College basketball didn’t have a lot of ranked teams playing on Wednesday night. But the action was still worth watching as the Big 12 race heated up while it was a good night for bubble teams.
Texas takes down Baylor as top of the Big 12 landscape changes again
The Big 12 stayed as crazy as ever on Wednesday night as Texas picked up a critical bubble win over Baylor at home. The Longhorns have been one of the most up-and-down teams in all of college hoops this season as this win continues a trend of Texas winning games against marquee opponents.
The loss also means Baylor has moved out of a tie in the loss column with Kansas State as the Wildcats have taken over sole possession of first place in the very crowded league. Baylor’s loss also means Iowa State is tied with the Bears while Texas Tech and Kansas remain only one game back from second place.
Texas still has more work to do to feel safe, and the Big 12 still has seven-to-eight conference games left for some teams. But, for now, Kansas State remains atop the league after another notable outcome.
Naz Reid leads No. 21 LSU past Mississippi State in OT
Top-25 teams didn’t have a lot of action on Wednesday night, which made LSU’s overtime road win at Mississippi State one of the night’s major results. Staying at 8-1 in the SEC with the win, the Tigers avenged a close loss to Arkansas over the weekend.
Perhaps most importantly though was the late-game emergence of freshman big man Naz Reid. While LSU has been able to rely on the brilliant playmaking ability of sophomore point guard Tremont Waters for most of the season, Reid’s emergence has given LSU another dimension.
On Wednesday, Reid took over in overtime, finishing a key three-point play and following that up with a three-pointer to give LSU the final shots they needed to secure the win. Finishing with 29 points and nine rebounds on 10-for-17 shooting, Reid had a monster outing.
With a one-two punch of Waters (26 points, five assists, five steals) and Reid, LSU has quietly emerged as one of the SEC’s more dangerous teams.
Bubble teams had a good night
After a weekend filled mostly with bad results for bubble teams, Wednesday saw a night of positivity for teams trying to make the Field of 68.
In a nutshell, Texas, Alabama, Clemson and teams from potential one-bid leagues like Davidson, Lipscomb and VCU all had important wins on the evening. On the other end of the spectrum, Creighton missed a golden opportunity to pick up a Q1 win on the road at Villanova while Baylor and freefalling Nebraska also lost.
CBT’s Rob Dauster has a full breakdown of the night’s bubble action here and what it all means for those teams going forward.