Big 12 tournament tracker: Follow one of nation’s top college hoops events here
The 27th Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship tournament tipped off at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday with No. 12 seed UCF meeting No. 13 Oklahoma State.
The winner will meet fifth-seeded BYU on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m That explained the number of blue-shirted Cougars fans in the stands for the opener.
The tournament started 28 years ago, but the 2020 event was canceled after the first night of action because of the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic.
Some quick facts about the Big 12 event:
- Most championships: Kansas, 12.
- Most finals appearances: Kansas, 16.
- Most finals losses: Texas 6. But the Longhorns have won two of the last three championships.
- Two-time MVPs: Paul Pierce, Kansas (1997-98); Oklahoma’s Hollis Price (2002-03).
- Championship sites by city: Kansas City 22, Dallas 3, Oklahoma City 2.
The tournament is scheduled to take place in Kansas City through 2027.
UCF wins in debut in Kansas City
UCF ran away in the second half and pounded Oklahoma State 77-62 in the opening game. The Knights shot a sizzling 50% on 3s (9-for-18).
Ibrahima Diallo, UCF’s 7-footer, finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Knights (17-14), the No. 12 seed, advance to the second round and meet fifth-seeded BYU on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m. Both teams are in the Big 12 for the first year.
Oklahoma State trailed by four at halftime and fell behind by 27 in the second half. The Cowboys’ season ends with a 12-20 record, the most losses since 2019.
Next: No. 11 seed Cincinnati (18-13) meets No. 14 seed West Virginia (9-22). The game is scheduled to tip around 2 p.m.
Up next for Mike Boynton?
Will Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton return for an eighth season in Stillwater?
After the loss to UCF in the opening round that ended the Cowboys’ season with a 12-20 record, he sounded like a coach who expects to be back.
“There are a lot of things we need to address,” Boynton said. “I’ll have a chance to get back and evaluate it all.”
Oklahoma State brass has the same task when it comes to Boynton. His overall record at the school fell to 119-109. There have been four winning, one break-even and two losing seasons.
His teams have made three postseasons appearances. The 2021 Cowboys, led by future No. 1 draft pick Cade Cunningham, reached the NCAA second round in 2021. One of his teams served a postseason ban. COVID-19 ended another season.
A buyout, if Boynton is fired on April 1 or later, would cost the school about $6.5 million.
Technical knockout for Cincy vs. West Virginia
Something about Cincinnati brings out the mouthy in West Virginia.
The teams met in the regular-season finale last Saturday at Cincinnati with the Mountaineers collecting two technical fouls.
In Tuesday’s Big 12 Championship opening round game, West Virginia raised the technical fouls by one.
Those three technicals in the second half came over a four-minute stretch and just as the Mountaineers had opened a 16-point lead with 11:45 remaining.
Cincinnati’s Simas Lukosius made all six free throws on his way to a career-high 31 points as the Bearcats prevailed 90-85.
“It came down to discipline and their parade to the free-throw line,” West Virginia Coach Josh Eilert said. “We had the momentum, and that just killed it.”
And ended the Mountaineers’ season at 9-23, the most losses in West Virginia’s 115 seasons.
Wednesday’s Big 12 Tournament schedule
Here’s the lineup for Wednesday:
11:30 a.m. No. 5 BYU vs. No. 12 UCF (ESPN2)
2 p.m. No. 8 TCU vs. No. 9 Oklahoma (ESPN+)
6 p.m. No. 7 Texas vs. No. 10 Kansas State (ESPN+)
8:30 p.m. No. 6 Kansas vs. No. 11 Cincinnati (ESPN2)
This story was originally published March 12, 2024 at 12:13 PM.