Winners and losers from Saturday’s Big 12-SEC Challenge
For coaches, playing a marquee non-conference game in the middle of league play was a major nuisance.
For viewers, Saturday’s Big 12-SEC Challenge was a real treat.
There was an overtime thriller between two of the nation’s most tradition-rich programs. There was a clash of styles between an elite offense and a stingy defense. And there was a compelling duel between the likely first pick in this June’s NBA draft and the favorite to win national player of the year honors this spring.
The SEC’s premier teams performed well Saturday, but the Big 12 showcased its superior top-to-bottom depth and emerged with a 7-3 victory. Here’s a look at the winners and losers:
WINNER: BUDDY HIELD
The gap between the national player of the year favorite and the rest of the field widened when Hield led Oklahoma to a high-profile victory. Hield scored 32 points and sank a trio of huge 3-pointers as the Sooners rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit for a 77-75 win at LSU. Each time LSU lost Hield in transition or gave him an inch of space coming off a screen, the 6-foot-4 senior made them pay. He sank back-to-back 3-pointers to give Oklahoma its first second-half lead and hit another key deep ball in the final two minutes to put the Sooners back in front. His brilliance was especially notable compared to LSU star Ben Simmons’ late-game disappearing act. The likely No. 1 pick did not score in the final 10 minutes and did not take a shot in the final 4:48.
LOSER: LSU’S CROWD
The atmosphere at the sold-out, hyped-up Pete Maravich Assembly Center was excellent for the most part on Saturday, but LSU students went overboard late in the first half. They chanted “F— You, Buddy” at Hield when he went to the foul line late with his team down six. I understand that making the environment hostile is a student section’s primary job and I understand that Hield is one of Ben Simmons’ primary rivals in the national player of the year race, but LSU fans could have been clever, not crass. Even the well-worn, “You’re no Simmons” chant would have been preferable.
WINNER: WAYNE SELDEN
While Wayne Selden has produced more consistently this season than previously in his Kansas career, the junior shooting guard has largely been a one-dimensional scorer. Coach Bill Self has reduced his ball handling responsibilities and utilized him mostly as a spot-up shooter, a change that has helped Selden average more than 15 points per game and sink 47.3 percent of his 3-pointers. If that’s Selden’s role on this Kansas team, so be it, but he showed Saturday he’s capable of more. He torched Kentucky for 33 points by doing more than just spotting up from behind the arc. He used his athleticism as a weapon and attacked the rim, most notably when he who nearly ripped the rim right off with a furious right-handed slam that put Kansas ahead for good in overtime.
WINNER KENTUCKY
If you were expecting Kentucky to be a loser because it fell in overtime at Allen Fieldhouse, then you don’t understand how hard it is to win at Kansas. The Jayhawks have lost there just nine times in Bill Self’s tenure, yet a Wildcats team that has lost at UCLA, LSU and Auburn already this season led Kansas for much of the game before falling in overtime. Tyler Ulis gave the Jayhawks fits attacking off the bounce until Self finally had to switch to a gimmicky triangle-and-two zone to try to combat his dribble penetration. Alex Poythress was Kentucky’s most effective frontcourt player before fouling out late in the game. All in all, this was another step forward for Kentucky. The Wildcats didn’t win, but they sustained the upward trajectory they’ve shown in recent weeks.
WINNER: TEXAS A&M’S DEFENSE
Iowa State boasts an explosive, fast-paced offense. Texas A&M counters with a formidable defense. In a battle between two of the nation’s best units on Saturday, the Aggies came out on top. They held Iowa State to 43.6 percent shooting, limited them to 6-for-23 behind the arc and forced 16 turnovers without sending the Cyclones to the foul line too frequently. Texas A&M’s 72-62 victory was especially important considering the Aggies were coming off an unusually poor performance in a road loss at Arkansas. This bounce-back performance is a clear sign that Texas A&M is the favorite in the SEC and a threat to make a deep NCAA tournament run.
LOSER: VANDERBILT’S OFFENSE
For a team with NBA prospects at point guard and center and an array of shooters around them, Vanderbilt has been shockingly mediocre offensively this season. The Commodores are 103rd nationally in KenPom’s efficiency rankings because they turn the ball over too frequently, they don’t score easily around the rim and they don’t generate many second-chance points. In Saturday’s 72-58 loss at Texas, Vanderbilt managed a mere 16 first-half points and only two players besides Damian Jones and Matthew Fisher-Davis even managed field goals in the game. The Commodores were undone by a combination of point guard Wade Baldwin’s first-half leg injury and Shaka Smart’s defensive pressure. The Longhorns had a 17-3 advantage in fast break points.
WINNER: FLORIDA’S NCAA TOURNAMENT HOPES
Florida got the marquee win it lacked Saturday. The Gators routed ninth-ranked West Virginia 88-71, opening up a 15-point lead at halftime and never allowing the Mountaineers get any closer in the second half. Florida’s victory is a huge boost to its chances of making the NCAA tournament in Mike White’s first season as head coach. The Gators (14-7, 5-3) were already a top 30 team in the nation in both the RPI and KenPom, yet their most notable victories came against surprise Atlantic 10 contender Saint Joseph’s and a LSU team that will need to close the season strong to earn an NCAA bid. This win should have more traction and more staying power.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
