Big 12 Tournament Opening Night: The Good, Bad & Ugly
Posted by Greg Mitchell on March 12th, 2015Big 12 Tournament action got underway on Wednesday night in Kansas City. The first day’s games aren’t always very glamorous, but there were some notable things on the line in last night’s slate of games. For example, Texas entered the tournament trying to hang onto an NCAA Tournament at-large bid by its fingertips; Kansas State was looking for a miracle run to salvage a disappointing season; and TCU was within shouting distance of an NIT bid. Texas Tech was, well, simply trying to build some momentum while playing out the string. Here is the good, bad and ugly from Wednesday’s two games of action at the Sprint Center, which included TCU knocking off Kansas State, 67-65, and Texas handling Texas Tech, 65-53.
Trent Johnson and TCU picked up their first Big 12 Tournament win by beating Kansas State (rantsports.com).
The Good. TCU’s Big 12 prospects. The Horned Frogs’ first Big 12 Tournament win shouldn’t be overlooked. As Brian Goodman noted in the most recent microsite power rankings, this was the year that TCU became a conference team worth respecting and last night’s win over the Wildcats was an extension of that sentiment. The unlikely hero was sophomore forward Chris Washburn, who had what Trent Johnson described as his best game of the season with 16 points and eight rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting. TCU will now face Kansas and the Jayhawks, at least in one way, could be a good matchup for the Horned Frogs. A frontcourt with a banged-up Perry Ellis and Cliff Alexander out until further notice will allow Washburn an opportunity to build on his big game. On the other hand, Johnson added that Washburn experienced “happy hands and happy feet” as Wednesday night’s game tightened up, so you wonder if nerves will be a problem in front of what will certainly be a sea of Jayhawks’ faithful.
The Bad. Texas’ offensive execution in the first half. Tubby Smith clearly did not want to get burned by the Longhorns’ significant size advantage last night, so he double-teamed many of Texas’ early post touches. This led to some open looks from three, but the Longhorns fell in love with it — going 3-of-13 from deep in the first half and shooting 37.9 percent overall. Texas reversed course in the second half by going after the Red Raiders in the paint, getting 12 points out of Cameron Ridley and taking only six threes the rest of the way. For Texas, a win over Texas Tech was all about avoiding a damaging loss, but a win over Iowa State today could serve to lock up an at-large bid. Keeping Ridley hot would go a long way toward making that happen, as the big junior scored just a combined six points on eight attempts in the Longhorns’ two losses to the Cyclones this year. Although Jameel McKay is a great shot-blocker, Iowa State does not have a post defender who can legitimately match up with Ridley’s 6’9″, 285-pound size. If he continues his newfound assertiveness against the Cyclones and his teammates avoid the three-pointer trap, Texas could be poised to give the Cyclones some trouble. A few cheap fouls on Georges Niang wouldn’t hurt their cause either.
After a sluggish first half, Texas got the ball to its big man Cameron Ridley and good things started to happen. (AP/Charlie Riedel)
The Ugly. TCU’s 19-game losing streak to finish the 2013-14 season. And frankly, TCU’s entire 9-22 (0-18) campaign a year ago. A year can make a big difference, though, and the Horned Frogs made a very nice step toward Big 12 respectability this season. TCU snuck into the rankings after a 13-0 non-conference run (which included a better-than-it-looked-at-the-time win over Ole Miss) and nabbed a win over a then-ranked Oklahoma State team. These are undeniably good things that signal excellent progress with Trent Johnson’s program. The other consideration is that a postseason bid might also be in play for TCU this year. The Horned Frogs appear to be on the NIT bubble and yesterday’s win should push them closer to that field. A win over the Jayhawks today would lock it down, but even a third competitive game against Bill Self’s club could do enough to impress.
