Fanhouse NCAA Basketball Blog - Texas-Tech-basketball

Kansas State Shoots for the Upset in Big 12 Opening Day

Michelle Smith — 2010-03-11T21:50:00 00:00

Filed under: Kansas State, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri, Women's Basketball

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kansas State shoots to play another day.

The ninth-seeded WIldcats set an early tone with three straight three-pointers to grab an 11-2 lead over No. 8 seed Texas Tech in the opening game of the Big 12 women's basketball tournament. Then they did something they've done all too infrequently this season -- they hung on.

Texas Tech cut the lead to two points in the final 3:38, but Kansas State stuck it out for a 59-51 upset victory and the chance to play another game at Municipal Auditorium.

Meanwhile, No. 5 seed Texas withstood an impressive upset bid by No. 12 seed Missouri and held on for a 64-59 win that marks the end of Cindy Stein's tenure as the Tigers' head coach after 12 years. Stein announced her resignation on March 1.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Kansas Tops Tech for Victory No. 2,000

Terrance Harris — 2010-03-11T15:50:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Kansas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Big 12 Tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - For more than a moment Thursday, No. 1 Kansas was reminded of their one-and-done exit from last year's Big 12 tournament.

This time it wasn't Baylor that kept hanging around. This time it was No. 9 seed Texas Tech that just wouldn't go away, coming up with big shot after big shot to stay within striking distance of the Jayhawks during the quarterfinal round. But in the end, the Big 12 regular season champion Jayhawks pulled out an 80-68 win over the Red Raiders to move onto Friday's semi-final round.

"Last year we took an early exit," recalled KU senior point guard Sherron Collins. "This year, we're trying to prevent that.

"We've already won the regular season so we know we've still got to stay motivated to win the tournament, as well. So we are trying not to have any slip ups."

But that is what the Jayhawks seemed on the verge of Thursday as they allowed Texas Tech to head into halftime trailing by just two points and they continued the trend during spells of the second half. Texas Tech point guard John Roberson cut the deficit to 65-63 with 5:55 remaining when he raced past lackadaisical KU defense on the way to a driving layup.

KU coach Bill Self at that point had seen enough and he pointed to Collins, who had been on the bench with four fouls as an upset lurked. Collins provided instant offense, nailing a 3-pointer and then providing the energy that pushed the lead back to double figures in the final minutes to avoid another early exit home.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Texas Tech's Defense Re-Buffs Colorado

Terrance Harris — 2010-03-10T16:45:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Texas Tech, Big 12, Big 12 Tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Texas Tech coach Pat Knight couldn't have asked for a better teaching point on the importance of good defense than the Red Raiders received Wednesday.

Fresh off a frustrating 101-90 loss to Colorado during Saturday's regular-season finale, the ninth seeded Red Raiders put the clamps down on that same Buffaloes team four days later to come out with an 82-67 win during the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament at the Sprint Center.

What a difference playing a little defense and four days can make.

"The first time we played them, we kind of got mixed up because they were running so many cuts and all that stuff," said Tech guard John Roberson, who led the way with 19 points, nine assists and three steals. "But this time, we were locked in defensively, we knew exactly what they were going to do and we followed the game."

The Raiders, who ended the regular season with seven straight losses, trailed eighth-seed Colorado by as many as 10 points early in the first half but stormed back to take a 35-31 lead into halftime after scoring several transition baskets off Buffalo turnovers.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Best in the Nation? Big 12 Thinks NCAA Field Will Prove Case

Terrance Harris — 2010-03-09T12:28:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri, NCAA Tournament

Over the next few days we can expect the debate about the nation's best conference to reach a feverish pitch.

Is it the Big East or the Big 12 that has been the best conference top to bottom? Which of the two power leagues deserves more teams in next week's NCAA tournament field? Which conference has the most realistic chance of pushing multiple teams through to the Final Four?

So many questions, still so much basketball to be played.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Steers Into the Skid: Longhorns Amid Historic Slump

Terrance Harris — 2010-03-02T14:00:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri, NCAA Tournament

For more than a month now, Texas has been a shell of the team that was ranked No.1 in the nation in early January.

The Longhorns fast plunge from grace landed them out of the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday, making them the fourth team ever to go from No. 1 in the nation to being unranked in the same season. They are the first team to hold the top spot and fall out of the rankings since Alabama in 2003.

Heading into Monday night's not-so-spectacular ESPN Big Monday matchup with Oklahoma (the Longhorns would win 87-76), Texas had lost seven of its last 12 games .The Longhorns, ranked No. 21 last week, dropped out of the AP Top 25 this week after losing Saturday 74-58 at Texas A&M.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Big 12 Notebook: Kansas State Contending for a No. 1 Seed

Terrance Harris — 2010-02-22T23:45:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri

The Kansas State Wildcats were maybe the biggest surprise team in the nation a couple months ago.

They are no longer surprising to anyone.

The sixth-ranked Wildcats, led by an experienced starting five that includes guards Denis Clemente (right) and Jacob Pullen, are good and perhaps worthy of elite status. So much so, Kansas State has a shooter's chance of possibly securing the Big 12's second No.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament along with No.1 Kansas depending on how the next few weeks finish out.

The Wildcats are No. 6 in the latest RPI estimate, but would need to be among the top four by the time Selection Sunday rolls around March 14. Third-year K-State coach Frank Martin, however, would prefer to stay in the moment which means focusing on Tuesday night's game at Texas Tech.

"We don't spend a lot of time thinking about it," Martin said during Monday's Big 12 Men's Basketball Media Teleconference. "But we've talked about it and we talk about that opportunity being the reason our next practice needs to be the biggest practice in our time we've had at K-State and our next game being the biggest game we've had at K-State.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Baylor's Udoh a Bear in the Paint

Terrance Harris — 2010-02-17T10:45:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri

Baylor power forward Ekpe Udoh has a simple warning for those who dare drive the basket or attempt to score in the paint against the Bears.

"When I get on that floor and if you come in that lane, I'm going to either alter your shot or I'm going to get it," the 6-foot-10 post player said to FanHouse recently.

Udoh, a transfer from Michigan, has certainly made good on promise this season as one of the most lethal shot blockers in college basketball. The junior set a new Baylor record this past Saturday when he recorded his 100th block shot of the season against the Missouri Tigers. He's also third on the Big 12 all-time single season list and needs just 10 more rejections to set the league mark, after rejecting nine shots during Tuesday night's 88-70 win over Texas Tech.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Big 12 Coaches Favor Idea of Expanding NCAA Tournament

Terrance Harris — 2010-02-11T22:05:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Coaches, Missouri, NCAA Tournament

In recent weeks, the talk of the NCAA Tournament field expanding beyond 65 teams has gained momentum.

From the sounds of it, many of the Big 12 coaches would be on board if college sports' most popular tournament grew to include more teams and more games.

"I think there is reason to talk about expansion because there has never been this many as there is now and the parity has never been better or at this level as it is now," said Kansas coach Bill Self. "So you obviously have more good players playing college basketball, you have more good teams which means more good players and you have more teams total, so I think there is reason to give it consideration."

But the question that seems to loom is, will more necessarily mean better? And if indeed the NCAA is going to consider expansion to include more of the 347 Division I men's basketball teams, how much is too much and exactly what is enough?

Some proposals on the team has the tournament expanding to 68 with four play-in games, there are others that have more than 100 teams getting involved. But the most popular expanded model has 96 teams and would all but absorb the NIT.

The idea is that with many of the mid-major conferences improving, expanding would allow for more inclusion. It would also allow the major conferences to jockey for more teams getting into the field. The Big 12, for instance, this year thinks it is worthy of having as many as eight teams get into next month's Tournament by virtue of the top to bottom strength of the league and its No.1 RPI ranking. More than likely the league will get a maximum of seven entries, which might leave out a team or two with impressive resumes.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Baylor a Team No One Wants to Face

Terrance Harris — 2010-02-04T14:10:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri

Once a doormat in the Big 12, Baylor has become the team this season every conference coach hates to see coming.

Just look at the Bears' work so far against the league's top three teams. They pushed the Kansas Jayhawks to the limit before succumbing to an 81-75 defeat at Allen Fieldhouse Jan. 20. Last Tuesday, they controlled 10th-ranked Kansas State much of the night before the Wildcats escaped with a 76-74 win.

Then, finally, this past Saturday, Baylor got one when point guard Tweety Carter and the Bears outlasted sixth-ranked Texas for an 80-77 victory in overtime on the road. Not only was it the highest-ranked road win in Baylor's history, but it also sent a resounding message that the program is a serious threat.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Texas Finds Life Difficult as No. 1 Team

Terrance Harris — 2010-01-25T21:22:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri

For the first time in school history, the Texas Longhorns had a chance to view college basketball from the top.

But the Longhorns quickly found out in two weeks just how difficult it is to stay there, which was evident by their stunning two-game losing skid last week that promptly bounced them from the No.1 ranking on Monday.

Texas, a team that looked on the brink of brilliance in back-to-back wins over North Carolina and Michigan State in December, resembled a team overwhelmed with expectations last week in road losses at Kansas State and UConn. The Longhorns couldn't find any offense in the 71-62 loss to the Wildcats and then came unglued defensively in the 88-74 defeat at the hands of UConn.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Big 12 Bracing for Best Season Yet

Terrance Harris — 2010-01-09T13:00:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri

It's about this time each season that leagues and their coaches begin touting their respective conference as "the best that it's ever been."

The natural inclination is to take the wait and see approach.

But when the Big 12 begins thumping their chest as league play gets underway Saturday, there may be something to their claim. The numbers certainly seem telling.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Calipari Takes High Road Responding to Knight

Michael David Smith — 2009-12-19T11:06:00 00:00

by Michael David Smith

Filed under: Indiana, Kentucky, Memphis, Texas Tech, UMass, Coaches

If I were John Calipari, and I had just been on the receiving end of a bitter blast from Bob Knight questioning my integrity, I'd probably reply with something along the lines of, "I don't need any lectures about integrity from a man who physically abused his players."

John Calipari is a bigger man than I am.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Big 12 Forces Its Way Into Nation's Elite

Terrance Harris — 2009-11-05T08:00:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri

It seems like every year the usual suspects are lined up as contenders for the best basketball conference in the country.

Big East. ACC. Pac-10. Big Ten.

But the Big 12 never seems to get much love, despite some impressive numbers that suggest the newest of the major conferences deserve to be part of the conversation. No conference has advanced more teams to Elite Eight (13) and Final Four (six) since 2002. The Kansas Jayhawks even cut down the nets in 2008.

More Previews: ACC | SEC | Big 10 | Big 12 | Pac-10

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Kansas Is Pick to Win Big 12

Terrance Harris — 2009-10-14T16:18:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri

The Kansas Jayhawks are the No.1 choice almost every preseason basketball publication, now they are also the unanimous pick to win the Big 12 championship by the league coaches, according to the poll released Wednesday.

The Jayhawks, who return all five starters and pretty much all of their scoring from a season ago, received all 11 possible first-place votes by the Big 12 coaches (head coaches can not vote for their own team). In addition to the retuning starters, which include All-Big 12 First Team selections Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, Kansas also brings aboard one of the top recruiting classes in the nation.Collins and Aldrich have also been selected the preseason co-Players of the Year.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Big 12 Hoops Coaches Say League Will Be Best Next Season

Terrance Harris — 2009-06-17T12:58:00 00:00

by Terrance Harris

Filed under: Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Missouri

The debate about which conference is the best basketball league usually heats up in December.

But the Big 12 coaches set fire to the debate early by staking claim as the best basketball conference Tuesday, some five months before the 2009-10 season begins. So the Big East, ACC, Pac-10 and SEC will have to just lineup for second best.

"I do think it's going to be the best with what we have retuning and the things that we've done in the last few years," Texas A&M coach Mark Turgeon said during the Big 12 summer teleconference call Tuesday. "I've talked to some so-called experts out there and they think we are going to be the best league, too.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Blake Griffin Cleared to Play Saturday

Will Brinson — 2009-02-28T15:40:00 00:00

by Will Brinson

Filed under: Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Coaches, Injuries, Media Watch

Blake Griffin has missed his team's last two games due to a concussion suffered against Texas, both of which were Oklahoma losses.

Needless to say, he's the most important part of one of the better teams in the nation.

Fortunately for the Sooners, Griffin has been cleared to play again, and will likely return against the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Saturday.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Blake Griffin Returns to Practice, While Forward Juan Pattillo Gets Suspended

Will Brinson — 2009-02-26T22:45:00 00:00

by Will Brinson

Filed under: Oklahoma, Texas, Texas Tech, Big 12, Coaches, Injuries

It's a win some, lose some kind of day for Oklahoma. On the downside, the Sooners suspended forward Juan Pattillo for Saturday's game against Texas Tech, further weakening an already depleted frontcourt.

But on the upside, that might be Oklahoma's temporarily depleted frontcourt.

While the Sooners were announcing news of Pattillo's suspension for violating an unspecified team rule, according to the Oklahoman, player of the year candidate Blake Griffin was doing something he hadn't done in almost a week -- playing basketball.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Pat Knight Suspended for 1 Game

Matt Snyder — 2009-02-23T14:20:00 00:00

by Matt Snyder

Filed under: Texas Tech, Big 12, Coaches

Note to Pat Knight: When you have the pedigree your father did, temper tantrums are endearing -- even lovable -- to some of your team's fans. When you are 2-10 in Big 12 play, however, tantrums are just annoying. They come off as childish gum-flapping.

Earlier this month, Knight had a nice little on-court tirade, and he followed it up this past Saturday with a technical foul and officiating complaints. He has now received a one-game suspension for said complaints. Apparently, though, he doesn't mind. He said as much after the game in his press conference.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Pat Knight Is Just Like His Father (Video)

Will Brinson — 2009-02-01T13:30:00 00:00

by Will Brinson

Filed under: Texas Tech, Big 12, Coaches, Video

Bob Knight is famous for his expletive-laced tirades and out-of-control behavior towards referees. And, judging by his son, Pat Knight's, reaction to some bad news on the court, they're not too terribly different.

Via FanIQ

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Pat Knight Gets 12-Year-Old Boy to Tell His Players How to Make Layups

Shiloh Carder — 2009-01-03T01:02:00 00:00

by Shiloh Carder

Filed under: Texas Tech, Big 12, Coaches, Fans

We knew that Bobby Knight was good for some interesting motivational tactics during his coaching career. Apparently his son can do the same.

Pat Knight, who replaced his dad at Texas Tech, used a 12-year-old boy to help make a point to his basketball team.

Texas Tech was struggling to make layups against Stephen F. Austin to other night. So during a timeout, Knight looked in the crowd and welcomed a 12-year-old fan to join his team's huddle.

Knight asked the boy whether he could make layups. The boy said he could.

"I was just tired of having 18- or 21-year-olds miss layups that a 12-year-old could hit, so I brought a 12-year-old in to let them know that he could hit layups," Knight said. "He's 12 and he can hit layups, so why can't you when you're 18 to 21?"

The tactic seemed to work. Tech would start hitting their layups and pulled out a 69-55 win over SFA.

No word on if Kentucky's Billy Gillispie has offered the young man a scholarship.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments