By: William Smythe

I can’t recall a Tuesday as hectic as what we experienced yesterday. With nine AP ranked teams in play, two top-ten teams fell while others climbed the continuously-changing ladder in the power rankings. Bedlam – outside of Houston’s consistency at no. 1 – defined what was largely a Big 12-dominated gameday. 

Disclaimer: We apologize for the heavy Iowa State and K-State content recently. But, they’re having fun.

Iowa State is deserving of an “elite” rather than “underrated” label

I’ll admit, it’s always a bit tricky to consider the Cyclones as an elite program. Yeah, they’ve had an impressive history in the past decade, but they’re nowhere near the level of Baylor and Kansas…right? The Wizard of Otz – however – has his 2023 Iowa State roster teetering on the echelon of the Texas’ and Kansas’ of the world.

Motivated in large part by transfer Tyrese Hunter’s return to Ames, the Cyclones overcame an early deficit to the ‘Horns and rallied on the shoulders of their incredible defense. I cannot say enough good things about St. Bonaventure transfers Jaren Holmes (21 pts) and Osun Osunniyi (11 pts, 7 reb) – the latter of which has improved mightily on the offensive side of the ball.

What these two bring is defensive tenacity – a newfound aspect of these Otzelberger teams that just refuse to roll over. 

A 55-53 lead for the Cyclones – with the game seriously in doubt – ballooned into a 65-55 advantage after some tremendous defensive possessions and a clutch three from the (injured?) senior Caleb Grill. Iowa State now has one of the best resumes in the country – wins over no. 7 Texas, no. 12 Baylor, no. 17 TCU and then-no. 1 UNC are impressive, no doubt.

 Fear Otz’s crew as they continue to exceed expectations yet again.

Kansas State holds court in Manhattan, denies Jalen Wilson’s career day

Jerome Tang has his Wildcats humming. They were trounced in Fort Worth last week, yet lost none of their motivation after upending the no. 2 Jayhawks in a “game of the year” candidate midway through the season, 83-82.

You can’t talk about this classic without mentioning Kansas’ Jalen Wilson – the star forward who made his National Player of the Year case that much more interesting with a 38 point, nine-rebound effort.

Wilson did everything for the Jayhawks yesterday – slashing as usual, cashing in three deep-balls (one of which was called back late after Bill Self called a TO), and picking up the slack for three of his fellow starters who fouled out. His performance was a masterclass – one of the best I’ve ever seen – but it wouldn’t be enough. The Wildcats’ Keyontae Johnson (24 pts) – on the other hand – asserted his will in the contest and largely matched Wilson. 

The Wildcats – frankly – shouldn’t have made the game as close as it was. They buried Kansas into a first-half hole (went up by as much as 14 with 9:31 to play), yet ultimately regressed to the mean. Tang’s group managed to keep the Jayhawks at bay for much of the second half – that is, until Wilson couldn’t be stopped. 

A wild finish to regulation – capped by a near game-winning steal and layup from Johnson – led to a depleted, foul-happy Kansas and a last-ditch effort from guard Dajuan Harris that ultimately fell short.

What does this mean for Kansas State? They are playing with house money at this point after defeating their bitter rivals. The Jayhawks will be perfectly fine – having clawed back admirably – yet will look back at this one with some what-ifs. 

The ACC’s lone undefeated team can’t catch up to Wake in Winston

What a brutal fall from grace from Clemson. That’s a stretch – I know – but the Tigers never played the Demon Deacons particularly close in a double-digit victory for the home team. That’s not to say that Clemson doesn’t have a good shot at the ACC crown, but who knows how much this game will set them back.

Wake’s Tyree Appleby (24 pts) – a legitimate contender for All-ACC First Team in his first year in Winston – played a spectacular game throughout despite converting only two of seven from three. Appleby is this year’s version of ACC POY and guard Alondes Williams – giving Steve Forbes’ crew some offensive life which they otherwise may have lacked.

Three other Demon Deacons scored at least 17 points, with Wake forcing plenty of costly Tiger fouls to give them a nine-point free throw differential.

Wake Forest is building something sneaky under Forbes in his second year. The transfer portal has been kind to his teams – who lost nearly every key piece from last season – with  a 14-5 record and a 10-0 clip in Lawrence Joel Coliseum proving that the Demon Deacons may be scrappier than expected. 

Other News:

– Mississippi State has some real problems on offense, couldn’t hang late with a similarly-oriented Tennessee roster

– Houston is coasting through AAC play (despite a close win over USF)

– Alabama is so solid at covering the spread