Big 12 basketball a winner in challenge with SEC

For the third-straight year, the Big 12 beat the Southeastern Conference in the annual Big 12/SEC Challenge.

Also in that, West Virginia dropped its third-consecutive game in the Big 12/SEC Challenge.

In the past three year, the Mountaineers have lost to Missouri, LSU and, most recently, Florida.

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Meanwhile, WVU’s conference mates went 7-2 to capture another crown in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Rightfully so, as Big 12 basketball has consistently been regarded as the best conference in the country.

Earning wins on Saturday for the Big 12 were Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas, Kansas State, TCU and Texas.

Along with the Mountaineers, Iowa State and Texas Tech also suffered defeats. The Mountaineers and Cyclones meet up on Tuesday in what will still be a match up of Top 25 teams, though they will both slip in the rankings following their losses.

As a whole, the conference definitely solidified itself as the nation’s best.

Kansas taking out Kentucky was a statement among two of the nation’s top powerhouse programs and Oklahoma holding off LSU secured the Sooners’ case to remain the No. 1 team in the country.

A pair of teams floating around the .500 mark, Oklahoma State and Auburn, showed that even a lowly-regarded Big 12 team can beat a middle-of-the-pack SEC team by double digits. The Cowboys beat the Tigers, 74-63.

Baylor, TCU and Texas also won by double digits.

The West Virginia loss, really, was the worst blow for the conference.

Eamonn Brennan says the Mountaineers were a big loser on the day.

"“The Gators have been one of the country’s most sneaky and underrated teams for much of the season; they were guarding too well to keep losing close games forever,” he wrote on ESPN.com. “Maybe this was inevitable. Even so, offense is not Florida’s forte. So how, exactly, did the SEC’s seventh-best per-trip offense score 88 — with just 14 turnovers against the press-happy Mountaineers — in a 70-possession game versus the sport’s peskiest defense?”"

Without Jonathan Holton up top, maybe the Mountaineers aren’t as pesky as they originally were.