‘Twas the week of the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, and all through the league
The docket was balanced, matchups filled with intrigue
That’s right. All 10 Big 12 teams (reminder that there are 10 teams in the Big 12) will end November and enter December with the SEC/Big 12 Challenge, which will pit members of the two conferences against one another on either Thursday or Sunday of this week.
A year after the Challenge resulted in a 5-5 split, the 2018 duel will begin with Kansas (5-0) at LSU and TCU (4-1) at Ole Miss on Thursday, before really warming up later in the week. The first high-profile matchup features No. 6 Mississippi State at No. 10 Texas (6-0) on Sunday, which will give the Longhorns, fresh off a Gulf Coast Showcase victory, a tough test. At least, in theory.
More from Big 12
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, November 2: Shakeup in the ACC with Bollin commit, UNC retool
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, October 21: Former Texas Tech coach Stollings files lawsuit
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, August 9: Taurasi to play again, but when?
- Your Day in Women’s Basketball, August 4: Wubble Trouble for the Liberty
- Baylor adds UCLA transfer Jaden Owens
The Bulldogs are a bit of a mystery. Highly-ranked and highly-regarded, Mississippi State returned just one starter from last year’s team and has not played any difficult opponents; they are 6-0, winning by an average score of 98-45.
Still, Mississippi State — led by 6-foot-7 senior Teaira McCowan as well as Texas A&M graduate transfer and rebounder-extraordinaire Anriel Howard — should cause Texas plenty of trouble, especially because Texas is thin in the frontcourt while Joyner Holmes recovers from an ankle injury.
McCowan and Howard just might have a field day at the Longhorns’ expense.
No. 4 Baylor at No. 18 South Carolina is even an higher-profile matchup, although it lost some of its luster when the Gamecocks started the season in stumbling fashion: they have lost three of four, albeit to good teams
Baylor (6-0) won a couple of games over Thanksgiving in the Las Vegas Shootout, but their most impressive win came against No. 19 Arizona State earlier this season. In that game, four different Bears scored in double figures with Preseason Big 12 Player of the Year Kalani Brown and Preseason Big 12 Co-Freshman of the Year NaLyssa Smith combining for 30 points (on 15-of-20 shooting) and 18 rebounds in the win.
When that talented duo is playing that efficiently, good luck stopping them. Even then, it doesn’t seem like South Carolina is a position to knock off Baylor.
In other news, Oklahoma (2-3) is off to a, well, not good start. This should be expected from a young team, but it still felt strange to see the Sooners drop their third straight game over Thanksgiving, with losses to South Florida, UAB and Clemson. It’s not the end of the world, though: Oklahoma dropped four in a row early last year, and they still qualified for the NCAA Tournament. I guess they should be thankful it’s only November.
In the Big 12/SEC Challenge, the Sooners will face Auburn, whose only loss came in dramatic fashion against Iowa State (4-1) earlier this month.
Another Challenge game that should be sneaky good will feature Missouri against West Virginia (4-1).
Last Friday, the Mountaineers experienced no Thanksgiving hangover, as they shot out to a 24-point lead over No. 14 Iowa. But, slowly and surely, West Virginia let the Hawkeyes climb back in, and eventually win. The Mountaineers followed that effort by punishing Eastern Kentucky to the tune of an 81-39 point win, so it will be interesting to see how they fare against a solid Missouri team.
As teams go through a period of self-discovery early in the season, the SEC/Big 12 Challenge offers an early measuring stick against what is generally a comparable, if atypical opponent.
The action starts Thursday. Quality wins are at stake.