Daily Briefing — Feb. 27, 2022: At the Brink of the end

Enjoy our last real day of non-tournament college basketball, folks.

W Roundup

Free agency

• Haley Górecki: Signed a training-camp deal with Indiana.

Visit our offseason trackers page to see all the other free agent moves. And how they affect team’s caps, other front-office changes, and more — in neat, colorful fashion!

Watch List, Sunday, Feb. 27

(All times in Eastern)

Must-watch

#4 Louisville @ #14 Notre Dame, Noon, ESPN2

#6 Michigan @ #21 Iowa, 4 p.m., ESPN2 — Michigan wins the Big Ten with a win, Ohio State or Maryland win the Big Ten with an Iowa win

Good games

#8 LSU @ #16 Tennessee, 2 p.m., ESPN2

Also watchable

Northwestern @ Nebraska, 4:30 p.m., BTN

#3 N.C. State @ #23 Virginia Tech, 6 p.m., ACC Network

Sickos games

Vanderbilt @ Alabama, 3 p.m., SEC Network

Pac-12 or Big 10 on national television (or national streaming)

#17 Ohio State @ Michigan State, 2:30 p.m., BTN — Michigan or Maryland win the Big Ten if Ohio State loses

Saturday, Feb. 26 recap

#2 Stanford: 63-56 win over Washington. The Cardinal had a 99.0% pregame win expectancy and a projected margin of 30 points, per Her Hoop Stats, and trailed as late as 1:04 in the fourth quarter. They shot just 34.3% from the field and 20.8% from three while allowing 46.2% and 41.2%, respectively; notched 13 steals, part of 19 forced turnovers; only committed seven fouls. Center Cameron Brink led with 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting (1-3 3pt.) and 11 rebounds (four offensive) for a double-double, plus five blocks without a turnover in 26 minutes; wing Lexie Hull had 15 points on 5-for-13 from the field (2-4 3pt.), eight rebounds (six offensive), and five steals against three turnovers; point wing Haley Jones notched eight points on 3-for-8 FG (0-1 3pt.), five rebounds, three assists, and two steals against three turnovers; combo guard Anna Wilson tallied seven points on 2-for-6 from the field (0-2 3pt.) and 3-for-6 from the line, seven rebounds (three offensive), two assists, and three steals; off-ball guard Hannah Jump shot 2-for-8 from three.

TDB Cameron Brink Foul Watch: One foul in 26 minutes today; 5.2 fouls per 40 minutes (12th percentile, per Her Hoop Stats), 6.4% foul percentage (10th percentile) for the season.

#5 Baylor: 85-77 win over Kansas. Shot 47.7% from the field and 42.9% from three, but missed 13 free-throws; assisted on 24 of its 31 buckets; the teams combined for 30 turnovers and 41 fouls. Big NaLyssa Smith led with a 33-point, 16-rebound double-double on 13-for-23 from the field (0-2 3pt.) and 7-for-8 from the line, plus two steals against three turnovers without sitting; off-ball guard Ja’Mee Asberry scored 19 points on 6-for-9 shooting (4-5 3pt.) with six rebounds and no turnovers; center Queen Egbo was limited to 26 minutes by four fouls, finishing with 14 points on 6-for-13 FG (2-6 FT), nine rebounds, two assists, and three turnovers; point guard Jordan Lewis and combo guard Sarah Andrews combined for 10 points on 3-for-14 from the field and 0-for-4 from three (Lewis 2-8 FT) and 15 assists.

#9 Iowa State: 71-55 win over Texas Tech. Shot 49.1% from the field and 40.0% from three; drew 17 fouls. Wing Ashley Joens led with 24 points on 9-for-14 from the field and 4-for-6 from three and 12 rebounds for a double-double, plus three assists and two blocks against two turnovers; points guard Emily Ryan was limited to 26 minutes with four fouls, finishing with 11 points on 2-for-2 from the field (1-1 3pt.) and 6-for-6 from the line, nine assists, and two blocks against two turnovers; combo guard Lexi Donarski had 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting (1-4 3pt.), three steals, and two blocks.

#11 Texas: 77-42 win over TCU. Shot 50.0% from the field while allowing 34.1% to the Horned Frogs; assisted on 18 of its 33 buckets; notched 13 steals, part of 26 forced turnovers; the teams each committed 21 fouls. Big DeYona Gaston led with 16 points in 16 minutes on 8-for-8 FG and no turnovers; wing Joanne Allen-Taylor scored 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting (0-2 3pt.) with two turnovers; bench off-ball guard Aliyah Matharu had nine points on 4-for-10 from the field (1-3 3pt.), five rebounds, three assists, and six steals without a turnover; point guard Rori Harmon notched five points on 2-for-7 FG (1-2 3pt.), 11 assists, and three steals without a turnover.

#12 Arizona: 68-59 win over USC. Trailed 16-4 after 7.5 minutes and by nine 1.5 minutes before halftime. They shot 12.8% worse than the Trojans from the field, 11.1% worse from three, and 9.6% worse from the line; grabbed 18 offensive rebounds while allowing six; notched 13 steals, part of 21 forced turnovers; committed only six turnovers; drew 21 fouls. Backup combo guard Taylor Chavez led with a season-high 18 points — her previous high was six — on 5-for-7 from three (0-2 from two), two assists, and two steals; center Lauren Ware notched a double-double of 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting (0-2 3pt.) and 11 rebounds (eight offensive), plus two turnovers; point guard Shaina Pellington had 14 points on 5-for-16 from the field and 4-for-7 from the line, three rebounds, four assists, and two steals; win Sam Thomas tallied 10 points on 2-for-9 shooting (2-6 3pt., 4-6 FT), seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, and two blocks without a turnover.

#20 Oklahoma: 72-69 win over Kansas State. Held Ayoka Lee to substantially less than 61 points. Shot 47.3% from the field but allowed 40.9% from three to the Wildcats; committed 20 turnovers; drew 17 fouls. Wing Madi Williams led with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting (0-2 3pt.) and 10 rebounds for a double-double, plus two turnovers; combo guard Taylor Robertson had 17 points on 4-for-7 from three (1-1 form two) and five rebounds against two turnovers; backup combo forward/five-out center Skylar Vann had 10 points on 4-for-11 FG (2-4 3pt.), three rebounds, and two turnovers; center Liz Scott committed four fouls in 10 minutes.

For those curious, Wildcat center Ayoka had a double-double of 13 points (6-13 FG) and 11 rebounds (five offensive) with four steals and six blocks — so, a triple-double by “stocks” — against three turnovers and four fouls.

TDB Liz Scott foul watch: 9.0 fouls per 40 minutes, highest in Power 5 by nearly two fouls (per Her Hoop Stats)

#24 FGCU: 78-55 win over Jacksonville State. Shot 48.2% from the field and 41.4% from three; assisted on 23 of its 27 buckets; forced 20 turnovers. Big wing Kierstan Bell led with 23 points on 8-for-20 from the field, 2-for-10 from three, and 5-for-6 from the line, five assists, two steals, and three blocks against two turnovers; point guard Tishara Morehouse had 21 points on 7-for-10 shooting (3-3 3pt.), six assists, and two turnovers — both players in 29 minutes.

#25 Oregon: 73-65 win over Utah. Out-rebounded the Utes by 13, notched 11 steals, committed 17 turnovers and 16 fouls. Off-ball guard Sydney Parrish led with 18 points on 7-for-11 from the field and 4-for-8 from three, five rebounds, four assists, and two steals against three turnovers; point guard Te-Hina Paopao notched 10 points on 4-for-8 shooting (1-3 3pt.), eight rebounds (four offensive), five assists, and two steals against four turnovers; point guard Endyia Rogers had 14 points on 4-for-12 shooting (1-4 3pt., 5-6 FT), five rebounds, two assists, and three steals without a turnover; big Nyara Sabally was limited to 22 minutes with four fouls, finishing with 13 points on 6-for-10 FG, five rebounds, two assists, and two blocks against three turnovers. Wing Maddie Scherr was out precautionarily for her right ankle, per Duck Territory’s Erik Skopil.

RV* Dayton: 60-46 win over Rhode Island. And that’ll seal the A10 regular-season championship. Congrats to the Rams for thinking they had a chance to interrupt another Flyers’ title — that was cute.

Arkansas-Pine Bluff: 78-64 win over Mississippi Valley State. Point guard Zaay Green recorded the program’s second-ever triple-double — the first one recorded by her, 22 days ago — with 13 points (6-12 FG, 0-3 3pt.), 12 rebounds, and 10 assists, plus four steals against four turnovers.

Cancellations

• None

*Receiving Votes