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Three Big 12 schools took the floor this evening hoping to move forward to the Sweet 16. Two prevailed and the other got beat by what many would consider their little brother. Here is an update on how the Big 12 fared as the final slots in the Sweet 16 were decided.
Kansas
The Jayhawks ran into a Shocker buzzsaw this afternoon as Wichita State had 5 players score in double figures (led by Tekele Cotton who ended with 19 points) for Wichita State. While the Jayhawks led by as many as 8 in the first half, the couldn't survive the 2nd half onslaught which saw the Shockers score 49 points. It is clear that Wichita State was underseeded.The Shockers finished off the Jayhawks by a score of 78-65.
It was also clear that this Kansas team lacks the talent and punch of years past. Oubre, Ellis, and Frank Mason III are good players, but not elite.
Jake Trotter summed up the game with two great tweets.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>No wonder Bill Self ducked the Shockers all these years...</p>— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jake_Trotter/status/579783142006857728">March 22, 2015</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>After this, Wichita State should say it’s going to decline scheduling Kansas moving forward.</p>— Jake Trotter (@Jake_Trotter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jake_Trotter/status/579785750004170752">March 22, 2015</a></blockquote>
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West Virginia
The Mountaineers are a strange team. At times in the Big 12 they appeared to be unstoppable. At others, they struggled to score. One thing that has held true all season however is there intense suffocating full court press defense. That defense shined tonight causing 23 turnovers and frustrating the Terrapins. WVU proved to be too much and bounced the Terrapins out of the tourney winning 69-59.
The question becomes can WVU slay the dragon that is Kentucky. The good news is that the game should be full of couch burners as Cleveland is much closer than any of the Mountaineers' Big 12 road games.
AND the Sooners
Most of you watched as the Sooners simply wore down the Flyers and methodically crawled back into a game, beating the Flyers 72-66. The Sooners still haven't played great, but they have done enough each game to move into the Sweet 16. A game with Michigan State is up next Friday in Syracuse. The bracket sets up well for the Sooners as both Villanova and Virginia are no longer looming in the East Regional.