Big 12 Basketball

The Kansas men's basketball team's struggles have reached a fever pitch after the No. 14 Jayhawks fell 76-46 to No. 1 Houston on Saturday.

Kansas entered this game as losers of four of its last eight games, but now the season has hit its nadir as Houston's defense completely shut down the Jayhawks.

This game was never close. Houston even led 34-9 at one point en route to a 40-21 halftime edge. The Cougars, who never trailed, continued their dominance over the Jayhawks in the second half en route as they cruised to a win.

KU made just 15-of-45 field goals (33.3 percent) and 3-of-21 three-pointers (14.3 percent). The Jayhawks also had nearly twice as many turnovers (18) as assists (nine).

Kevin McCullar Jr., who entered Saturday averaging a team-high 19.1 points per game, finished with zero. The four starters outside of big man Hunter Dickinson made just 4-of-19 field goals.

To make matters even worse, Dickinson left the game with an apparent right shoulder injury with just over 11 minutes left in the second half and did not return.

Needless to say, this was an historically bad loss for the Jayhawks.

Houston enjoyed a balanced scoring attack, with eight players scoring six or more. Jamal Shead paced the team with 13 points alongside eight assists and six rebounds.

And with that, Houston avenged a 78-65 road loss to KU from Feb. 3, which marks the last time the Cougars have been defeated. Since then, Houston has rolled off nine straight wins to move to 28-3 overall (15-3 Big 12).

Meanwhile, KU has lost five of nine now as the team's inconsistencies on both ends plague the team.

The Jayhawks, who entered the season as the Associated Press' top team, have the talent to win the NCAA tournament but clearly have some things to figure out before March Madness.

For now, though, fans and analysts alike criticized the Jayhawks for this brutal defeat.

The Big 12 tournament is up next for the Cougars and Jayhawks. The seedings are not yet finalized, but the competition begins Tuesday in Kansas City with first-round play.

That certainly wasn't what the Kansas Jayhawks were expecting on Tuesday night.

The No. 7 team in the nation was upset at home by unranked BYU 76-68, and a poor shooting effort was one of the primary culprits.

The Jayhawks shot just 39 percent from the field (23-of-59) and only 20 percent from three (3-of-15), all while the Cougars sank 13 of their 34 attempts from deep. Seeing those numbers, a quote from Kansas head coach Bill Self on Monday suddenly took on an almost spooky quality.

"The other day (against Texas) we made three [three-point shots] and played really well," he told reporters. "If they make 13 threes, they've already outscored you [by] 30 points from the field."

Well, he called it. Unintentionally, but he still called it.

As for his Jayhawks, college basketball fans and analysts didn't take it easy on them after the loss, though the absence of Kevin McCullar was fairly noted:

BYU's Dallin Hall led all players with 18 points, while Hunter Dickinson put up a 17-point, 11-rebound double-double for the Jayhawks.

Kansas (21-7) has lost four games this season to teams that were unranked at the time and is third in the Big 12 standings, trailing Houston by three games. Since Self took over ahead of the 2003-04 season, Kansas has won an incredible 17 Big 12 regular-season titles, but it won't be happening this season.

BYU (20-8), meanwhile, eradicated any lingering doubt about whether it would earn an NCAA tournament bid. Beating Baylor and Kansas is a solid pairing of signature wins. Not too shabby for the conference newcomers.

Rumors surfaced after the Iowa State men's basketball team's 78-67 home win over Kansas State on Wednesday that KSU was concerned ISU had placed team managers or other Cyclone representatives behind their bench to steal information from their huddles.

On Saturday, Iowa State men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger called those accusations against his team "ludicrous" in the opening statement of his press conference after the Cyclones took down No. 7 Kansas 79-75.

Per Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle, Kansas State coaches were reportedly concerned about ISU observers "quickly passing information to the Iowa State bench via text messages."

During the Kansas State game, Wildcats head coach Jerome Tang was seen angrily pointing at the crowing during the under-eight timeout. Tang then made his way to Otzelberger at midcourt and spoke to him.

Then postgame, the two coaches had an extended talk in the handshake line, with Tang visibly upset during the conversation.

Otzelberger then took the mic on Saturday. He told reporters it was "incredibly disappointing" for him to even be addressing the rumors three days after an ISU win in what he called an "awesome atmosphere."

He called the rumors an "affront to our players, our fans and to me." Otzelberger further added that the rumors don't reflect well on himself or the program and that he was "angry" that someone would even make that suggestion.

Otzelberger did claim that a KSU staff member "cursed out" an ISU student manager who was mopping up below the basket.

"So let's put this to bed here and now. It didn't happen. It won't happen. And others need to be much more careful with their words moving forward."

On Saturday, Seth Davis of CBS Sports offered further insight, to the point where he even suggested Tang would owe ISU an apology if the allegations proved to be unfounded.

Kansas State ended the week with another tough loss, falling 74-52 at No. 4 Houston.

Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang's anger that seemed directed at the crowd during Wednesday's loss to Iowa State was actually due to concerns the Cyclones were trying to steal information from his team's huddle.

Per Kellis Robinett of the Wichita Eagle, Wildcats coaches were worried Iowa State "placed managers and/or other team representatives in spots behind the visiting bench" to potentially view, "or even record," their huddle.

"The sources said K-State's coaches were worried about those observers quickly passing information to the Iowa State bench via text messages," Robinett wrote.

The situation occurred during a television timeout with just under eight minutes remaining in the second half. Tang was pointing at something in the crowd at Hilton Coliseum, which Robinett noted was initially assumed to be related to the behavior of fans.

Tang walked over to Iowa State head coach TJ Otzelberger at midcourt to tell him something.

After the game, the two coaches had a prolonged exchange in the handshake line with Tang appearing to be upset as he was talking to Otzelberger.

Speaking to reporters afterward, Tang downplayed the issue by saying "nothing happened" and they were discussing something that took place during the game which Otzelberger said he would look into.

Chris Williams of Cyclone Fanatic, who was in attendance covering the game, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, he overheard a Kansas State assistant point at some of Iowa State's managers while they were sweeping the floor and appearing to yell "cheating motherf--kers"

Robinett also noted ESPN's cameras caught Tang appearing to tell lead official Gerry Pollard that Iowa State had people "filming our huddle" during one of the final media timeouts.

It's unclear at this point if the Big 12 is going to investigate the situation. Iowa State ultimately won the game, 78-67.

For the second time this season, the No. 3 Kansas Jayhawks have lost to an unranked opponent.

The Jayhawks fell to the West Virginia Mountaineers 91-85 on Saturday afternoon at WVU Coliseum, dropping to 15-3 on the season following a second-half collapse.

Kansas and West Virginia entered halftime tied at 51, but the Jayhawks collapsed in the final minutes of the contest as the Mountaineers began to pull away in part thanks to RaeQuan Battle, who finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, two assists and one block.

While Kansas saw five different players hit double digits in scoring, it wasn't enough as the team's defensive efforts sputtered down the stretch. Mountaineers forward Patrick Suemnick, who is averaging just 4.4 points this season, managed to put forth his best game of the season, finishing with 20 points.

Kevin McCullar Jr. led Kansas with 24 points to go along with four rebounds and five assists, and Hunter Dickinson notched 19 points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.

After the game, college basketball fans ripped the Jayhawks for their disappointing effort against a West Virginia team that entered the contest with a 6-11 record:

Kansas is now 5-7 at West Virginia in the Bill Self era. Given the level of talent on the team over the last several years, that's an unacceptable record on the road against the Mountaineers.

The Jayhawks will look to bounce back on Monday against unranked Cincinnati before traveling to face No. 24 Iowa State on Jan. 27.

Texas men's basketball head coach Rodney Terry apologized on Saturday for confronting UCF players for giving the team a "horns down" gesture during a 77-71 loss.

"We have a lot of passion for who we are and what we are representing. We try to do that in a class manner, at the highest level," Terry said, via the Associated Press (via ESPN). "If I offended some of our fans as well in not handling myself in the right way ... I apologize to our fan base as well, and understand what it means to be the head coach at the University of Texas and what our brand stands for."

He was seen reprimanding UCF players in the handshake line following the defeat on Wednesday, calling the hand sign "classless."

He doubled down on his stance immediately after the game, reiterating his belief that the hand signal was "classless."

"You don't go through the handshake line, or prior to getting to the handshake line, and have about six or seven guys putting the horns down," said Terry. "We don't do that because when you do those kinds of things, it looks very classless and it also looks like you were just hoping to win."

The gesture has been utilized by rivals of the Longhorns for several years, as fans and athletes at Texas have used the "Hook 'Em Horns" hand signal to celebrate big plays during games.

Terry's group responded to the loss by upsetting No. 9 Baylor, narrowly winning 75-73 on Saturday. With the score tied and roughly five seconds remaining in the second half, Junior guard Tyrese Hunter was able to connect on a game-winning layup just before time expired.

Texas moved to 13-5 following the victory, snapping a brief two-game losing streak. Although Terry was impressed with his team's performance, he attempted to make amends with UCF head coach Johnny Dawkins.

"He has a good program and they're having a good year," he said (via ESPN). "Personally, if I offended him or his program, or anyone for that matter, that was not my intention."

The Longhorns' next matchup will come against No. 15 Oklahoma on Tuesday, with tip-off at 7 p.m. ET.

The Baylor men's basketball team is a Final Four contender this season, but its future became even brighter Sunday.

That is because highly regarded recruit VJ Edgecombe joined the Bears' 2024 recruiting class, per The Athletic's Tobias Bass.

It was thought to be a three-team race for some time between Duke, Baylor and Kentucky, but Joe Tipton of On 3 reported Saturday that the Wildcats were no longer under realistic consideration. That left the Blue Devils and Bears, and the latter earned quite the recruiting win.

Edgecombe, who checks in at 6'5", is a 5-star prospect and the No. 5 overall player, No. 2 shooting guard and No. 1 player in New York from his class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

His size and athleticism mean he can impact the game in a number of ways.

Defensively, he can defend multiple positions on the wing and create opportunities on the other end with his quickness. Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports called him "a terror in transition who puts a ton of pressure on the rim and can rise-up for the type of highlight finishes that few others can make."

In addition to those high-flying dunks that will surely fire up the crowd at the collegiate level, Edgecombe can hit from mid-range and extend his game beyond the arc.

Finkelstein also pointed to his improvement as a ball-handler and facilitator, which should help him play a key role for his new team as soon as he arrives on campus.

This is a massive win on the recruiting trail for Baylor, and not just because of the caliber of program head coach Scott Drew was competing against.

The Bears are laying the foundation for their future with a class that now looks much deeper in overall game-changing talent. Small forward Jason Asemota is a 5-star prospect, while point guard Rob Wright is a 4-star player in that group.

With Edgecombe now on board, there are three foundational players arriving who can help Baylor compete for a Big 12 title and a deep NCAA tournament run in their freshman season.

One day after both No. 1 Purdue and No. 2 Houston suffered losses, another top team in the nation fell.

No. 3 Kansas was on the receiving end of a 65-60 upset loss to unranked UCF on Wednesday night. It's the first time since the 2004 NCAA tournament that the top three teams in the AP Poll lost to unranked teams in the span of two days.

The Jayhawks led by as many as 16 in the game before being outscored 36-23 in the second half by the Knights, who were playing in their first Big 12 home game in program history.

Kevin McCullar Jr. led the Jayhawks with 16 points while also adding six rebounds and five assists. Star center Hunter Dickinson was limited to 12 points and four rebounds. Kansas committed 18 turnovers in the loss.

The loss dropped the Jayhawks to 13-2 and ended their nine-game win streak. It's the first time that Kansas has scored under 65 points since the team's last loss to Marquette on Nov. 21.

Fans on social media didn't hold back their thoughts about the Jayhawks' lackluster performance on Wednesday night:

Kansas will look to bounce back on Saturday against No. 9 Oklahoma (13-1).