The Big 12 has Been the Best Defensive Conference All Year
On Selection Sunday, six teams from the Big 12 had their names called. Ranging from #1 seeded Kansas and Baylor, all the way down to #11 seeded Iowa State, the Big 12 had representation all of the bracket. We saw the two #1 seeds for the Big 12 play on Thursday and crush their respective seeds. On Friday, every other team started their March Madness journey and they did not disappoint completing the 6-0 Big 12 record in the first round. They are also the only conference who went undefeated who had 3+ teams in the tournament:
Collectively the Big 12 teams outscored their opponents on average 79 to 56, for a whopping 23-point average win margin. This included five of the Big 12 teams holding their opponents to 62 points or fewer. This should be no surprise however, as advanced stats all year have indicated that the Big 12 Conferences include some of the most elite team defenses in the NCAA. In the most updated KenPom rankings, seven Big 12 teams still rank in the top 25 for adjusted defensive efficiency.
Adjusted defense efficiency rankings: Texas Tech (1), Oklahoma State (4), Iowa State (10), Baylor (11), Texas (14), TCU (23), and Kansas (24)
A Deeper Dive Into the Domination
While it is interesting to look at the collective averages for the Big 12 and how none of their opponents in the tournament could seem to make sense of it in the first round, let’s get a little bit of a deeper look into the matchups and performances in the Round of 64. For this it is best to break the recaps into three different sections/type of games: heavy favorites, disrespected favorites, and underdogs:
Heavy Favorites: Baylor, Kansas, and Texas Tech
The first Big 12 game was #1 Baylor against #16 Norfolk State, where Baylor was picked to win in 96.2% of brackets. The Bears held the Spartans to 31.6% shooting from the field and to 49 total points, while also limiting Norfolk State to just 7 assists as a team. This meant that the Bears forced them to play isolation ball and in the process almost doubled Norfolk State’s points in the process with a final score of 85-49. Pure destruction.
The other Thursday game was #1 Kansas vs #16 Texas Southern. Much like the Baylor game, the game got out of hand quickly and there was never a doubt that KU was going to win. 96.6% of brackets had the Jayhawks winning and everyone could pencil them into the next round at halftime, as they were up 47-19 after 20 minutes. They seemed to take their foot of the pedal slightly in the 2nd half, but still won a commanding 83-56 game, holding Texas Southern to 32.8% shooting and only three made 3-pointers. Pure destruction x2.
#3 Texas Tech got the Big 12 off to a great start with their morning game against #14 Montana State. Texas Tech was selected to win in 92.2% of brackets and in a slightly higher scoring affair, the Red Raiders imposed their will on the Bobcats and won 97-62. Had the Raiders not almost hit the century mark, their defensive numbers might have looked even better, but they still limited Montana State to 38.2% shooting. Pure destruction x3.
The Disrespected Favorite: Texas
In March Madness, the 11-6 and 12-5 matchups are some of fans favorite matchups to bet the underdog and in many instances disrespect the favorite. The #6 seeded Texas Longhorns entered the matchup against #11 Virginia Tech as just favorites by 1.5 points, according to Vegas. Despite being small favorites, brackets had Texas beating Virginia Tech in just 47.5% of the time. Despite this, Texas was able to stifle Virginia Tech’s outside attack that as so effective against Duke. In the ACC Championship, Virginia Tech shot 45.5% from three (10/22), but against Texas they shot just 33.3% and made just 4 total three pointers. The Longhorns went on to win 81-73.
The Underdogs: Iowa State and Texas Christian
The weakest Big 12 team in the tournament and the biggest underdog in the Round of 64 were the #11 seeded Iowa Cyclones, who faced off with the #6 seeded LSU Tigers. Iowa State was only picked to win in 37.4% of brackets, mainly due to their lackluster offense, not because anyone was worried they wouldn’t be able to defend at a high-level. As expected, Iowa State make life very hard for the LSU offense, forcing them to shoot just 37.0% from the field and 21.1% from three. They held LSU to 19 total points in the first half and outlasted them in a slow-grind-it-out affair 59-54. On offense, the Cyclones were carried by Tyrese Hunter and Izaiah Brockington. The duo scored 42 of ISU’s 59 points, with the other seven players combining for just 17 points. Fortunately, that was enough to get the job done.
Finally, the last team to get their chance to shine and put a cherry on top of the Big 12 Conference’s first round was the #9 seeded Horned Frogs of TCU. In a coin-flip game against #9 Seton Hall, the Frogs were slight underdogs according to Vegas at +1. With that being said, TCU was picked to win in 51.5% of brackets and deservingly so. The Frogs came out of the gates tenacious and ready to play, going up by as much as 13 points in the first half. They then pounded Seton Hall into the ground in the second half outscoring them 39-21 on their way to a sensational 69-42 victory. The Pirates of Seton Hall could never get anything going and finished the game shooting 28.8% from the field and 28.6% from beyond the arc. It was a complete beat-down and finished the undefeated showing from the Big 12 in the first round.