On Thursday and Friday, the Big 12 and SEC got together and played 5 different games in a little event called “The Big 12 – SEC Challenge”. Here are the results:
LSU beat (16) West Virginia 74 to 73
(20) Iowa State�beat (18) Arkansas 95 to 77
(1) Kentucky beat (6) Texas 63 to 51
(11) Kansas beat Florida 71 to 65
Oklahoma beat Missouri 82 to 63
Challenge Facts
- Big 12 scored 372 points and the SEC scores 342
- Big 12 won the challenge 3 to 2
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The nail biter was the LSU / WVU game
Brief Recaps of the Five Games
LSU beats (16) West Virginia 74 to 73: WVU took a five point lead into the locker room at halftime. In the second half, they extended the lead to 14. It looked like WVU was going to extend the unbeaten streak to eight. The win would have given the Mountaineers a chance to make a run for their best season start since the 2009-10 season when they made the run to the Final Four.
Josh Gray did not have a fantastic game. He only finished with 7 points and 7 assists. He also had 8 turnovers. However, he hit the game winning lay-up with 7 seconds remaining in the game. The players that stood out for LSU were Tim Quaterman (21 points and 7 rebounds) and Jarrell Martin (18 points and 14 rebounds).
WVU struggled from the field, only shooting 34%. Their leading scorer, Juwan Staten (17 points), contributed to many of the team misses. He was 6 of 19 from the field. Staten, a guard, needs to follow through on his misses. He had 0 rebounds the whole game. With all those misses, he should be able to grab a few rebounds. Speaking of rebounds, WVU was led in rebounds from Jonathan Holton, who had 11 rebounds, but he also contributed to a bad night from the field (2 for 10). The main problem for WVU in the game was their lack of teamwork. They finished the night with only 11 assists.
(20) Iowa State beats (18) Arkansas 95 to 77: Georges Niang led Iowa State in a dominating performances over #18 Arkansas. He scored 26 points (9-12 from the floor and 6-6 from the free throw lines) , 8 assists and 6 rebounds. Niang was not the only one for the Cyclones who had an outstanding game. Bryce Dejean-Jones had 27 points and 6 rebounds. Dejean-Jones shot the lights out. He was 8 for 8 from the field including 4 for 4 from the 3-point arch. He was also efficient from the free-throw line hitting 7 of 8.
Arkansas did get blown out. However, there were many bright spots for them. As a team, they shot the ball for 48% from the field which is not a bad night. They had four players in double figures in points. They were led by sophomore Bobby Portis. He scored 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting from the floor. The Razorbacks also out-rebounded the Cyclones and they also had more assists than them.
The difference in the game was the shooting for the Cyclones. They shot an impressive 64% and they also outscored the Razorbacks by 20 in the paint.
(1) Kentucky beats (6) Texas 63 to 51: The�Wildcats were able to beat the Longhorns by 12 points. It was a physical game and both teams played well, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The star of the game was Wildcats’�Willie Cauley-Stein.
Willie play an unbelievable 33 minutes for the Wildcats. For those following the Cats and watching their platoon system, this is large. With those minutes, he produced. He scored 21 points and brought in 12 rebounds. In addition to the points and rebounds, he had 5 steals and 3 blocks.
The Wildcats still have a few areas of concern. In this game, they shot a measly 1 of 12 from the 3-point line and struggled again from the free throw line, shooting only 20 of 32 (62%).
Longhorns only had two players in double figures. Jonathan Holmes was the scoring leader for them with 14 points. He struggled from the floor though and could not get into a rhythm. He was 4 of 13 from the floor, only making 1 of his 6 3-point attempts.
(11) Kansas beats Florida 71 to 65: This game could be named: “The Tale of Two Halves”. The Jayhawks played bad in the first half and then they played lights out in the second. They were tailing by 15 at the half (39-24). In the first half, they had more turnovers than field goals. However, they were able to overcome it. They turned the burners on in the second half, which included a 17-0 run. The run finished 25-4 which was the deciding factor of the game.
Wayne Selden Jr can score but can he do anything else? Maybe it does not matter to many. In the game against Florida, he scored 21 points, with 1 assist and 0 rebounds. This came off of an early 5 point performance on Sunday when he was 0 – 10 from the floor.
Florida played a well balance game but they could not keep up with the speed of Kansas. They did play the game without one of their leaders, Eli Carter. With Eli out, there were many Gators who played well and together. They had 4 players in double figures, with all of them scoring close to one another. Also, 75% of the Gators’ field goals came off of assists. Even though, they are 3-4 this season, the Gators have the ability to win games and make teams sweat and worry when they match up on the court.
Oklahoma beats Missouri 82 to 63: Oklahoma has stepped up their game and they are playing well on both sides of the court. When Oklahoma plays well on both sides, they are difficult to beat. Isaiah Cousins played extremely hard on defense and fired his team up.
Buddy Hield, Isaiah Cousins, and Ryan Spangler led the Sooners in scoring. They had 17, 16, and 18 points respectfully. The three were 19 of 28 from the floor. They played an excellent game and are looking good after a month of playing ball.
Missouri played well in the first half, but the beginning of the 2nd half was their downfall. The Sooners came out on a 15-0 run and they never looked back and the Tigers could not catch up. Johnathan Williams III was one of the stars for the Tigers, leading them with 16 points and eight rebounds.
“The Challenge” showed that there is much talent in both conferences and if you want to watch some hoops, give a glance to both the Big 12 and the SEC and it does not necessarily have to be the top teams in each.
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