Big 12 Weekend Hoops Roundup

Associated Press

Oklahoma State 84, Oklahoma 79

STILLWATER, Okla. — Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford can’t remember ever being more down on his team than after a loss in the Bedlam rivalry game last month.

He’s got every reason to feel great about the 17th-ranked Cowboys now.

Marcus Smart scored 28 points, Le’Bryan Nash added a season-high 26 and Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma 84-79 in overtime Saturday to win its seventh straight game.

“We don’t do it pretty all the time and we’ve won in a lot of different ways,” Ford said.

“We’ve won close ones where we’ve played good offense, we’ve won games when we’ve played good defense, we’ve won when we played great on both ends. Today falls in the category of just playing with a lot of heart.”

It was the third straight down-to-the-wire win at home for the Cowboys (19-5, 9-3 Big 12), who won by two points in each of their previous two games at Gallagher-Iba Arena. It was the second consecutive home game to go to overtime.

“They’re making me grayer and grayer by the day,” Ford said, “but very proud of them.”

Smart fed Nash for a right-handed slam with 53 seconds left in overtime to put the Cowboys up 80-79, and Oklahoma couldn’t come up with an answer. Markel Brown’s steal led to a fast-break layup by Michael Cobbins, and Smart blocked Steven Pledger’s attempt at a tying 3-pointer to give Oklahoma State the ball back with 18 seconds to go.

Smart sealed it with two free throws, and Cowboys fans stormed the court in celebration.

“This rivalry is very big and it’s been going for years. It definitely felt like a classic game, and we’re just glad that we could come out with the victory,” Smart said.

Romero Osby had 18 points and 15 rebounds, Sam Grooms chipped in a career-best 18 points while handling Oklahoma State’s full-court pressure and Pledger also scored 18 for the Sooners (16-8, 7-5).

The Cowboys came into the game in a three-way tie for first place in the Big 12 with No. 10 Kansas State and No. 14 Kansas. Oklahoma had been just a game back, and the anticipation of the game attracted the first Bedlam sellout in Stillwater in five years.

Kansas 73, Texas 47

LAWRENCE, Kan. — It couldn’t have been a more festive night at Allen Fieldhouse.

Kansas center Jeff Withey became the Big 12′s career leader in blocked shots. Mario Chalmers had his jersey raised to the rafters at halftime. More than a dozen former players made their way back to the old barn, and even the coach’s son, Tyler Self, got into the scoring column.

It didn’t end there: Ben McLemore threw down a jaw-dropping 360 dunk in the closing minutes, and the No. 14 Jayhawks put together a stifling defensive effort in a 73-47 rout of Texas that kept the eight-time defending conference champions tied for first place in the Big 12.

“There’s not a team in America that has fun every time they go play, at the same level, the same consistent level,” said Self, whose team rebounded from a three-game losing streak by blowing out No. 10 Kansas State on Monday night and then thrashing the struggling Longhorns.

“We were duds there for three games,” Self said, “but I think we’ve got our personality back.”

The Jayhawks got some help from some famous alumni.

Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor, who keyed their run to last year’s national title game, have been in touch with the team. So have other players, including Chalmers, who returned to have his No. 15 jersey hoisted up among names such as Wilt Chamberlain and Paul Pierce.

“It’s definitely good to have them back, our old teammates and stuff,” said Withey, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds against the Longhorns. “It’s fun to perform for those guys.”

Withey’s block in the second half gave him 265 for his career, moving past former Texas star Chris Mihm for the Big 12 record. The reigning Big 12 defensive player of the year even had four steals while making life miserable for the young, undersized Longhorns.

West Virginia 66, Texas Tech 64

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Deniz Kilicli scored a career-high 25 points as West Virginia held off a formidable comeback by Texas Tech for a 66-64 victory Saturday.

A potential game-winning shot by the Red Raiders’ Josh Gray hit the front of the rim at the buzzer.

Gray’s shot came from about 23 feet out after he took the ball inbounds from a teammate three-quarters of the court away.

The Mountaineers (13-12, 6-6 Big 12 Conference) were comfortably ahead 61-53 with 3:19 left, but Texas Tech (9-14, 2-10) made three 3-point shots in a span of 2:45 in an attempt to snap what is now a six-game losing streak.

Kilicli’s point total surpassed his 22-point effort against Providence on Feb. 5, 2012. He was 9 of 11 from the floor after shooting at 50 percent over his previous four games.

Eron Harris had 15 points for West Virginia. It was his ninth double-figures effort since being inserted into the starting lineup by coach Bob Huggins 10 games ago.

Texas Tech had four players in double figures. Sixth-man Jaye Crockett had a double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) before fouling out. Dusty Hannahs, who was 4 of 8 behind the 3-point stripe, had 12 points, Jamal Williams 11 and Jordan Tolbert 10.

Dejan Kravic and Tolbert also fouled out for the Red Raiders.

It was the third sweep of a Big 12 team in West Virginia’s inaugural season after coming over from the Big East. Earlier, the Mountaineers had knocked off Texas and TCU twice. West Virginia’s six victories have come against the bottom three teams in the 10-team league.

Kansas State 81, Baylor 61

MANHATTAN, Kan. — A pair of double-doubles and four players scoring in double digits made for a good night at Kansas State.

Angel Rodriguez had 22 points and 10 assists and Shane Southwell added 18 points on six 3-pointers to lead the No. 10 Wildcats to an 81-61 win over Baylor on Saturday night.

Jordan Henriquez added 10 points and 10 rebounds and Rodney McGruder also scored 10 for Kansas State, which tied a season low with only six turnovers and a season high with 11 3s. Southwell finished 6 of 9 from beyond the arc.

The game remained fairly close in the first half, but the Wildcats (20-5, 9-3 Big 12) took control in the second, outscoring the Bears 43-32 after the break.

“It was obviously a good win against a very good team,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said. “We talk a lot about 40 minutes, and against them it’s something that you have to play because … they have a lot of weapons.”

The Wildcats neutralized the Bears by forcing 19 turnovers.

“We talked about making them accountable on defense, and we did that,” Weber said.

“We made them turn it over.”

A.J. Walton led Baylor (16-9, 7-5) with 14 points and Isaiah Austin added 13.

Bears coach Scott Drew called a timeout less than two minutes into the second half after the Wildcats bolted out of the break with three straight baskets. Henriquez drew a foul and converted on a free throw, Rodriguez finished a fast break layup, and Henriquez scored in the paint.

Baylor’s Brady Heslip turned the ball over right after the timeout, but he quickly redeemed himself with a pair of 3s. After Rico Gathers scored and Pierre Jackson hit a 3 of his own, Baylor trailed 43-41 with 12:51 remaining.

Before the Bears could creep any closer, Rodriguez drilled a 3, his third of the game from beyond the arc. After Walton scored, Southwell hit a 3 that ignited a 13-2 run by the Wildcats.

Iowa St. 87, TCU 53

AMES, Iowa — Freshman Georges Niang scored a career-high 19 points and Iowa State rolled past TCU 87-53 on Saturday for its 21st straight home win.

Will Clyburn added 16 points and Tyrus McGee had 15 for the Cyclones (17-8, 7-5 Big 12), who remained the only team in the conference with a perfect home record at 14-0.

Iowa State never trailed in blowing past the Horned Frogs, the only team the Cyclones have swept in the Big 12 so far. Iowa State led by 15 at halftime and jumped ahead by as much as 76-48 late in the second half.

Kyan Anderson had 11 points to lead TCU (10-15, 1-11), which has lost three straight since stunning Kansas on Feb. 6.