Big 12 Basketball

For the second time in the past five days, the No. 1 Baylor Bears men's basketball team has lost. 

Oklahoma State stunned the defending champions on Saturday 61-54 at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas, behind strong performances from Bryce Thompson (19 points) and Bryce Williams (nine points, six assists).  

That spoiled big evenings from LJ Cryer (18 points) and Matthew Mayer (16 points, five rebounds). And it likely put an end to Baylor's spot atop the rankings, which it has held for the past five weeks after starting the season with 15 straight wins. 

But No. 19 Texas Tech put an end to the streak with Tuesday's 65-62 win over the Bears. And then Oklahoma State shockingly handed Baylor its second straight loss at home and the first two-game losing streak for the school since the 2018-19 season. 

It didn't come easy. Despite leading by as many as 18 points in the first half and by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Cowboys saw the Bears cut the deficit to just one with a minute and 20 seconds remaining. 

But Baylor couldn't get any closer, with multiple turnovers down the stretch. Oklahoma State hit its free throws and left Waco with the win. 

When it came to being upset, Baylor was at least in good company on Saturday:

Anytime the top team in the country loses, it's a major story. But doing so at home, against an unranked team, only adds to the tale. 

But Oklahoma State is quite the story in its own right.

The school is banned from postseason play this season following former associate head coach Lamont Evans pleading guilty in January 2019 to a charge of conspiring to commit bribery after accepting over $22,000 in bribes for steering players to financial and business advisors. Other penalties include a reduced number of scholarships, recruiting restrictions and a three-year probationary period.

That was part of a larger FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball. 

Oklahoma State appealed the punishment and participated in postseason play last year while the appeal was pending, though it was ultimately denied and the punishments were upheld.

Those circumstances could have easily left these Cowboys feeling ambivalent about the 2021-22 season. But despite some struggles this season, they've continued to fight. 

On Saturday, they took that fight to the top team in the nation and left with arguably the biggest upset of the men's college basketball season. 

Tuesday was not a good day to be an undefeated team in men's college basketball.

After USC lost to Stanford, Baylor was the last remaining undefeated team in the country. Turns out, that lasted merely hours.

The No. 19 Texas Tech Red Raiders went on the road Tuesday and stunned the top-ranked Bears with a 65-62 upset. The victors improved to 12-3 on the season and 2-1 in Big 12 play, while Baylor fell to 15-1 overall and 3-1 in the league.

James Akinjo's potential game-tying three in the final seconds came up short, clinching the upset for the visitors.

While the Red Raiders had five players score in double figures, they won the game on the defensive side.

That's not particularly surprising considering they are fourth in the nation in Ken Pomeroy's pace-adjusted defensive rankings. They swarmed Baylor's outside shooters while holding the country's top team to just 8-of-24 shooting from deep and cut off its driving lanes while forcing 14 turnovers.

The last possession in particular stood out, as the Bears struggled to create a quality shot and were left with Akinjo tossing up a contested miss.

Adam Flagler and Akinjo each scored 17 points, but LJ Cryer was the only other Baylor player to score in double figures with 10.

Adonis Arms spearheaded the offensive effort for Texas Tech with 14 points, but he also stuffed the stat sheet with nine rebounds, five assists and two blocks. His ability to get into the lane and either finish himself or create for others was enough for the Red Raiders to overcome their own shooting woes at 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) from deep.

It has been quite the stretch for the victors considering they also defeated No. 6 Kansas on Saturday. The Red Raiders look the part of Big 12 contenders in the early portion of the conference schedule and will look to continue their momentum when they face Oklahoma State on Thursday.

Baylor will attempt to bounce back from its first loss when it plays the Cowboys in its next game as well on Saturday.

While the Bears will be in the unfamiliar position of playing after a loss, they are still in an ideal spot to earn a No. 1 seed come Selection Sunday when they will be attempting to defend their national title.                

Gabe Kalscheur scored 30 points to lead the unranked Iowa State men's basketball team to a 78-59 win over No. 9 Memphis in the NIT Season Tip-Off Championship on Friday from Brooklyn, New York's Barclays Center.

The senior guard added eight rebounds and five steals for a Cyclones team that benefitted from Memphis' 22 turnovers and a 19-of-53 (35.8 percent) shooting night.

Emoni Bates led the Tigers with 12 points and three blocks. Fellow 5-star recruit and freshman Jalen Duren had an off night with two points and five turnovers.

Memphis only had one lead, when Lester Quinones hit a jumper 10 seconds into the matchup for a 2-0 edge. Iowa State responded with an 8-0 run.

The Tigers later tied the game at 25, but the Cyclones closed the half on a 7-2 spurt.

The second half was all Iowa State. Kalscheur started the half on a personal 6-0 run capped by a four-point play for a 38-27 lead:

Iowa State later went on a 31-13 run to take a 75-51 lead. Senior forward Aljaz Kunc went on a personal 7-0 run during that stretch, with this bucket serving as the highlight:

He finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

The Cyclones led by as many as 25 en route to the 19-point victory. Their dominance on the boards helped, as they out-rebounded Memphis 42-34.

Iowa State looks like it's defying preseason expectations that placed the Cyclones last in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll.

The 6-0 Cyclones now have two wins over Top 25 programs after being No. 25 Xavier 82-70 in the NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals.

This game marked the 5-1 Tigers' first loss of the season. They had outscored their opponents by an average of 17.8 points entering the game.

Both teams play next on Wednesday.

Iowa State will now host the 0-7 Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions at 8 p.m. ET. Memphis will visit the 2-4 Georgia Bulldogs at 7:15 p.m. ET.

One of the biggest upsets of the still-young 2021-22 college basketball season came on Friday, with the No. 4 Kansas Jayhawks falling to Dayton 74-73 in a thriller decided at the buzzer. 

Trailing by one point with the clock ticking down, Mustapha Amzil's jumper bounced off the rim and backboard before falling through the net after time expired to give the Flyers a stunning victory over the previously undefeated Jayhawks.  

Amzil only finished with four points, and the final shot was his lone field-goal attempt of the game. Four of Dayton's five starters reached double figures in scoring, and the team shot 51.8 percent from the field. 

Kansas left a lot of points on the board at the free-throw line. Head coach Bill Self's team only made nine of 20 attempts from the charity stripe. 

The Flyers entered this matchup with a 2-3 record. Each of their three losses came in consecutive games, to UMass Lowell, Lipscomb and Austin Peay. 

Kansas had won each of its first four games by an average of 20 points. It looked to be on track for another big win early on Friday. The Jayhawks jumped out to an 11-1 lead in the first four minutes and led by as many as 15 points in the first half. 

After a Remy Martin layup put Kansas up 49-37 with 18:13 remaining, Dayton scored 12 straight points to tie the game. The Flyers took their first lead at 51-50 on a Daron Holmes II dunk. 

Dayton did get its lead up to seven points with 7:23 left to play. Kansas stormed back by scoring 12 of the next 14 points to take a 73-70 advantage in the final minute. 

Malachi Smith cut that deficit to 73-72 on a layup with 45 seconds left. David McCormack was called for an offensive foul on the Jayhawks' ensuing possession, giving Dayton the ball back with 15 seconds remaining. 

McCormack looked like he was going to play the role of hero on defense when he blocked Smith's layup attempt. Amzil was able to corral the ball and put up a shot as time expired. 

The win gave Dayton its first victory over a team ranked in the top five of the Associated Press poll since a 72-71 win over No. 3 DePaul on Feb. 18, 1984.     

No. 6 Baylor pulled away from Michigan State in the second half to capture the 2021 Battle 4 Atlantis men's championship with a 75-58 win at Imperial Arena in the Bahamas.

The Bears carried a slim two-point advantage into halftime following a back-and-forth opening 20 minutes that saw neither team lead by more than six. They used an 8-0 run early in the second half to increase their lead to 13 and then cruised to the finish line to remain undefeated (7-0).

It's the second Battle 4 Atlantis title for Baylor, which won the event in 2016. The Spartans dropped to 5-2, with the other loss coming against then-No. 3 Kansas in their season opener.

Notable Stats

G James Akinjo (BAY): 15 points, 5 assists, 3 steals

G Adam Flagler (BAY): 11 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds

G Matthew Mayer (BAY): 8 points, 7 rebounds

F Gabe Brown (MSU): 13 points, 5 rebounds

G Jaden Akins (MSU): 12 points

Baylor Bench Continues to Provide Major Boost

Baylor has one of the deepest rosters in the nation, and that was on full display throughout its run to the Battle 4 Atlantis championship.

LJ Cryer, the Bears' leading scorer, tallied 15 points off the bench in Wednesday's win over Arizona State, and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua recorded 13 points and eight rebounds in Thursday's triumph over VCU in the semifinals.

Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Cryer and Jeremy Sochan all played pivotal roles in Friday's victory. The reserve trio combined for more than a third of BU's scoring (26 of 75 points) while knocking down 10 of their 18 shots (55.6 percent).

Having an offensive game-changer like Cryer as a sixth man is one thing, but featuring three different players who can provide high-end contributions off the bench gives the Bears depth that will be hard for opponents to match all season long.

In addition, the size of Tchamwa Tchatchoua (6'8", 245 pounds) and Sochan (6'9", 230) gives head coach Scott Drew the ability to mix and match his lineups. It helps alleviate concerns that teams with multiple talented bigs can give Baylor trouble.

While it's early in the campaign, the depth is a major reason Baylor is in position to defend its March Madness title.

MSU's Stock on the Rise Despite Loss

Michigan State didn't generate much attention coming into the season. It was ranked outside the Top 25 and couldn't keep pace with the Jayhawks in a 13-point loss in the opener.

The Spartans have played well since that loss, though. They won their next three games by an average of 29.7 points and then scored hard-fought victories over Loyola of Chicago and No. 22 UConn to punch their ticket to the Battle 4 Atlantis final.

They went shot-for-shot with Baylor in the first half and appeared to have a chance for the upset before the Bears caught fire early in the second half. They still made a strong showing in the Bahamas.

Brown, Marcus Bingham Jr. and Malik Hall represent a matchup advantage over most teams on the interior. How far the Spartans go this season will depend on how much shooting they generate around those post players.

MSU entered the day shooting 32.7 percent from beyond the arc, and it made only four of 15 three-point attempts against the Bears. A few more makes and it's a competitive game down to the wire.

Michigan State has work to do if it wants to contend with the nation's elite by season's end, but it looks like a Top 20 team with upside.

What's Next?

Michigan State returns home to the Breslin Center to host Louisville on Wednesday as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge.

Baylor is off until Dec. 4 when it welcomes Arkansas-Pine Bluff to the Ferrell Center.

Drew Timme posted a career-high 37 points on 15-of-19 shooting to lead the No. 1 Gonzaga men's basketball team to a 86-74 win over the No. 5 Texas Longhorns on Saturday from McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, Washington.

Timme started the game with 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting in the first 4:15 of game action. He finished with 22 points by halftime as the Bulldogs led the Longhorns 47-27 at halftime.

He added 15 more points in the second half as the Bulldogs led the final 20 minutes by double digits the entire way.

Timme began the year as the Associated Press' lone unanimous selection for its All-American team as well as The Athletic's choice for the men's preseason player of the year.

Those picks are looking good through two games as Gonzaga looks for its first-ever national title.

It was an off-night for Gonzaga even-footer Chet Holmgren, who is a candidate to be called first on the next NBA draft night.

He finished with just two points on 1-of-3 shooting alongside five rebounds, two blocks and four fouls.

However, Holmgren started his collegiate career with a 14-point, 13-rebound, seven-block, six-assist night as the Bulldogs beat Dixie State 97-63. Evenings like Saturday should be few and far between as the talented big man traverses through this season.

For Texas, Timmy Allen led the way with 18 points.

Gonzaga will now host Alcorn State on Monday at 9 p.m. ET.

The NCAA announced Thursday its staff received "threatening and offensive messages after being identified by name" by Oklahoma State personnel after the organization handed the school a one-year postseason ban in the 2021-22 season for recruiting violations.

Oklahoma State's appeal against the ban was dismissed last week. 

The NCAA's statement read, in part:

Oklahoma State personnel encouraged individuals to circumvent the NCAA member-created process that every school agrees to participate in as part of their responsibility to each other. Further, there is a troubling trend of misstating facts about the infractions process by schools that disagree with the infractions outcomes. Each member has the ability to seek change to the Division I infractions process, and there is a review group underway looking at how to improve the process.

Oklahoma State was given the postseason ban after former assistant coach Lamont Evans pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy for accepting money and gifts in exchange for steering college basketball players toward a marketing agency being started by Christian Dawkins.

Evans was sentenced to three months in prison. 

According to Matt Norlander of CBS Sports, Evans did not participate in the NCAA's investigation, which reportedly was "a factor" in the school's punishment. 

He added: "Everything else the NCAA acted upon was based off of what was provided in federal court. Oklahoma State is being punished for lack of cooperation (strictly from Evans) and unethical conduct, plus the fact Evans accepted dirty money."

Alongside the postseason ban, Oklahoma State was hit with a three-year probationary period, the loss of three scholarships per year for an undisclosed period of time and other recruiting sanctions. 

"We are profoundly disappointed for our student-athletes, none of whom were here at the time of this case," OSU athletic director Chad Weiberg said in a statement last week. "This is an unprecedented decision by the NCAA. There are other strikingly similar cases that did not include postseason bans and had only minor penalties. We had a rogue employee carrying out actions that benefited him alone and he went to great lengths to assure his actions were undetectable. He was terminated when we learned of his actions."

Men's head basketball coach Mike Boynton added that the punishment was "incredibly unjust and unfair" and called the postseason ban for his players "the greatest disappointment in my career as a head coach."

The Oklahoma State men's basketball team will reportedly be banned from postseason play during the 2021-22 season after the NCAA denied the program's appeal related to infractions from the FBI's 2017 investigation into corruption within college basketball.

CBS Sports' Matt Norlander reported the news Wednesday, six days before the Cowboys are scheduled to open the new campaign by hosting UT Arlington.

In September 2017, the FBI arrested 10 people, including former OSU assistant coach Lamont Evans, after detailing what it called the "dark underbelly of college basketball" that included fraud and corruption, per CNN's Shachar Peled.

"The picture painted by the charges brought today is not a pretty one," prosecutor Joon Kim said at the time. "Coaches at some of the nation's top programs soliciting and accepting cash bribes. Managers and financial advisers circling blue chip prospects like coyotes. And employees of one of the world's largest sportswear companies secretly funneling cash to the families of high school recruits."

In June 2019, Evans was sentenced to three months in jail, a $22,000 fine and 100 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy. Prosecutors had sought a minimum of 18 months in prison.

"In hindsight and upon reflection, I knew that it was wrong," Evans said at the sentencing.

The NCAA handed down the postseason ban, along with a reduction in scholarships, in June 2020.

Oklahoma State appealed the ruling, with athletic director Mike Holder saying it was an unfair punishment since the NCAA's findings suggested Evans acted alone to cause the infractions, per Frank Bonner II for the Tulsa World.

"I find it almost impossible to reconcile the severe penalties imposed by the NCAA for the violations that were detailed in today's report," Holder said. "The NCAA agreed that Lamont Evans acted alone and for his own benefit. The NCAA also agreed that OSU did not benefit in recruiting, commit a recruiting violation, did not play an ineligible player and did not display a lack of institutional control."

The Cowboys played the 2020-21 season without restriction during the appeals process, posting a 21-9 record and reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament, but they will now sit out the 2022 men's edition of March Madness.

Oklahoma State ranked just outside the Top 25 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches preseason polls. The Cowboys had a strong chance to earn another tournament bid before the ban was upheld.

Kansas sophomore forward Jalen Wilson was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Sunday, and as a result, he has been suspended for the Jayhawks' first three regular-season games.

Kansas head coach Bill Self told reporters that Wilson, who has also been suspended for Wednesday's exhibition against Emporia State, will "serve community hours during his suspension."

Wilson, whose 21st birthday is Thursday, was pulled over and arrested by a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy early Sunday morning. He was booked into jail before being released on bond.

Wilson apologized on Twitter.

"To my family, friends, coaches, teammates, and Jayhawk Nation - first and foremost, I want to apologize to all of you for my mistake this past weekend," Wilson wrote. "I accept full responsibility for my actions and am extremely remorseful in my lack of judgment.

"I know it wouldn't be fair for me to ask for forgiveness right now, so instead I plan to show you the true man I am and my true character through my actions and behavior moving forward. Again, I am truly sorry."

As a redshirt freshman last season, Wilson started 26 of 29 games and averaged 11.8 points and a team-high 7.9 rebounds. He impressed early on with two 23-point, 10-rebound performances against Kentucky and Creighton.

Wilson was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team after ranking second in the conference in rebounding. The 6'8", 225-pound forward tested the NBA draft waters but chose to return to school.

Kansas is ranked No. 3 in both preseason polls. Wilson will miss the Jayhawks' games against Michigan State, Tarleton State and Stony Brook.