Big 12 Tournament: Texas Knocks Out Kansas In Championship, Claims Second Title in Three Years
The Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship finished Saturday in Kansas City. TCU lost Friday in the semifinals to the eventual champion, Texas. Killerfrogs.com had coverage throughout the tournament, including the championship game.
Championship Game: No. 2 Texas v. No. 1 Kansas
Final: Texas 76, Kansas 56
Recap
Texas punched the Big 12 Conference’s automatic qualifier ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a dominant win over Kansas. A balanced attacked helped Texas claim its second tournament title in three years. Forward Dylan Disu scored 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting while guards Marcus Carr and Sir’Jabari Rice each added 17 points.
No matter what Kansas did on defense to slow down Texas, Texas had an answer. The Longhorns shot 50% (31-of-62) from the field, but only converted 4-of-17 from behind the three-point line. Turning 15 turnovers into 17 points helped cancel out the three-point shooting woes.
Kansas hung with Texas until about the 16-minute mark the second half. The Jayhawks missed four straight three-pointers while the Longhorns went on a 6-0 run. Texas then maintained a 12-point margin and sealed the win with another 8-0 spurt, capped off by guard Arterio Morris’ emphatic, fast break dunk.
Texas and Kansas exchanged leads eight times during the first half before a 10-0 run gave Texas some breathing room. Kansas forward Jalen Wilson ended that on a fast break lay-up out of a loose ball scrum near mid court. Joseph Yesufu tacked on another Kansas bucket before Texas scored four points to close out the half. The Longhorns never looked back after taking a 39-33 halftime lead.
Texas Interim Head Coach, Rodney Terry
On Getting the Win
We play in the best basketball league in the country, the Big 12. Night in and night out there were no nights off. This tournament, we knew was going to be tough as well and we were excited about it. These guys approach and their attitude toward this tournament, they wanted to be champions, they really did. They made it happen.
Statistical Leaders
Kansas
Points: Jalen Wilson - 24
Rebounds: Gradey Dick - 8
Texas
Points: Dylan Disu - 18
Rebounds: Brock Cunningham - 9
Big 12 All-Tournament Team Selections
Dylan Disu, Forward – Texas - Most Outstanding Player
Marcus Carr, Guard – Texas
Sir’Jabari Rice, Guard - Texas
Mike Miles Jr., Guard - TCU
DaJuan Harris, Guard - Kansas
Jalen Wilson, Forward – Kansas
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