The SEC/Big 12 Challenge consumed a lion’s share of men’s college basketball airtime over the weekend. The games mostly remained without late drama, but still brought some surprising results.
In the marquee competitions, Kansas survived a tense atmosphere in Kentucky to score a three-game sled, and Tennessee delivered a top-five caliber performance on their home court in a wire-to-wire triumph against Texas.
Overall, the Big 12 won seven of the ten competitions in the series. But did the SEC’s findings actually mean – more? Yes, sorry, couldn’t resist.
Suffice it to say – there were encouraging signs for the two named winners. The way Kansas was able to keep Oscar Tshiebwe and the Wildcats off the offensive glass was a huge plus. The Volunteers, on the other hand, were able to play effective sets and shoot 55.6% against the Longhorns, which combined with their usual defensive ability will make them pretty impressive if they pull through.
We’ll be covering other encounters in this series, as well as the rest of the hardwood events across the country, in this week’s Winners and Losers.
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winner
The Big 12
As previously mentioned, the Big Dozen minus two claimed the overall series helped against the SEC by winning the two closest contests. Baylor and West Virginia each won three points at home against Arkansas and Auburn.
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Keyontae Johnson
The Kansas State forward had 13 points and 11 rebounds to help the Wildcats beat Florida. After that, he was able to enjoy a few moments with some former Gator teammates — more than two years after collapsing on the court while paying for Florida.
Missouri
In what was arguably the most important win of the Challenge, the Tigers defeated a top-flight Iowa squad, built a 10-point cushion at the break and never gave up the lead afterward. Mizzou improved to 16-5 overall and scored an important Quad 1 win that will help his prospects for Selection Sunday.
Purdue
After Zach Edey and the Boilermakers needed a last-second bucket to beat Michigan State for the first time, they were in no mood to leave the Spartans hanging around in Sunday’s rematch. Purdue was in control on his home court with a 77-61 win from start to finish as Edey scored 38 goals and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Creighton
The Bluejays continued their recent hot streak with a big win over Big East leader Xavier. Creighton retired late to earn a season split with the Musketeers and is now on a four-game run.
providence
Sunday’s 70-65 win over Villanova was less of a good win and more of avoiding a damaging defeat for the brothers. But with the “W” secured, Providence is keeping up with Xavier and Marquette on the Big East.
Indiana
After a rocky start in the Big Ten, the Hoosiers have racked up five straight wins. The last came on Saturday at the expense of Ohio State, now just one game over .500 and falling further and further from the NCAA bubble.
Pittsburgh
The Panthers, who finished in the losers division last week, made amends with a huge home win over Miami on Saturday. Pitt likely still has work to do to secure his dance card, but is now in a much stronger position heading into the second half of his ACC roster.
Aidan Mahaney
The Saint Mary’s Freshman Guard claims the honors of the Shot-of-the-Weekend. His fadeaway jumper with a second left handed the Gaels a 57-56 away win at BYU. The win kept Saint Mary’s unscathed in West Coast Conference play just a week before their first meeting with perennial league powerhouse Gonzaga.
Julian Strohther
Speaking of Zags, Strawther poured in 40 points, including eight Treys, as Gonzaga attended to Portland business. The junior’s high so far this season was 23 points against Xavier.
Hofstrasse
The Pride outlasted the College of Charleston 85-81 on the road to end the Cougars’ 20-game winning streak. The upset win puts Hofstra just a game behind Charleston in second place with Towson in the Colonial Athletic Association.
Florida Atlantic
With the loss of Charleston, the nation’s longest winning streak now rests in Boca Raton, where the Owls won their 20th straight game with a 70-63 decision over Western Kentucky on Saturday to climb comfortably atop the Conference USA standings stay.
loser
Alabama
Losing on the road is one thing. But the way the Crimson Tide of Oklahoma, which is certainly not in the upper league of the Big 12 this season, were evicted from the gym had to be quite annoying for coach Nate Oats and his staff, as the team is completely disinterested was to play defense . Ultimately, the damage to Alabama’s overall profile will be minimal, and if the team takes the lesson to heart that they can’t just count on their shots every time, the result could still prove useful.
Kentucky
Losing to a talented team like the Jayhawks is forgivable, but it was still a missed opportunity for the Wildcats, who have a few less-forgivable results on their ledger that will need to be overcome if they are to feel more comfortable on selection Sunday.
TCU
The only truly damaging result of the challenge from a Big 12 perspective was the Horned Frogs’ overtime loss in Mississippi state. The Bulldogs are still hovering around the top 60 in the NCAA NET rankings but have only one SEC win so far. TCU is by no means in trouble, but that result could cost the Frogs a spot or two down the seed line.
Wisconsin
The offensively challenged Badgers continued their downward trend in a 61-51 loss to Illinois on Saturday. It was Wisconsin’s third straight loss and sixth in their last seven games to drop them below .500 in the Big Ten standings.
guard forest
The Demon Deacons also dropped a third straight game on Saturday. That could prove particularly costly, as Wake squandered a 10-point lead at home in the second half to fall 79-77 to fellow bubble-dweller North Carolina State.
Virginia Commonwealth
Maintaining the top spot in the Atlantic 10 has been problematic this season. The Rams lost their share of the league lead thanks to Saturday’s home loss to St. Bonaventure. Saint Louis now sits alone at the top after their sixth consecutive conference win.
Nevada
The Wolf Pack had hoped to follow up Monday night’s thrilling overtime win over New Mexico with a rivalry win at UNLV. The Rebels had other ideas, however, and defeated the Reno Visitors 68-62 late Saturday.
