There is little question the Big 12 is one of the nation's premier basketball leagues this season. Some may even say it is THE premier league this go round. The ACC seems down a bit as does the Big 10 and Pac 10. The SEC has some strong teams led by Kentucky, but no league appears to be as deep in talent as the Big 12.
Of course, that doesn't mean a team from the league will ultimately win the NCAA title, but it does mean the odds are better.
On Saturday the league was at its best for fans. The nation's number two team, Kansas, had to go overtime to finally out point regional rival, 11th ranked Kansas State 81-79. Meanwhile in Austin the #6 Texas Longhorns couldn't hold off the scrappy 24th ranked Baylor Bears who prevailed in OT 80-77. That win quite likely was the biggest for coach Scott Drew and his Bears during his run at Baylor. It might have been the biggest win to date in program history.
Tweety Carter scored 27 points including 10-12 at the foul line. Baylor hit 21 of 27 free throws. That is where the game was won for Baylor and lost for Texas.
The Longhorns hit only 19 of 31 free throws. Star forward Damian James scored 20 points and added 19 rebounds BUT he was only 8-14 at the foul line. That was the difference.
AGGIES HAD BIG WIN TOO
While neither Texas Tech or Texas A&M are currently ranked nationally, both have been in the past and have solid records. Following the Aggies 85-70 win Saturday night in a Fox Sports regional network telecast which also aired world wide on the American Forces Network, the Red Raiders are 14-7 and the Aggies are 15-6.
Fans at Texas A&M are noticing, too. Nearly 5000 students--more than ten percent of the entire student body--were part of the record setting Aggie home crowd. 13,648 fans squeezed into Reed Arena. That is 1,148 fans over the listed seating capacity. They saw a dandy game with the right finish for the home team--a win.
The game was close throughout the first half. Texas Tech had led by as many as eight points, but the Aggies found an inside game led by David Lobeau and Bryan Davis to take over before the half.
In the second half the Aggies clamped down defensively and turned things over to Donald Sloan late. The final 15 point margin was very misleading. Until less than five minutes remained Texas Tech was still very much in contention. Then Sloan got rolling. He scored 20 of his game high 28 points in the second half. Texas A&M set a Big 12 league game record and tied a school record with only four turnovers. It was fundamentals that won it. Hitting free throws and not turning the ball over. Of course, grabbing 19 offensive rebounds didn't hurt either. Other than a lower shooting percentage than desired the Aggies played a nearly perfect game.
The Aggies are at Missouri on Saturday for their next game. Texas Tech hosts Oklahoma the same day.
Meanwhile the next telecast on FS-Houston and FS-SW that Jim Haller and I will be working will be back at Baylor on Wednesday February 3, when Iowa State tangles with those surging Baylor Bears, just off their win at Texas. Game time is set for 6:30. Check local listings. It should be another exciting night.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment