Baylor beats Texas again, advances in Big 12 tourney
Kansas City, MO (Sports Network) - Ekpe Udoh scored 25 points and pulled down eight rebounds as 21st-ranked Baylor ran past Texas, 86-67, in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Tweety Carter added 20 points, while LaceDarius Dunn chipped in 19 points, nine boards and seven assists for the Bears (25-6), who will face ninth-ranked Kansas State in Friday's semifinals. The Wildcats upended Oklahoma State earlier Thursday.
"We came to win the tournament. That's what our mind set was," Udoh said. "Coming out of this game, we got the win, but we can't dwell on it."
Baylor, which lost to Missouri in last year's title game, has never won the Big 12 tourney. It was the Bears' third win over Texas in as many tries this season. That includes a victory in Baylor's regular season finale.
Damion James totaled 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Longhorns (24-9), who will await to see where they'll be placed when the field for the NCAA Tournament is announced on Sunday. Avery Bradley and Dexter Pittman each scored 14 in defeat.
"For whatever reason, we get down. Then we get aggressive, and we wanted to be aggressive all night long," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "But, again, this game pretty much sums up what our season has been the last two months."
Pittman's layup to start the second half brought the Longhorns within 43-41, but the third-seeded Bears scored the ensuing 13 points, capped by Carter's layup. Dunn had seven points during the flurry.
The sixth-seeded Longhorns managed to climb within 58-50 with under 13 minutes to go on Pittman's jam and they inched closer at 64-59 following another jam by the senior center with just over eight minutes remaining.
Dunn countered with a layup, and soon after his three-point play expanded the margin back to double-digits at 71-61 with 6 1/2 minutes left. Texas never threatened down the stretch.
Baylor, which shot 53.6 percent, led for virtually the entire first half, although Texas managed to tie the game at 30 on a pair of James free throws with 4 1/2 minutes left.
Game Notes
Only five schools have won the Big 12 championship, led by Kansas' six titles. Texas has also never won it, advancing to the final five times, including three in a row, from 2006-08...Last season in Oklahoma City, Baylor became the first No. 9 seed to advance to the Big 12 Championship title game -- and the second-lowest seed ever to accomplish the feat...Baylor's current four-game winning streak over Texas is its longest since winning six straight from Feb. 7, 1981-Feb. 26, 1983...This marks the first time the Bears have beaten the Longhorns three times in the same season since the 1981-82 campaign...Texas ended at 36.4 percent from the field.
