The Big 12 Quarterfinals concluded on Thursday with a couple of huge wins and a pair of blowouts. The blowouts being: Kansas beating Texas Tech an embarrassing, 91- 63 and Kansas State beating Texas, 66-49.

The other two games were closer, Oklahoma State beating Baylor, 74-72 and Oklahoma losing to Iowa State 73-66.

Oklahoma/Iowa State game notes:

This one is the only one I got to watch the entire game of, for obvious reasons. The Sooners lead most of the game and completely dominated the first half. A late second half meltdown resulted in a 12-point run by the Cyclones and the Sooners were unable to recover. The Cyclones are the best scoring team in the Big 12 right now, which came as a surprise to most everyone.

Iowa State improved to 8-15 all-time in the Big 12 Championship and 4-9 in first-round games, while Oklahoma fell to 20-14 in Big 12 Championship history and 4-3 in first-round contests. OU still holds a slight edge at 12-11 when the two teams meet up in Kansas City.

The victory marked ISU’s first in the Big 12 Championship since a first-round win over Baylor on March 10, 2005, when the Cyclones were also a No. 5 seed.

Kansas/Texas Tech game notes:

Kansas improved to 33-8 all-time in the Big 12 Championship and 15-2 in quarterfinal games, while Texas Tech fell to 13-17 in Big 12 Championship history and 4-6 in quarterfinal contests.

KU’s 91 points are the most in a Big 12 Championship game since Colorado scored 91 in a double overtime win against Baylor in 2008. The 28-point margin of victory is the largest in a championship game since March 10, 2006, when Texas A&M defeated Colorado, 86-53.

Kansas State/Texas game notes:

K-State improved to 10-16 all-time in the Big 12 Championship and 4-8 in quarterfinal games, while Texas fell to 22-17 in Big 12 Championship history and 12-4 in quarterfinal contests.

K-State advances to play the winner of tonight’s Baylor-Oklahoma State match-up in Friday’s semifinals. During the regular season, the Wildcats split with Oklahoma State and swept Baylor.

UT and K-State have now split their only two meetings in the Big 12 Championship with both games coming in the quarterfinal round. They last met in 2009, a Texas win of 61-58 in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma State/Baylor game notes:

The Bears were wearing those highlighter uniforms that make your eyes bleed.

Oklahoma State improved to 22-14 all-time in the Big 12 Championship and 7-10 in quarterfinal games, while Baylor fell to 11-16 in Big 12 Championship history and 4-4 in quarterfinal contests. It was the first meeting between the two squads since the 1999 Big 12 Championship. OSU also won that contest, 83-57.

After being held to seven points in the first half, BU’s Pierre Jackson poured in 24 in the second period to tie his season high and the Baylor Big 12 Championship record. It was the 21st recorded 30-plus point game in Championship history. Jackson also set Baylor’s Big 12 Championship free throw percentage record at 92.8 percent (13-of-14) and the Sprint Center record for free throws made.

The semi-finals are scheduled for Friday and will feature Iowa State facing Kansas at 6:30 CST and Oklahoma State facing Kansas State at 9:00 CST.

My prediction? A state of Kansas showdown for the Finals.

On Wednesday, the Big 12 kicked off their men’s basketball championship. Wednesday’s game weren’t much of a surprise results-wise.

Texas Tech beat West Virginia, 71 - 69. Game notes from Big12Sports:

Texas Tech improved to 13-16 all-time in the Big 12 Championship and 8-7 in first round games, while West Virginia fell to 0-1 in Big 12 Championship history. TTU is now 1-3 all-time against the Mountaineers and 2-1 as the No. 9 seed in the Championship.

Texas Tech advances to play Kansas in Thursday’s quarterfinals. TTU dropped both regular season contests against the Jayhawks this season, falling 60-46 in Lubbock (March 12, 2013) and 79-42 in Lawrence (March 4, 2013).

The two-point victory was the closest contest the Red Raiders have played in the Big 12 Championship. It also marked their first win since 2010.

Texas beat TCU, 70-57. Game notes from Big12Sports:

Texas improved to 22-16 all-time in the Big 12 Championship and 4-1 in first-round games, while TCU fell to 0-1 in Big 12 Championship history. UT is now 3-0 in postseason play against the Horned Frogs, defeating them twice in the Southwest Conference Tournament (1989 and 1994).

The Longhorns won their first tournament game for the eighth year in a row, and head coach Rick Barnes added to his win total (20) as winningest coach in Championship history – two more than second-place Bill Self of Kansas.

Texas advances to play No. 2 Kansas State in Thursday’s quarterfinals. The Longhorns dropped both regular season contests against the Wildcats this season, falling 83-57 in Manhattan (1-30-13) and 81-69 in Austin (2-23-13).

The new bracket looks like this:

Oklahoma takes on Iowa State Thursday morning, while Kansas/Texas Tech will play in the afternoon. The night games tonight are Texas/Kansas State and Baylor/Oklahoma State.

I am thinking that maybe WVU, but not so much TCU is having conference-jumping remorse after two major sports have finished up the season. Most of their fanbase thought they were going to come to the Big 12 and dominate. Oh.

Now that conference play is officially over in the Big 12, its tourney time! The Big 12 tournament kicks off on Wednesday, March 13th in Kansas City at the Sprint Center.

Those teams that didn’t qualify for quarterfinals will square off on Wednesday. The four teams that didn’t qualify include: West Virginia, Texas, TCU and Texas Tech. The bracket:

 Notice the bracket background picture is of Kansas. It’s like they are predicting fate. The favorite to win at the moment is actually not the Rock Chalk, it happens to be Kansas State. Kansas has had a meltdown or two so far this season, but when you look at predictions of the NCAA tournament, quite a few sports outlets have them going to the Final Four. Shocker.

All games will be televised on the Big 12 Network/ESPN. Come back to the Neutral Zone for a daily recap of the happenings of the Big 12 tournament.

Four Big XII teams are started their road to Omaha on Friday, competing in the 64-team Regional brackets.

Oklahoma was scheduled to take on Appalachian State in Charlottesville, Virginia but was delayed due to severe weather in the area. The entire Charlottesville Regional was postponed till Saturday. As reported on Ride Schooner, Ride on Friday: Army, Virginia and Appalachian State are in the bracket with them.

Big XII Championship winner Missouri, is in the Tuscon Regional. They took on No. 1 Arizona late Friday night and was pounded by Arizona. Mizzou will play in the elimination game on Sunday against New Mexico State.  Also in their bracket is Louisville and New Mexico State.

Texas A&M is hosting the College Station Regional and took on No. 4 seeded Dayton. The Aggies beat Dayton 4-1, with Michael Wacha pitching 7 shutout innings.  Future conference mate, TCU is also in the bracket and took on the No. 3 seeded Ole Miss, who are also the SEC champions. The Horned Frogs lost to the Rebels, 6-2.

Baylor is hosting the Waco Regional where they took on No. 4 Oral Roberts. In a shocker, Oral Roberts defeated Baylor 4-2,  snapping the Bears 22-game home field winning streak. DBU and UT-Arlington are in the same bracket. DBU shut out UTA, 10-0 on Friday.So Baylor will take on UTA next.

Notre Dame needed overtime to beat UConn for the third time this season. Baylor continued their unbeaten streak against Stanford. The NCAA Women’s Championship is set for Tuesday night at 8:30pm ET on ESPN:

Baylor will try to finish their season unbeaten and become the first ever team with 40 wins.

Notre Dame returns to the game they lost last season.

It will be the second time this season the two teams will meet, with Baylor winning by 13 points earlier in the season.

The Lady Bears beat Stanford without much from star Brittany Griner. That’s what double and triple teams do. As head coach Kim Mulkey said in a postgame interview, “we aren’t the Brittany Griner show.” Those double and triple teams led to open shots for the other Baylor players. Odyssey Sims scored 11 points while Terran Condrey scored 13 points off the bench.

Baylor held everyone on Stanford in check, except for Nneka Ogwumike. She scored 22 points but needed 23 shots to get to that total. Her sister Chiney fouled out with just four points. The Cardinal made just 2-of-17 three point shots.

Notre Dame trailed at the half, but stormed back early in the second half. The game was tied at the end of regulation because UConn went on an 8-2 run to tie the game, fueled by the hustle of Kelly Faris.

Skylar Diggins and Brittany Mallory stepped up in overtime. Mallory hit two 3-pointers and Diggins played good defense to help the Irish prevail for their second straight semifinal victory over the Huskies. Those two 3-pointers were the only outside shots Mallory made in the game.

The National Championship will feature two of the game’s top junior stars: Griner and Diggins.

Which star will shine the brightest?

The Women’s Basketball NCAA Tournament started about three weeks ago with 64 teams vying for a national championship.

After last night, there are now just four teams remaining. For just the second time ever, the Final Four consists of the four number one seeds. All four won their Elite 8 matchups rather easily.

Baylor was the first to cut down the nets. The undefeated Lady Bears beat Tennessee and legendary head coach Pat Summitt on Monday night (though there was some late drama).

Stanford was next, as they beat Duke, to extend their winning streak to 32 games.

UConn beat Kentucky last night and are playing alot better now than they were just a month ago.

Notre Dame was the last team to secure a spot in the Final Four with their surprising thrashing of Maryland.

The women’s Final Four begins Sunday at 6:30pm ET on ESPN as UConn takes on Notre Dame. Baylor and Stanford will follow.

There are some interesting storylines heading into Sunday night:

• Will Brittney Griner dunk again? If you missed it, she threw down a two-handed dunk in the Sweet 16 against Georgia Tech.

• Can the Lady Bear stop the Ogwumike sisters? The senior Nneka and the sophomore Chiney for Stanford have accounted for at least half of the team’s offense in the tournament.

• Who will win the battle between Griner and Nneka? It is such an intriguing matchup. Griner is the rail-thin 6’8 center who has a 7’4 wingspan. Nneka  is the bulkier center for Stanford. Both can score at will around the basket. Will they guard each other?

• Can anyone stop Baylor’s Odyssey Sims? While all the hype goes to Griner, Sims has definitely stood out in the tournament. She has come into her own and Stanford had problems keeping Duke guard Chelsea Gray from driving to the hoop.

• UConn-Notre Dame Part 4: Notre Dame won the first matchup in overtime in South Bend. The Irish won by double-digits in Storrs in the regular season finale. However UConn got the best of ND in the Big East Championship. The two teams know each other well, so this should be a fun game.

• Can Skylar Diggins carry the Irish? To do that, she will need to put up big numbers in both halves, instead of just one.

Sunday’s Final Four should be an exciting one, with the top four teams fighting for supremacy.

In what was no surprise, the Kentucky Wildcats ran all-over the Baylor Bears on Sunday in Day 2 of the Elite 8. Kentucky is bigger, stronger and the talent level was way beyond what Baylor could handle. Watching the Wildcats play is like watching a young NBA team on the court.

Baylor fell flat after the first 5 minutes of the game and from then on it was all Blue. For as lop-sided as the game was, Baylor’s Quincy Acy had a pretty good game. He led the Bears in points (22) and rebounds (8). Baylor had 16 offensive 16 rebounds but only scored 14 second-chance points.

They were also shooting around 30 %, which was a major set-back considering they started out the tournament shooting around 53%. When you are shooting 30 % during an Elite 8 game, you are not going to beat a team like Kentucky. The Wildcats had built a 20 point lead by half-time.

In case you were wondering, Baylor went with the camo highlighter look, which Katie, our resident SEC guru has dubbed, “The Fighting Highlighters.”

Kentucky will take on in-state rival, Louisville in the Final Four. Hopefully the state of Kentucky will not burn down over the week.

The other Big XII team in, Kansas, kept the game a little more in check then there conference mate, Baylor. Perennial basketball powerhouses, North Carolina and Kansas are playing for the last Final Four spot to take on Ohio State in New Orleans.

Before the game, word on the street was that North Carolina was going to roll all over Kansas, who hasn’t been playing very well the entire tournament. They seemed to be skating by to get to the Elite Eight. Sunday seemed to be a new and rejuvenated Jayhawk team.

It was back and forth the entire game, with the Jayhawks usually ahead by one or two at times. They would get on a hot-streak then let the Tarheels come back and be within one. Until the last 2 minutes of the game, it seemed that Kansas turned on the after-burners and took over.

North Carolina played without their All-American point guard, Kendall Marshall. Jayhawk Elijah Johsnon started Kansas on the final 12-0 run in the last minutes of the game. Kansas’ players of the game included, Tyshawn Taylor with 22 points and Thomas Robinson with 18. Taylor also had 5 assists and 5 steals. Jeff Withey also made a huge impact for the Jayhawks.

Next Saturday is the second time Kansas and Ohio State have met this season, the first ended in 78-67 Jayhawk win. But this time OSU star Jared Sullinger will be on the court, and if you have watched any Ohio State basketball in this tournament, he is a game changer.
 

No. 1 Kentucky – 82, No. 3 Baylor – 70

Here’s a tip for Louisville, who plays Kentucky next weekend in the Final Four: the Cats are really, really good at making free throws.

Baylor (30-8) found that out the hard way this afternoon as the Wildcats dominated on both sides of the ball , plus at the line, en route to an 82-70 victory. To their credit, the Bears hung with UK (36-2) for most of the game. Little went right for them, though, and they were never able to match-up well with the crazy-talented Cats.

There was a scary moment when stars from both teams, Anthony Davis of Kentucky and Perry Jones III of Baylor, collided as Davis went to the hoop. Davis injured his knee and Perry hurt his hip, but they both returned to the game. They also both had to leave and returned again. Many people, including yours truly and the commentators, questioned the decision to leave Davis in, considering the Wildcats led by as many as 23 points.

Like I said, free throws made a difference in this game. The Cats were 16 of 19, which means they made about 84% of their attempts from the line. That, combined with their high-powered offense and shut down defense, spelled bad news for the Bears.

Davis led UK with 18 points, 11 rebounds, one0 assist, two steals, and six blocks. Three other starters scored in double figures: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (19), Doron Lamb (14), and Terrence Jones (12). Baylor was led by Quincy Acy, who had 22 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks in his final game for the Bears. Pierre Jackson contributed 21 points and Jones chipped in 17.

Baylor also sported uniforms that were much tamer than the ones they’d worn earlier int he tournament. As the lower seed, the NCAA required them to wear dark uniforms so there’d be better contrast with UK’s white uniforms. The Bears still had some visual excitement, though, since their shorts appeared to be Zubaz-inspired and their uniforms had some neon yellow-green highlights.

Kentucky will take on No. 4 Louisville next Saturday in the Final Four.

Reminder: follow @Aerys_NCAA on twitter for live, up-to-date coverage of all the March Madness!

Welcome to Day 2 of the Elite Eight, SEC fans! Top-seeded Kentucky is the only Southeastern Conference team remaining in the Big Dance after Florida was bounced by Louisville yesterday, and they’re looking to keep their stellar season rolling. It’s pretty much national championship or bust for the Wildcats, and there’s no doubt that the Baylor Fighting Highlighters – er, Bears - would love to pull off an upset and send Big Blue home. Here’s what (and who) to watch for in this game.

No. 1 Kentucky (35-2) vs. No. 3 Baylor (30-7)

In case you were wondering, Kentucky is still really, really, really good. Baylor’s more than decent themselves, but they’re not on the level of the Wildcats (is anyone?). UK has trounced all the teams they’ve played in the tournament so far, but with the exception of Xavier, BU has rolled past their opponents fairly easily, too. The difference here is that the Cats just have more sheer athleticism and talent on their team.

Baylor’s best strategy might be to try and blind Kentucky with their crazy neon uniforms. The Bears have been rocking some DayGlo-inspired outfits that are…unique at best. Seriously, though, UK doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. BU needs to either figure out how to trip up the Wildcats, or they need to outplay them.

There have been plenty of upsets in this tournament already, so there’s no reason to rule out a Bears win. That being said, Kentucky is just good. Winning is kind of their thing. I doubt this game will be a blowout, but I also doubt that BU can hang with the Cats for a full 40 minutes.

The game tips off at 2:20 ET and will be televised on CBS.

What to watch for: First of all, like I said, Baylor’s uniforms may require you to wear sunglasses while watching. Other than that, the Bears average just under 75 points per game and allow just under 65. UK scores almost 77 and gives up 59 on average. Both teams have powerful offenses, but the Wildcats’ D is probably going to overpower BU’s.

Who to watch for: Kentucky – Anthony Davis (14.2 ppg, 10.1 rpg, .632 FG%), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (11.8 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .479 FG%); Baylor – Perry Jones III (13.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .503 FG%), Quincy Acy

Reminder: follow @Aerys_NCAA on twitter for live, up-to-date coverage of all the March Madness!

The Sweet 16 game between the 3-seed Baylor and the 10-seed Xavier started with Baylor leading 12-2. At that point, it looked as though Baylor was on pace for a blowout.  If you have watched Xavier all season long, you know that they are the comeback kids. Unfortunately tonight, the Musketeers did not have enough to fully make the comeback, as they lost 75-70.

When Xavier was making their comeback in the first half, they were consistently getting the ball inside to Kenny Frease (he had 12 first half points).

In the second half, Xavier used their guard combination of Tu Holloway and Marc Lyons to get back in the game. However Lyons also made some bad decisions, which led to Baylor increasing their lead late.

Xavier was down nine points with about a minute and a half to go, but Baylor was sloppy getting the ball inbounds and Xavier capitalized to cut the deficit to three points.

Brady Heslip, who was non-existent from early in the first half on, sealed it for the Bears with four made free throws.

What eventually did Xavier in was that they couldn’t make a shot from the outside. They made just 3-of-15, two coming from Justin Martin off the bench.

Quincy Acy lived up to his reputation as a dunker. He scored 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting, with most of those makes coming via the dunk. He also had 15 rebounds. Pierre Jackson also contributed a double-double with 16 points and ten assists. Perry Jones III, who had been quiet so far in the tournament, scored 19 points. Six of those points came in about a two minute span in the second half.

For Xavier, they were led by seniors Frease and Holloway. Frease scored 18 points and Holloway scored 22 points. Lyons also contributed 16 points.

*Baylor and their highlighter yellow uniforms will face the winner of Kentucky-Indiana on Sunday.