Around the Top 25 (College Basketball): Feb. 3
As the calendar flips to February, each matchup becomes more critical in determining seeding for conference tournaments and the NCAA tournament.
No. 7 Kansas State faced off against No. 8 Kansas, No. 11 Baylor went against No. 10 Texas and No. 2 Tennessee squared off against the Florida Gators.
Let’s look at what is happening around the top 25.
No. 8 Kansas Gets Revenge Over No. 7 Kansas State
After falling just two weeks earlier to their in-state rivals, the Jayhawks had just one thing on their mind when they hosted the Wildcats on Tuesday - revenge. Revenge they got as No. 8 Kansas defeated No. 7 Kansas State 90-78.
Kansas came out hot, forcing a Kansas State turnover on their first possession before Dajuan Harris Jr. hit a 3-pointer to get the crowd going early.
The Jayhawks continued to play well, eventually going on a 16-7 run that they parlayed into a 12-point halftime lead.
The Wildcats would get the game to within six points just five minutes into the second half but would never complete the comeback as the Jayhawks cruised to victory.
Jalen Wilson continued his excellent scoring stretch for Kansas, scoring more than 20 points for the fifth straight game.
Markquis Nowell led Kansas State with 23 points, with 10 coming from the stripe. While Keyontae Johnson continues to play well following his two-year injury-plagued hiatus, putting up a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Kansas will look to continue to climb the rankings when they travel to No. 13 Iowa State on Saturday. While Kansas State will host No. 10 Texas on Saturday.
No. 10 Texas Ends No. 11 Baylor's Six-Game Winning Streak
In another interstate Big 12 showdown, the red-hot No. 11 Baylor Bears traveled to Austin to take on the No. 10 Texas Longhorns.
The Bears came in red hot, winning six straight games, but the Longhorns were ready. Texas built a nine-point lead before Baylor crawled back to cut the deficit to two at halftime, and tied the game on the first possession of the second half.
The Longhorns again took a nine-point lead, thanks to a 3-pointer from Sir'Jabari Rice. But again, Baylor fought back, bringing the deficit to one thanks to a three-point play from Keyonte George.
Marcus Carr responded with a jumper to make it a 74-71 game before George missed the game-tying three attempt. Baylor fouled, and Rice hit both free throws to give the Longhorns the 76-71 victory.
Baylor will look to bounce back on Saturday when the Bears host Texas Tech.
Florida Stuns No. 2 Tennessee
A week after No. 2 Alabama was stunned by an unranked squad in Oklahoma, the Volunteers followed suit, earning the number two ranking before losing on Wednesday 67-54 to the unranked Florida Gators.
The Volunteers struggled out of the gate, shooting poorly and eventually finding themselves down 17-4 when the game was stopped for the 12-minute tv time-out.
Tennessee then got hot going on a 16-4 run capped off by an Olivier Nkamhoua layup that brought them within one.
The Vols entered the break trailing 27-21 but came out firing in the second half and eventually took their largest lead of the contest, 44-38, after Santiago Vescovi was fouled on a 3-point attempt and then proceeded to make all three free throws.
Then Colin Castleton took over. Castleton scored 16 of his 20 points on the day in the second half. While the Volunteers got ice cold from the floor in the last ten minutes, only scoring 10 more points following the Vescovi free throws.
Tennessee will look to bounce back on Saturday when the host No. 25 Auburn. While Florida will have another tall task as the Gators travel on Saturday to take on Kentucky.
Ben Palillo is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bgp5079@psu.edu.
