Kentucky-West Virginia highlights Big 12-SEC Challenge

By AP
Published

A look at the upcoming weekend around the Big 12:

GAME OF THE WEEKEND: Kentucky at No. 7 West Virginia. The Mountaineers have lost three of their last four games after falling at TCU 82-73 on Monday. But the Wildcats aren't the power they usually are, falling out of the Top 25 for the first time in nearly four years Monday. West Virginia was a ghastly 25-of-75 shooting against the Horned Frogs.

LOOKING AHEAD: The Big 12-SEC Challenge arrives Saturday, with each team in the league in action. Fifth-ranked Kansas, which fell at No. 12 Oklahoma 85-80 on Monday, hosts a Texas A&M team that is just 2-6 in SEC play. The Sooners travel to Alabama, which has won four of its last five games. Iowa State hosts No. 22 Tennessee, surging Kansas State hosts Georgia and Ole Miss travels to Texas. TCU (Vanderbilt), Oklahoma State (Arkansas) and No. 14 Texas Tech (South Carolina) will be on the road this weekend.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Oklahoma PG Trae Young. After scoring 48 points on 39 shots in a loss to Oklahoma State, the Sooners' brilliant freshman found some much-needed efficiency against the Jayhawks. Young scored 26 points on just nine shots from the field and added nine assists, including a kick-out to Christian James for a corner 3 that proved to be the game's decisive shot. Young is putting up numbers for a rookie not seen since Kevin Durant's only season at Texas, with 30.3 points and 9.6 assists per game.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Every team in the league is scoring more points than their opponent. The Mountaineers rank first at plus-15.3, while the Cyclones are last at just plus-1.2. ... TCU is the only team left shooting at least 50 percent from the field. The Horned Frogs are at .500, while the Jayhawks are at .499. K-State is third at .492. ... Kansas is first in the Big 12 with an average of 16,367 fans per home game, followed by Iowa State (14,025) and West Virginia (11,493). ... KU's Devonte Graham is leading the race for Big 12 player of the year for guys not named Trae Young, as he's second in the league in points per game (17.8) and assists (7.4).

ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE: TCU cracked the Top 25 for the first time since 2010 this week. The Horned Frogs are No. 24. ... Third-ranked Baylor's Kalani Brown was named Big 12 player of the week for the first time this season Monday after she scored 33 points with 19 rebounds in a win over Kansas State. ... Oklahoma State (19th) and West Virginia (20th) were also included in this week's poll.

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Compiled by AP Sports Writer Luke Meredith.

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