Roach, UT advance by the skin of their teeth
Guard survives pain to help Longhorns avoid major setback
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The tooth seemed lost. Well, the lower half, anyway.
An elbow to the jaw from Iowa State guard Lindell Wigginton sliced one of Texas guard Kerwin Roach’s top teeth in half midway through the first half of their meeting in the first round of the Big 12 tournament. The chipped fragment flew out onto the court, where teammate Matt Coleman was nice enough to retrieve it. Blood flowed from Roach’s mouth as coach Shaka Smart grilled officials over the lack of a foul call.
But Roach missed only 62 seconds of play before returning, looking a bit like a colossal teething toddler, and with so much on the line, he simply couldn’t remain on the sideline. With Roach playing through the pain, Texas held off Iowa State, 68-64, to advance to the quarterfinals.
“I had braces for a while, and I thought all that money had gone to waste,” Roach said. “It didn’t even hurt at the time. I just felt wind going through my mouth more than normal, and I looked down and saw a tooth at the free-throw line.
“I was like, ‘Ah, snap, I lost a tooth!’ ”
Kansas City Chiefs team dentist Dr. Bill Busch, who was on hand at the Sprint Center, managed to re-attach Roach’s tooth at halftime. The North Shore product finished game with nine points, seven assists and six rebounds. He also shot just 2-of-12, an ugly showing reflective of his whole team’s offensive performance.
Fortunately, the NCAA Tournament selection committee typically doesn’t consider style. All that matters is the outcome, and UT (19-13) got the one it needed just hours after fellow bubble dweller Oklahoma State knocked off Oklahoma.
Texas, the tournament’s No. 7 seed, will now face No. 2 seed Texas Tech at 6 p.m. Thursday. At this stage, UT can help its standing with a win, but regardless of the outcome, Smart should be back in the NCAA Tournament after a one-year absence. With Mo Bamba (sprained toe) inactive for a third straight game, Texas had to lean heavily on remaining big men Jericho Sims and Dylan Osetkowski — with a dash of sophomore center James Banks — once more. The results were mixed.
Osetkowski was glued to the 3-point line early, much to the Longhorns’ detriment. He missed six shots from deep before finally knocking one down with 1:16 remaining in the first period. But the 6-9 junior also sparked a crucial 16-3 run, scoring 12 points during the outburst to push UT ahead 34-31 at intermission even after it shot 39 percent from the floor and 24 percent from 3-point range.
Sims failed to extend his double-digit scoring streak to four games but collected a teamand season-high 15 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. His infectious energy played a crucial role in UT’s 14-7 advantage in second-chance points.
The bouncy freshman also provided a key tip-in with less than two minutes remaining in a stomach-churning contest that featured seven ties and 16 leadchanges.
“We knew it was going to be a fight for 40 minutes tonight,” Osetkowski said. “We wanted to focus on this one, and I think the guys did a good job of it.”
Wigginton nearly led the Cyclones (13-18) to what would have been a devastating upset for UT, finishing with 20 points and eight rebounds, but aside from Cameron Lard (14 points), his teammates provided little help.
For Texas, the finishing touch was provided by another freshman, part-time tooth retriever and full-time point guard Coleman. His jumper from the top of the key with 44 seconds remaining sealed the Longhorns’ win.
As for Roach’s war-worn tooth, it’s safe, for now. Just like
Cameron McGriff scored 18 points, Jeffrey Carroll added 13 points, and the Cowboys pulled away from the Sooners after squandering most of a 16-point lead for an opening-round win.
Kendall Smith had 11 points for the eighth-seeded Cowboys (19-13), who led 58-53 with 6 minutes left before easing away down the stretch to set up a quarterfinal matchup with No. 1 seed Kansas.
Oklahoma State swept the No. 9 Jayhawks during the regular season. Kansas will be without forward Udoka Azubuike throughtout the Big 12 tournament as he sprained his left knee during a scrimmage this week.
Trae Young had 22 points on 7-for-21 shooting to lead the Sooners (18-13), who must now anxiously await their NCAA Tournament fate following their eighth loss in their last 10 games.
The Sooners beat the Cowboys by 20 in early January, back when they were ascending to No. 4 in the nation. But things began to fall apart midway through the conference schedule, beginning with a lopsided loss to Kansas State and an overtime defeat to the Cowboys in Stillwater.
“Instead of us taking care of our business we left it in the committee’s hands,” Young said. “We played in the toughest conference in America. I think our résumé speaks for itself.”