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This Week in the Big 12: Baylor is all alone in the Sweet 16

By Hayes Gardner

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MARCH 09: Baylor Bears Forward Lauren Cox (15) dribbles around Texas Tech Red Raiders Forward Brittany Brewer (20) during the BIG12 Women's basketball tournament between the Baylor and the Texas Tech on March 9, 2019, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by David Stacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - MARCH 09: Baylor Bears Forward Lauren Cox (15) dribbles around Texas Tech Red Raiders Forward Brittany Brewer (20) during the BIG12 Women's basketball tournament between the Baylor and the Texas Tech on March 9, 2019, at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, OK. (Photo by David Stacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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Baylor is the Big 12’s lone representative in the Sweet 16

It wasn’t

quite

at all the NCAA Tournament opening weekend that the Big 12 wanted.

7 seed Texas turned the ball over 23 times in falling to 10 seed Indiana. 9 seed Kansas State was blown out by 8 seed Michigan to the tune of a 30-point beatdown. And 3 seed Iowa State fell victim to the biggest upset of the tournament, losing to 11 seed Missouri State on its home court.

The result: after the first two rounds, the conference has the same amount of teams left (1) as the Missouri Valley Conference and the Summit League.

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As predicted, No. 1 overall seed Baylor easily advanced to its 10th straight Sweet 16 with dominating victories over 16 seed Abilene Christian and then a solid California team. In a matchup of Bears, both Lady and Golden, Baylor did what it does best: hit the glass. The Lady Bears rebounded half of their misses and grabbed more than twice as many boards as the Goldens did, winning 102-63.

After the dust had settled, Baylor was left carrying the Big 12 flag by itself into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

ISU was expected to shoulder the Big 12’s representation in the Sweet 16. The Cyclones played well in a comfortable win over WAC champion New Mexico State in the first round and were clear favorites against the Missouri Valley tournament champions Missouri State, but never could get their footing in a 69-60 loss.

Bridget Carleton, the Big 12 Player of the Year and an expected WNBA draft pick, was fantastic and nearly willed her team to victory. She finished with 31 points and 10 rebounds and hit a step-back three to bring it to a one-point game midway through the final period, but the Cyclones never could secure a lead against Missouri State.

It was a surprisingly early finish to Carleton’s career. She finished a mere seven points shy of becoming the Cyclones’ all-time scoring leader.

“We all feel that that wasn’t how it was supposed to end,” senior point guard Alexa Middleton said.

That was in Ames. Down in Waco, those Lady Bears easily handled business in balanced fashion.

Kim Mulkey, the Big 12 coach of the year, has voiced her belief this season that she has the best players in the Big 12 and the country, but they aren’t individually recognized because the team is so balanced. They certainly flexed their talent and balance against Cal, as seven players scored at least eight points. The 2018 Big 12 Player of the Year, Kalani Brown, a Wooden Award finalist and projected first-round pick, needed to take just seven shots and score only eight points as Baylor’s offense surpassed the century mark for the sixth time this season.

When the 6-foot-7 Brown and 6-foot-4 Lauren Cox — who possesses athleticism that 6-foot-4 players never possess — are scoring inside and willingly distributing the ball, Baylor is borderline unstoppable in the half-court. Good luck to their foes in Greensboro.

Next up for Baylor is a Sweet 16 matchup with South Carolina, a team that Baylor easily dispatched in Columbia back in December.

The Gamecocks have shown improvement since a rough stretch late in 2018, but their best win this season is against Texas A&M, as they haven’t displayed the ability to knock off the top teams they’ve faced: Baylor, UConn, and Mississippi State.

If the Lady Bears get past the Gamecocks — who are 15.5-point underdogs — they’ll face either Iowa or nearby N.C. State. Neither team, however, should strike too much fear into Baylor, which has more talent and size than either foe.

Just a two rounds into the NCAA Tournament, the Big 12 has only one team carrying the conference’s flag. But it’s a good one. And a team that seems poised to carry that flag all the way to Tampa.

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