NCAA Basketball on Sling TV: #4 Kansas at #14 Iowa State, Texas Tech at #1 Oklahoma
#4 Kansas Jayhawks vs. #14 Iowa State Cyclones (9pm ET Monday, ESPN)
Despite losing two of their last four games, the Kansas Jayhawks find themselves in a four-way tie for first place in the rough and tumble Big 12 at 5-2 in conference play. They’re 16-3 overall,
and currently ranked fourth in the country. Kansas beat Texas 76-67 on Saturday despite getting just 4 points from their bench, as senior forward Perry Ellis (no relation) scored 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
Iowa State is coming off a big week in which they beat lowly Texas Christian 73-60 after beating #1 Oklahoma 82-77 as Georges Niang, Monte Morris and Abdel Nader all scored at least 20. Now 15-4 overall, the Cyclones have jumped in from #19 all the way up to #14 in the AP poll, and at 4-3 are in 5th place in the Big 12.
Watch the Kansas Jayhawks vs. the Iowa State Cyclones at 9pm ET Monday on ESPN.
Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. #1 Oklahoma Sooners (7pm ET Tuesday, ESPN)
Texas Tech’s record isn’t all that impressive at first blush: They’re just 12-6 overall and 2-5 in Big 12 play, good enough for 7th place. But before conference play started they were 11-1, and since then they incurred losses against #14 Iowa State, #4 Kansas, #17 Baylor, and #9 West Virginia. What the Red Raiders lack in star power, they mostly make up for with depth, as their roster features seven kids averaging at least 7 points and 3 rebounds, more than any other team in the Big 12.
The Sooners enjoyed a glorious week atop the national rankings, only to fall to Iowa State. But they rebounded nicely to hold the top spot with a 82-72 win over Baylor in which star guard and Wooden Award hopeful Buddy Hield scored 19 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Hield is currently the second-best 3-point shooter in the land, hitting on 51.7%, eighth in free throw shooting at 90.5%, and fourth in points per game, with 25.7.
Watch the Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. the Oklahoma Sooners at 7pm ET Tuesday on ESPN.
All stats courtesy ESPN and Basketball Reference.