Surging No. 20 Texas has plenty of momentum — and a bit of swagger — as it travels to face No. 10 Baylor on Saturday in a crucial Big 12 Conference game in Waco, Texas.
The Longhorns have won five of their past six games, most recently a rousing 79-76 home victory over No. 8 Kansas on Monday. Timmy Allen scored a season-high 24 points for Texas (18-6, 7-4 Big 12), and Marcus Carr had a key late steal and two free throws as the Longhorns scored the game’s final seven points and were just better down the stretch.
The Longhorns forced 15 Kansas turnovers and registered a 15-6 edge on the offensive glass, offsetting the Jayhawks’ 58.3 percent shooting from the floor. Texas also committed only seven turnovers and recorded a 24-6 advantage in points off turnovers.
Tre Mitchell finished with 17 points for the Longhorns, with Andrew Jones and Carr adding 10 each, and Christian Bishop grabbing a season-high 10 rebounds.
Texas has now won three straight games against the Jayhawks, the first time that’s ever happened to a Bill Self-coached Kansas team.
“I don’t want to be like Debbie Downer,” Texas coach Chris Beard said after the win. “I just think we have a higher ceiling. I didn’t get into this to make the NCAA Tournament. I got in this to win this.
“I hope when this is all said and done, the players will look back and be like, ‘Hey, man, he was crazy, but he always had a ceiling for me that maybe I didn’t even know I could get to.’ To me that’s what coaching is.”
Saturday’s contest at Baylor marks the fifth consecutive game that the Longhorns will face a ranked opponent. Texas has gone 3-1 in the stretch, with wins against No. 18 Tennessee and No. 20 Iowa State as well as versus Kansas.
The Bears (20-4, 8-3) head home after a 75-60 win at Kansas State on Wednesday behind Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua’s 21 points and a spirited comeback. Baylor trailed by seven points in the first half, tied the game by halftime and dominated the second half.
James Akinjo added 15 points for the Bears, who played their fourth straight game without leading scorer LJ Cryer (foot injury). Baylor has won three of its past five games, with two of those wins against Kansas State. And they could be at full strength for the first time in a month against Texas.
“Great win, because any Big 12 win is a good one,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “Especially after the last game we played, we wanted to have a much better performance. First half, we didn’t execute as well as we’d like. Second half, I thought we did a great job and looked a lot more like ourselves.
“Now, if we can get LJ (Cryer) back, we’ll be back whole.”
When Baylor was at full strength in December and January, it was good enough to reign atop the AP poll for three straight weeks. If they get back Cryer on Saturday — and that’s a possibility — the Bears will be quite a handful for Texas.
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–Field Level Media
