A look at the upcoming weekend around the Big 12:
GAME OF THE WEEKEND: Texas Tech at Kansas State: The Red Raiders are making a serious push at perennial league champion Kansas, but Manhattan is never an easy place to play. The Wildcats are hoping to secure a somewhat surprising trip to the NCAA Tournament, and a win over the seventh-ranked Red Raiders would be huge for their resume.
LOOKING AHEAD: Oklahoma State travels to No. 19 West Virginia. The Mountaineers are one game behind 10th-ranked Kansas in the standings after the Jayhawks held off TCU at home on Tuesday. The Horned Frogs host Texas, while Kansas travels to Baylor. Trae Young makes what could be his only visit to Ames when the 17th-ranked Sooners face Iowa State.
PLAYER TO WATCH: G Kendall Smith, Oklahoma State. He scored 24 points with five rebounds and five assists in the Cowboys’ stunning upset of Kansas in Lawrence last weekend, scoring the game’s final six points. Smith, a graduate transfer, scored 14 points in Tuesday’s 67-56 loss to Baylor in Waco and is now averaging 11.6 points a game. Smith is also shooting a career-best .377 percent on 3s and has scored in double figures in the last five games he has played.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Texas Tech leads the league in both scoring defense and field goal percentage defense. …West Virginia is first in the Big 12 at the free throw line, shooting .758 percent. …TCU and Kansas are the only teams in the league shooting over 40 percent on 3s. The Horned Frogs are at .411, while the Jayhawks are at .405. …Iowa State entered Wednesday night’s game at Tech having scored 1,621 points while allowing 1,619. … Devonte’ Graham (Kansas), Keenan Evans (Texas Tech) and Jevon Carter (West Virginia) and Young are among the 10 finalists nationally for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award.
ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE: Baylor is 12-0 in the conference, but the Lady Bears had to hold off Oklahoma 74-65 at home on Monday. Texas is 10-2 after beating West Virginia 73-55 on the road Monday. …Baylor is ranked third while the Longhorns are sixth. Oklahoma State is 22nd, TCU is 24th and the Mountaineers fell out of the rankings on Monday.
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Compiled by AP Sports Writer Luke Meredith.
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More AP college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-Top25
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