The most surprising upset of this young Big 12 season took place on Wednesday.
Things seemed status quo in the conference, as Baylor had, predictably, seized status as the Big 12’s best, and Iowa State and Texas had nestled into the remaining top three spots.
But, as it often does in college basketball, that status quo proved unsteady and unreliable.
ISU, ranked No. 18 in the nation last week, fell at West Virginia on the strength of 57 combined points from Tynice Martin, Naomi Davenport and Lucky Rudd. That wasn’t necessarily a upset, but still, a solid win for the Mountaineers.
Then came the real upset.
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- 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
Texas visited Kansas State on Wednesday night in a game that, on paper, seemed like a win for the No. 12 Longhorns. Entering the game, the Wildcats’ best win on the season, per RPI, had come at home against Lamar. Texas, conversely, had been ranked among the nation’s top 15 all season.
Road games are, by nature, exceedingly difficult to win, and although Texas produced some road magic by upending Iowa State last week, the Longhorns couldn’t do it in The City That You Shouldn’t Sleep On: Manhattan, Kan.
KSU jumped out to a 19-point halftime lead on their way to beating the brakes off UT, 87-69. The result was surprising — a Wildcat win, and a Longhorn loss.
The general (boring) reason for the upset is that these things happen in conference play and the Wildcats shot the ball exceptionally well (54% from the floor, 58% from deep, 89% from the line). The more-interesting-and-still true reason is that the Wildcats (12-6, 3-3 in the Big 12) received some exceptional play from senior point guard Kayla Goth.
Goth earned co-Big 12 player of the week honors for exceptional play in wins against Texas and Texas Tech, including a 20-point, 12-assist performance against the Lonhorns; during the pivotal first half, Goth dished out eight assists.
I’m not convinced Goth is the best point guard in the Big 12. She doesn’t have the stop-and-go speed of Baylor graduate transfer Chloe Jackson. And Texas’ Sug Sutton is having arguably the breakout year in the Big 12 (she notched 22 points and seven assists in the loss to KSU). But Goth has to be the most valuable point guard in the Big 12.
She’s leading the Big 12 in assists per game with 6.6 and, per Her Hoop Stats, she has an Assist Rate of 38.1 percent, also best in the conference. But it’s not just her ability to make the right pass; she’s also an effective scorer when needed.
While she can score at the rim, the 6-foot-1 smooth guard might even prefer her mid-range jump shot. Whether off-the-dribble or spinning around at the elbow, her 15-footer can get the Wildcats a bucket when they need it. Without her passing and scoring ability — 12.3 points per game — KSU would be a different, significantly worse, team.
I mean, there’s a reason she leads the conference in minutes played (36.4).
After having a small role during her first two seasons, Goth exploded as a junior and earned All-Big 12 Second Team. This year, she’s averaging fewer points per game, but is, once again, illustrating how vital she is to KSU.
Out of high school, Goth was not an absolute can’t-miss recruit: she was ranked No. 57 at her position nationally. And yet, coach Jeff Mittie wanted her bad enough that KSU agreed they’d play one game in her home state of Wisconsin if she became a Wildcat.
Indeed, this December KSU played (and lost) a neutral site game against Arizona State at a gym in Wisconsin.
Of course, Goth led them with 19 points.