Wild day for Baylor athletics

I’m exhuasted, and I’m sure the rest of y’all are, too. I’ve only been here 10 hours, but it feels like a 24-hour shift.

Two come-from-behind wins. The women looked out of it early, down by 11 at halftime. The men, too, looked as they usually do against Texas, trailing by 12 in the first half.

But as Kim Mulkey said, “Don’t count us out.”

There’s so much to say about today. I could talk about a 24-game losing streak snapped. Or a near-identical copy of the Lady Bears game against Kansas that miraculously turn into a win. A sophomore hitting the game-winning shot (on both courts), half the Baylor fans in one arena while the other half are across the street, How effective the zone really was, or even how impressive Kevin Rogers was tonight.

But I won’t talk about that. I’ll talk about what Scott Drew said after the last home game against Nebraska.

In a prayer, he asked God to “send Baylor a miracle.” Well, one has come.

Baylor is the lowest-ranked team ever to make the Big 12 Championship game, and the only major change the Bears have made is keeping a big man on the floor in a sagging 2-3 zone.

Baylor hadn’t beaten Texas in 24 tries. That’s 10 years. They hadn’t defeated Kansas since 2001.

Baylor hasn’t shot well in the last 10 games. They haven’t hit free throws, LaceDarius Dunn was 9-for-43 from beyond the arc before the Kansas game and they haven’t stopped anyone.

All that changed in the last three games. Call it what you like, but to me, that’s a pretty strong indication that something other than X’s and O’s are working behind the scenes here. Most of the other sports writers here in the media room were cursing Scott Drew and Curtis Jerrells for “giving us this God (expletive)” when they wanted usable facts. I can understand their frustration, but I think Drew and Jerrells have a clue from where the success is coming.

A few stats from tonight:

• Baylor outrebounded Texas 35-27.
• Texas shot better from the field (48.1% to 45.6%)
• The game is exactly the Bears average this year. 76.8 points on offense and 70.2 points on defense.
• Texas had seven blocks.
• Curtis Jerrells passed Brian Skinner in all-time scoring. Jerrells is now in 3rd.
• No dunks today.

Wrap up from Baylor-Texas:

Player of the Game: LaceDarius Dunn. The sophomore had the game-winning 3-pointer at the 1:13 mark. He also went 5-for-6 from the line in the final 34 seconds and had the final rebound of the game.

Biggest surprise reminder: I’m changing this one to account for Henry Dugat’s speed. The senior had 17 points including one trey. He wasn’t the flashiest player on the court, but he found ways to contribute, especially cutting to the lane. His shot was crisp and his ability to find the rim was huge for the Bears.

Defensive play of the game: Josh Lomers’ rejection at the 8:40 mark in the first half. The lead was approaching the limit and Lomers made sure Justin Mason wasn’t going to extend it to 14.

I’ll get up a preview for both men and women in a few hours, along with Clint Cox’ photos of the day.

Check back in a few!

The streak is over: Bears win 76-70

Baylor broke a 24-game winning streak by the Longhorns with a 76-70 win over Texas. Baylor will play in the Big 12 Conference Tournament championship game tomorrow. More to come.

Bears in lead: BU 70, UT 67 25.1 2nd

Well, this is what Baylor fans were waiting for all year.

If the Bears can hit their free throws, they will be in the Big 12 Championship. If they don’t, Texas will, and Baylor won’t be in the NCAA Tournament.

We’ll see how much the Bears want that second berth in the next 26 seconds.

LaceDarius Dunn hit a key 3-pointer to get the Bears here.

More of the same: BU 61, UT 61 3:21 2nd

Here’s the situation: Diene has fouled out (0 pts, 3 reb) Lomers and Dunn have four fouls, Dugat has three. Dexter Pittman has missed almost all his free throws and A.J. Abrams hasn’t hit a bucket in 10 minutes.

Texas has the double bonus, while only contributing 5 fouls of its own.

Kevin Rogers, Tweety Carter, Abrams and Pittman all were mixed in a scrum trying to get a loose ball and all look to be injured.

Rogers and Pittman limped off the court and it seems that Carter and Abrams had nothing more than an accidental elbow-blow between the legs.

This one is going down to the wire.

All tied up: BU 53, UT 53 11:47 2nd

The Bears put together a big run (12-6) to start the second half. Henry Dugat, Curtis Jerrells and Tweety Carter all have 3-pointers in the first eight minutes.

It’s looking like a repeat of yesterday for the Bears. Both teams are battling back and forth since tying the game. Baylor took a brief 3-point lead and so did the Longhorns, but it hasn’t grown from that.

Baylor is picking up fouls, though. Diene and Lomers have three. Dunn and Carter have two. Texas’ Pittman is back in with three fouls.

Baylor women pull out win

The Lady Bears only led for a little under two minutes, but won 67-62.

As for the men, without Pittman’s production, the Bears actually lead in the paint points department (18-16). They also lead in 2nd chance points (11-5) but trail in bench points.

Tweety Carter finally hit a 3-pointer. That might relax the zone a little bit.

The Bears are shooting 43.3% compared with the Longhorns 55.6%.

Women take lead, halftime at men’s

Kelli Griffin just hit two free throws to give Baylor its first lead of the game at the 1:49 mark. Andrea Riley turned the ball over and now the Lady Bears can add to that lead.

The men went on a mini-run at the end of the half. It’s now 39-33, thanks to a dunk by Texas’ Connor Atchley.

Leading scorers at the half: Kevin Rogers (13), A. J. Abrams (11).

Tight women’s game, men cut lead to single-digits

Melissa Jones’ jump shot cut the OSU lead to just two (60-58). 3:37 left over there.

On the men’s side (34-27), the Bears are really struggling to make consistent stops on defense. It’s basically the same chapter as the last two meetings with the Longhorns, except that Baylor is actually shooting respectably in this one.

Kevin Rogers has 10 points already.

Texas up early: UT 19, BU 11 11:24 1st

Dexter Pittman has been on the bench for the majority of the game so far, but it hasn’t affected the Longhorns. A. J. Abrams has eight points including two 3-pointers.

Baylor just hasn’t been hitting shots, except for an alley-oop from Curtis Jerrells to Kevin Rogers. The Longhorns are taking defense to the Baylor guards, and the defenders are winning.

In the women’s game, the Lady Bears trailed by as much as 14, but now they’re within four (47-43) with 10:33 remaining.

Pre-Tipoff at Ford/Women’s update

The Cowgirls lead the Lady Bears 37-26 at halftime. OSU has 12 offensive rebounds to Baylor’s five. That, and the fact that the Lady Bears are struggling to get into the paint, are the reasons the Cowgirls have the lead.

Starting lineups for Baylor and Texas:

Baylor (visitor)

• Guard Curtis Jerrells
• Forward Kevin Rogers
• Guard LaceDarius Dunn
• Guard Tweety Carter
• Center Josh Lomers

Texas (Home)

• Guard A. J. Abrams
• Guard Dogus Balbay
• Guard/Forward Damion James
• Guard Justin Mason
• Center Dexter Pittman