Big 12 Semifinals Recap

No. 1 Oklahoma State 82, No. 5 Texas Tech 77
The coaching match-up of Eddie Sutton and Bob Knight didn’t disappoint. Knight’s Red Raiders came out with a slashing, attacking, screening offense, scored the game’s first seven points, and held on for an 18-11 lead about seven minutes into the game. OSU came back to tie the game but couldn’t seem to stop the screens when Tech had the ball. But then Sutton’s genius struck back. He put his Cowboys in the zone defense with 7:47 left before halftime and all of a sudden Texas Tech couldn’t score. Daniel Bobik hit two big three-pointers for the Cowboys to spark a 14-1 Oklahoma State run before halftime, and just like that, the Cowboys led 41-29 at the break.

Henry Iba, a legendary OSU coach, intensely disliked the zone, but Sutton felt like he had no other choice. Sutton said he even told that to Knight at halftime.

“When I walked by, I said, ‘I know Mr. Iba’s probably frowning down right now, but we can’t cover you,'” Sutton said.

Of course, Knight coached Tech into attacking the zone a little better in the second half. Four or five times, the Red Raiders pulled within five points of the Cowboys, but they never got closer than that. Bobik hit another huge three-pointer after TTU had gotten within 57-52. OSU extended its lead to double digits in the game’s last few minutes, but several Texas Tech three-pointers made the final score closer than the game actually was.

“When we had to make a shot against the zone, we couldn’t,” Knight said. “It’s been our weakness all year long.”

John Lucas led the Cowboys with 22 points and 3 assists, and Ivan McFarlin added 19 points and 9 rebounds. Bobik finished with only 9 points, but all came on very important three-point shots.

Big 12 scoring leader Andre Emmett led Tech with 26 points, but just like in the quarterfinals, he wasn’t the only one scoring. This time Devonne Giles stepped up with 20 points and Mikey Marshall continued his hot streak with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting.

TTU has easily done enough to be included in the field of 65, and with players other than Emmett scoring in bunches, this will be a tough team to beat in the tournament.

Player of the game: Ivan McFarlin – The man inside got it done when OSU was struggling to score in the second half.

No. 2 Texas 64, No. 3 Kansas 60
Kansas couldn’t continue its red-hot performance from a quarterfinal win over Missouri for the entire game, but it sure looked like it would for a while. The Jayhawks opened the game on a 13-2 run and kept the lead until early in the second half when Texas finally caught up. UT was up 47-45 with about nine minutes left in the game when Brandon Mouton caught fire.

The Texas guard scored on two lay-ups and two three-pointers on four consecutive trips down the floor, accounting for 10 straight points and a comfortable lead. Kansas came back to make it 60-58, but after each team scored a bucket in the paint, KU fouled Royal Ivey with 14.1 seconds left. Although he’s not a good free-throw shooter, Ivey always seems to make them in the clutch, and Saturday was no different. He sunk both to make the score 64-60 and put the game out of reach and the Longhorns in the championship game.

Mouton finished with 18 points. Three players had exactly 14 points and 8 rebounds: Jason Klotz for Texas, and Keith Langford and Jeff Graves for Kansas.

Who’s missing from those game leaders? That’s right, Wayne Simien, who had an awesome performance in Friday’s quarterfinals, but was held to just 9 points on 2-of-8 shooting. Simien made both field goals in the game’s first minute and a half and looked like he was on his way to another big night. But Texas’ throng of inside players stifled him from then on.

Both of these teams are obviously in the tournament, but Kansas may have cost itself a chance to play in Kansas City in the first two rounds with the loss.

Player of the game: Brandon Mouton – It’s not how much you do, but when you do it. Mouton had 18 points, but 10 of them came in a crucial stretch that gave UT control.