KANSAS CITY — A three-point followup to Baylor’s 75-61 win over Texas in the Big 12 tournament quarterfinals Thursday:
— Never go home again: The Bears’ perception as road warriors continued. After going 6-3 in Big 12 road games during the regular season, they built a double-digit lead early and never let Texas get closer than eight in the second half.
“Our team knew any time you’re playing Texas, it means a lot to our fans and it means a lot to us,” said Scott Drew, whose team won 78-64 in Austin on Feb. 20.
Makes you wonder, how Baylor went 4-5 in the league at home?
— Baylor’s Prince shines: After showing atypical free-throw yips against WVU in the regular-season finale, Taurean Prince made all eight against Texas. That was only one facet of a 24-point, 13-rebound, four-assist game.
“I told our guys he’s going to shoot a lot, that’s happening,” said Shaka Smart. “He’s going to shoot a lot, it’s just a matter of how’s efficient he is. And we allowed him to be too comfortable.”
Rico Gathers finished with nine boards and 13 points as Baylor out-toughed Texas on the glass 46-27.
— Did Texas peak too early? Talented Longhorns point guard Isaiah Taylor finished with nine assists but failed to score for nearly 30 minutes and closed with eight points on 3-of-9 shooting.
In fact, no UT starter outside of Connor Lammert scored in the first half, though Cam Ridley made his first cameo in months and made two foul shots in 2 minutes. (Even his return wasn’t the best of news, because he reportedly felt more soreness in the rehabbed foot.)
Now Texas heads into the Dance on a 4-5 stretch.
“It’s about having a hard edge and having a level of aggressiveness and connectivity as a team,” Smart said. “We didn’t have that today.
‘We’ll get another opportunity next week. But you know what, if we bring the same approach in that game, our first (NCAA) game, then we won’t stick around very long.”