No. 2 Baylor (16-0, 8-0 Big 12) vs No. 6 Texas (11-3, 5-2 Big 12)
Tuesday night was just another opportunity for Baylor to prove they are the team to beat.
From start to finish, the Bears did not let up on both sides of the floor. Baylor was almost 60 percent shooting from the field, 52 percent from the three, with a total of 10 steals and 21 defensive rebounds. Davion Mitchell led the Bears with 27 points and five 3-pointers. Texas held its own with Andrew Jones putting up a career-high 25 points, but Baylor eventually showed its` dominance in the last 10 minutes of the game and continued its undefeated season by a final score of 83-69.
No. 7 Ohio State (15-4, 9-4 Big 10) vs No. 8 Iowa (13-5, 7-4 Big 10)
It was surely a close one, but Ohio State found a way to stop Iowa’s runs and not let up.
The main priority for the Buckeyes was to contain the nation’s leading scorer Luka Garza—averaging 26.5 points per game. They did just that, holding him to only 16.
While the Buckeyes did get stuck offensively in the second half and were down by 11, they quickly found their rhythm once again and came back to win 89-85. Ohio State showed balance, with Duane Washington Jr., E.J. Liddell and Kyle Young all scoring 16 points. For Iowa, Jack Nunge and Jordan Bohannon were the leaders, each scoring 18. Holding Iowa to only one field goal in the last four minutes, the Buckeyes proved their toughness and ability to dominate on both ends of the court against one of the best teams in the nation.
No. 23 Kansas (12-7, 6-5 Big 12) vs No. 17 West Virginia (13-5, 6-3 Big 12)
It was certainly a guard’s game Saturday night in Morgantown.
West Virginia’s Miles McBride and Taz Sherman both scored career-highs of 29 and 25 points, leading the Mountaineers to a 91-79 win over Kansas. While the Jayhawks tied it up after halftime, West Virginia never trailed and kept the game going in its favor, with great shooting and ball movement. Since this is its fifth loss in the past seven games, Kansas they will need to improve their percentages and stop guards from running the show in order to secure a solid seed for the NCAA Tournament.
Jessica Galvin can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @jessgalvin1.