Big 12 basketball wasted no time making a mess of opening night.
Fifteen of the league’s 16 teams were in action, and the conference came away 13-2. The two losses came against ranked opponents, but there was still plenty to sort through from a night that delivered big scoring bursts, near-upsets and a few warning signs for teams trying to get rolling.
Arizona came the closest to flipping the script after a rough start, and it was Ivan Kharchenkov who nearly dragged the Wildcats all the way back. The sophomore forward poured in a career-high 38 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Arizona tried to erase a double-digit deficit against UCLA.
Derek Dixon added 18 points, though he needed 17 shots to get there, while Caleb Holt and Motiejus Krivas each finished with only two field goals. That lack of help around Kharchenkov stood out, especially with top-25 opponents on the other side.
Iowa State’s result was even more jarring. Memphis entered the game without starting big man Nemanja Popovic, who is set to miss the first six games, which made the Tigers look like a bigger underdog against top-20 Iowa State.
Instead, Memphis walked away with an 80-78 win. The Cyclones got 34 combined points off the bench from Dominykas Pleta and Ryan Prather Jr., but their backcourt never found its footing.
Jaquon Johnson and Jamarion Batemon combined to go 0-for-11 from the floor, and that kind of empty night from the guards was enough to sink them. Memphis may end up being a good team, so this won’t land as a disastrous loss, but it still counts as a setback for Iowa State.
There were also a couple of Big 12 teams that had to grind through uncomfortable finishes just to avoid early damage on the schedule. UCF needed every bit of Dior Johnson’s night to get past Florida Gulf Coast, surviving 96-95 in overtime to avoid a Quad 4 loss.
Johnson was the best scorer in the sport on the night, finishing with 41 points on 13/15 shooting from the field and 11/15 from the line. For the Knights, that kind of dependence is a concern.
But after Johnson had managed only a couple of points per game two years ago in his first stint with the program, UCF at least appears to have a clear lead guard.
Utah also had to claw back from trouble, rallying from a 12-point halftime deficit against Long Beach to win 66-63. Fifth-year guard Trey Campbell led the way with 20 points, six rebounds and eight assists. The Utes were flirting with a Quad 4 loss before steadying themselves late, and while that’s hardly ideal, Campbell gave them a real lifeline.
Then there was BYU, which got a huge night from Rob Wright in a 94-83 win over Ohio State. The junior guard scored 33 points on 9-for-15 shooting and helped fuel a 60-point second half. All five starters finished in double figures, and Syracuse transfer Tyler Betsey added 15 points and seven rebounds after what had been a rough preseason stretch.
Opening night gave the Big 12 plenty of reasons to feel good, but it also handed out a few reminders that early-season margins can disappear fast.
In Other News...
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Iowa State Just Faced A Bigger Problem Than One Opening Loss
Iowa States season opened with more than a frustrating 80-76 loss to Memphis at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The Cyclones were beaten in the areas that usually travel best for a T.J. Otzelberger team, with Memphis getting the edge in steals, free throws and three-point shooting, leaving Iowa State to sort through the kind of early-game issues that can linger if they are not corrected quickly.
Otzelberger pointed to the need for more defensive pride and commitment moving forward, a message that carries extra weight after a game like this. For a team that expects to defend at a high level and control the terms of play, the opener was a reminder that the bigger concern is not just the loss itself, but whether the response shows up fast enough. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa States New Transfer Could Force A Tough Minutes Battle
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For the Cyclones, the appeal goes beyond the shooting. Babbitt is expected to help as both a perimeter threat and a defensive presence, which gives the staff another useful option when the game calls for spacing or extra pressure on the ball. The bigger question is how often she gets on the floor, since her role figures to shift depending on matchups and game flow, creating a deeper competition for minutes on a roster that already has plenty of moving parts. [Read more 🡒]