This year’s SEC\/Big 12 Challenge ended in a 5-5 tie.
The Big 12 had won the first three challenges between the conferences and held a 20-10 edge heading into this season. But Kansas\u2019 79-73 , come-from-behind victory at Kentucky on Saturday, just the third win by any visiting team at Rupp Arena in more than two years, kept the SEC from breaking through.
The Big 12\u2019s best showcased their potential — and flaws — in the challenge. Kansas, Baylor, West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech all won. For the SEC, Tennessee, Auburn, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Florida scored victories.
What did we learn about both leagues from the challenge? Plenty.
Deep into a difficult game at Ole Miss on Saturday , Baylor led by just three points.
Andy Kennedy\u2019s Rebels squad connected on 38.9 percent of its shots from beyond the arc on Saturday. Sebastian Saiz finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Baylor\u2019s foul trouble and Ole Miss\u2019 zone disrupted the Bears\u2019 attack.
That\u2019s how the Rebels led throughout a game against a Bears team that\u2019s vying for the top overall seed on Selection Sunday.
With just under 23 seconds to go, Manu Lecomte — a junior transfer from Miami — caught the ball above the 3-point line and hit a critical shot that extended Baylor\u2019s lead. That proved to be a critical shot because Rebels guard Cullen Neal drew a late foul at the 3-point line and made all three free throws in the final seconds.
Lecomte is a star.
Per Synergy data, Lecomte is 23-for-50 this season on his no-dribble jumpers. He has also made 39 percent of his 3-pointers and 82 percent of his free throws.
With Johnathan Motley hindered by foul trouble throughout the game and defensive ace Ish Wainright wrestling ballhandling troubles (five turnovers), Baylor coach Scott Drew needed someone to help his team avoid a loss that would have damaged its top-seed aspirations.
Lecomte stepped up with a 17-point, 4-rebound, 4-assist game that included his big 3-pointer. Earlier this year, he finished with 24 points in the Bears’ victory over Xavier and 18 points in a victory over Oregon.
Baylor is one of America\u2019s best defensive teams, although Ole Miss\u2019 1.15 points per possession challenged that notion Saturday. The Bears also have an all-Big 12 star in Motley. But Lecomte continues to emerge in big moments.
With Lonzo Ball , De\u2019Aaron Fox , Frank Mason , Bronson Koenig , Nigel Williams-Goss , London Perrantes , Joel Berry II and Quentin Snider all handling point guard responsibilities for top-15 squads, a Final Four run without the services of a talented point guard seems an unlikely endeavor.
On Saturday, Lecomte tossed his name into the conversation about the nation\u2019s most significant point guards with his effort at Ole Miss. Baylor could go far in March with Lecomte as its leader.
In the first 10 minutes of their 79-73 victory at Kentucky on Saturday, the Jayhawks looked tired. They\u2019d lost a scrap at West Virginia earlier in the week. Several players had been interviewed as part of an investigation into an incident that occurred in their dorm last month. Then the school announced that sophomore Carlton Bragg (6.1 points per game) had been suspended indefinitely heading into Saturday\u2019s matchup in Lexington, Kentucky.
Kansas needed freshman Josh Jackson (20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals) to secure the win. But Mason and the three other upperclassmen in the starting lineup — including Landen Lucas and his 6-for-6 effort — helped Kansas fight back from an early deficit and control the game in the second half.
That would not have happened without the poise of veterans who helped KU navigate a turbulent week and grab another signature victory.
A weird thing happened toward the end of West Virginia\u2019s 81-77 win over Texas A&M. If you only glanced at the box score, you missed A&M outscoring WVU 14-7 in the final 90 seconds of the game. The Mountaineers got sloppy late, but they also forced turnovers on 31 percent of A&M\u2019s possessions.
Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Kansas State each respectably handled West Virginia\u2019s pressure and handed Bob Huggins\u2019 squad a loss this season. But Tuesday\u2019s 16-point victory over Kansas and Saturday\u2019s victory — in which Aggies star Robert Williams was held to eight points — showcased West Virginia\u2019s unique ability to control the pace of a game when it creates chaos with its pressure.
Vanderbilt\u2019s come-from-behind win over Iowa State and Auburn\u2019s win over TCU were the SEC\u2019s most impressive victories in the challenge. Bruce Pearl coached the Tigers to a victory over a TCU squad that had played its way into the NCAA bubble conversation. And Bryce Drew\u2019s Commodores beat a Cyclones squad ranked among the top 25 of ESPN\u2019s BPI. But you can\u2019t take the 5-5 challenge tally and suggest the SEC and Big 12 (eight teams in BPI\u2019s top 50), arguably America\u2019s strongest conference, are equals. They\u2019re not.
The league\u2019s title contenders — Kansas, West Virginia and Baylor — all won. Two of the Big 12\u2019s mid-level teams — Kansas State and Iowa State — lost road games. But Ole Miss\u2019 effort against Baylor, Vandy\u2019s win, Auburn\u2019s road victory and Texas A&M\u2019s late rally all enhanced the perception of the league, which should please SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and the league\u2019s supporters.
Oklahoma State’s Jawun Evans (16 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds against Arkansas), Texas A&M’s Tyler Davis (19 points, 18 rebounds against West Virginia), Ole Miss’ Sebastian Saiz (20 points, 10 rebounds against Baylor), Georgia’s Yante Maten (21 points, seven rebounds against Texas) and Vanderbilt’s Luke Kornet (21 points against Iowa State) are all talented athletes excelling for teams outside the BPI\u2019s top 30. It can be difficult to get national attention, but they all dominated in their challenge matchups.<\/p>\n

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Sentiment rank: -1<\/div>\n

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