Two unlikely teams fight for the Big 12 Championship on Saturday between Texas and Oklahoma State.
TV schedule: Saturday, March 13, 6:00 pm ET. ESPN
Arena: T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri
March has not shied away from any madness, even with a COVID-19 filled season. That took shape in the Big 12, especially in the Semi-Finals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Oklahoma State came into the tournament as one of the hottest teams, winning five of their last six. The Cowboys made their statement win on Friday, with an 83-74 win over No. 1 Baylor. The Cowboys got a Big 12 Player of the Year-esque performance from freshman Cade Cunningham.
He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists on 7-16 from the field. The Cowboys as a whole shot very well against a Baylor defense, that is clearly not the same.
Oklahoma State needed another big-time performance to complete the upset. They got that out of Avery Anderson, who shot 8-13 from the field. He grabbed five rebounds and finished with 20 points on the night. The team as a whole finished 47% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc.
Cade Cunninham is outstanding, but Avery Anderson is becoming an All-Big 12 player right in front of our eyes.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 13, 2021
Kid is a player. https://t.co/JaImAgZ3VH
Quite possibly the more impressive performance came on the defensive end. The Cowboys locked down the Bears perimeter, holding them to just six threes of their own, on 28 attempts in the game.
Oklahoma State is among the hottest teams in the country and rattling off back-to-back Top 15 teams only enhances that claim.
For Texas, they advanced to the Championship in a very unorthodox kind of way. After clipping Texas Tech in a brawl of a game, the Longhorns were given a pass, with Kansas withdrawing from the Tournament.
Breaking: Kansas has withdrawn from the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship, due to a positive COVID-19 test Friday morning. pic.twitter.com/9xvs5CTSJ4
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 12, 2021
The Jayhawks had a player receive a positive test and decided to not risk going forward with the tournament. Prior to the event, it was announced that David McCormack and Tristan Enaruna would both be out of the tournament, due to contact tracing.
Texas would play the least amount of games in tournament history for a team that reached the Big 12 Championship game. That might play a factor in the game, without playing on Friday.
The Cowboys and Longhorns split the season series, with the Cowboys getting the upper hand in the second game.
It was another impressive game from Cunningham, but it was Kalib Boone that had the career-high on February 6. He was able to get 22 points on 8-13 from the field and a staggering 15 rebounds.
In that game, Texas had their worst three-point shooting performance, missing 30 of their 35 attempts. It wasn’t just a one-time occurrence for Texas, as they shot just 33% in the first matchup in their 77-74 win on December 20.
Texas has to shoot much better from beyond the arc and find creative ways to get the trio of Andrew Jones, Matt Coleman, and Courtney Ramey open shots.
For Oklahoma State, they must have another great game from Kalib Boone. The Cowboys were able to score near at will at the rim against Baylor, because of the Bears’ lack of size. Texas does not have that problem, with 6-9 Greg Brown, 6-10 Jericho Sims, and three-point threat Kai Jones, who stands at 6-11.
This is expected to be a back and forth affair, with both teams having impact players, that will take over. However, one team is the hottest in the conference and has, arguably, the best player in the conference. I believe Oklahoma State gets the upper hand as the Cowboys hoist their third Big 12 Tournament Championship.