The Big 12 vs SEC Challenge wrapped up the seventh annual meeting on Saturday. The conferences split this year winning five games each. It is the second time the series has tied and is now led 4-1-2 by the Big 12 with two ties.
There were several high profile games as well as one overtime thriller. We’ll take a look at each result from Saturday’s challenge.
Missouri: 51, West Virginia: 74
Big 12: 1, SEC: 0
The first matchup of the challenge featured the Mountaineers putting away the Tigers seemingly with ease. Missouri never led in the game but managed to keep it close until a six-minute scoring drought in the beginning of the second half.
West Virginia jumped out to a 20-6 lead but Missouri was able to close the final eight minutes of the first half on a 17-4 run to be down just one at half. West Virginia proved too much in the end though and handled the Tigers easily to close out the game.
Missouri got an outstanding performance off the bench from guard Torrence Watson who led the Tigers with 19 points. West Virginia was led with 15 points by Jermaine Haley.
Iowa State: 76, No.16 Auburn: 80
Big 12: 1, SEC: 1
Iowa State jumped out to a 6-3 lead early in the game before Auburn took a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for the rest of the afternoon. Rasir Bolton for Iowa State led all scorers with 23 points.
Auburn held on to a comfortable lead for most of the game, leading by as many as 17 points at one point. The Cyclones were able to make a late run at the end of the game but came up short. Isaac Okoro led the Tigers with 19 points.
LSU: 69, Texas: 67
Big 12: 1, SEC: 2
LSU once again found themselves in the midst of another close game in their matchup in Austin, Texas. The Tigers led for most of the game but a late run by Texas nearly stole a victory for the Longhorns. LSU has now won their last six games by four points or less.
Texas was able to take their first lead since early in the first half at the 4:18 mark 60-58. LSU took advantage of sloppy turnovers by Texas and converted at the free-throw line to secure the win.
LSU freshman Trendon Watford led all scorers with 22 points to go along with six rebounds. Texas got 20 points off the bench from Andrew Jones who lit it up from the 3-point line.
Mississippi State: 62, Oklahoma: 63
Big 12: 2, SEC: 2
Oklahoma got all they could handle from a scrappy Mississippi State squad. The Sooners led for the entire game until a layup from D.J. Stewart Jr. gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game with 4:15 to go.
The Bulldogs used their outstanding rebounding to stay in the game, outrebounding Oklahoma 43-33. They had a chance to take the lead at the buzzer but Robert Woodard II’s jumper would rim out as the clock expired to give Oklahoma the win. Woodward led the Bulldogs with 15 points.
Brady Manek for Oklahoma led all scorers with 18 points. He was a problem for Mississippi State inside all afternoon with six rebounds and two blocks.
Tennessee: 68, No.3 Kansas: 74
Big 12: 3, SEC: 2
Kansas faced a Tennessee club that absolutely would refuse to be put away. The Volunteers led briefly in the first half and made several runs in the second half to challenge the Jayhawks.
Tennessee struggled with turnovers committing 15, as well as struggled to get to the free-throw line. Kansas shot more than twice as many free throws with 33 attempts to Tennessee’s 16.
Tennessee was helped by Yves Pons who kept them in the game with his game leading 24 points. The Vols got no help from the bench however which gave them just one point. Devon Dotson exceeded his 18.2 points per game scoring 22 to lead the Jayhawks.
Oklahoma State: 73, Texas A&M: 62
Big 12: 4, SEC: 2
Oklahoma State traveled to College Station to take on the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies controlled the lead early but Oklahoma State would take a 20-19 lead with 10:25 to go and never look back. The Cowboys led by as many as 21 before taking care of business with the 11 point win.
Oklahoma State had five players in double figures with Isaac Likekele leading the way with 13. Freshman forward Emanuel Miller was the star for the Aggies scoring 11 points to go along with six rebounds.
TCU: 67, Arkansas: 78
Big 12: 4, SEC: 3
TCU faced a tough match in the Razorbacks. Jamie Dixon’s team was able to keep things close for most of the game until Arkansas ran away with it towards the end. The Razorbacks were able to use outstanding shooting with 54 percent on the day as well as forcing 19 turnovers to overwhelm the Horned Frogs.
Most of TCU’s production came from center Kevin Samuel who owned the paint. He earned a double-double with 24 points and 18 rebounds. The guard duo of Jimmy Whitt Jr. and Mason Jones led the way for Arkansas who had 22 and 20 points, respectively.
No.15 Kentucky: 76, No.18 Texas Tech: 74 (OT)
Big 12: 4, SEC: 4
In the most exciting game of the challenge, Kentucky traveled to Lubbock to take on the 2019 NCAA Tournament Runner-Up. It was a back and forth game in the first half before Kentucky took control in the second half.
Texas Tech was able to overcome a 10-point deficit in the second half to tie the game 64-64 and send it to overtime. The Red Raiders held Kentucky without a field goal for the final 6:18 of regulation.
In extra time it was all Nick Richards who led all scorers on the night with 25 points to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds. The junior forward scored seven of Kentucky’s 12 points in overtime. Sophomore guard Kyler Edwards led the way for the Red Raiders with 18.
Kansas State: 74, Alabama: 77
Big 12: 4, SEC: 5
The night began with a bang in a great game in Tuscaloosa. Kansas State and Alabama went back and forth in a fast-paced first half. The second half saw Alabama pull away holding as much as a 16 point lead.
Kansas would go on an 18-3 run midway through the second half to cut it to one and put Alabama on their heels. Kansas State owned the glass, outrebounding Alabama 45-33. The Crimson Tide made their free throws down the stretch though and secured the three-point win.
Cartier Diarra came up big for Kansas State off the bench to lead the Wildcats with 17 points to go along with four assists. Kira Lewis Jr. had a monster night for Alabama with 26 points on 8-12 shooting with seven rebounds.
No.1 Baylor: 72, Florida: 61
Big 12: 5, SEC: 5
The final game of the night featured the Florida Gators hosting the Baylor Bears, welcoming the first No.1 ranked team to Exactech Arena not named Kentucky. Florida held a couple of short leads in the first half before Baylor took control of the game and never relinquished the lead.
Baylor shot the three well all night at 47.4% and dominated the glass 37-26. Macio Teague led the way for the Bears with 16 points and six rebounds. Keyontae Johnson led the Gators with 20.
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