last four and five of their last eight after starting the season 13-1.

Back in Fort Worth, Texas, #25 TCU hosted unranked Texas. The Longhorns were in game five of a six game stretch against Top 25 opponents, and were 2-2 in those first four games. Max Abmas scored 21 points—19 in the second half—to lead Texas to a 77-66 victory. Dillon Mitchell had a double double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Longhorns. TCU is now 5-4 in conference play and 16-6 overall, while Texas is 4-5 in the Big 12 and 15-7 overall.