Section B · Page 4 The University Daily Kansan Monday, March 5, 2001 Texas secures first-round bye in conference tournament The Associated Press "The reason we are playing well right now, is Saturday after the No. 24 Longhorns beat Texas Tech 78-55. "We've gone up and down this year because we started out this season with a lot of young guys. We are one game out of first place. I don't think anybody thought this was possible." LUBBOCK, Texas — The Texas team heading into the Big 12 Conference tournament on a six-game winning streak isn't playing anything like it was early in the season. Chris Owens scored 22 points and Maurice Evans added 18 for Texas (23-7 and 12-4 in the Big 12 Conference), which clinched a bye in the first round of the Big 12 tournament with Saturday's win. Fight now is because we have more guys playing better basketball for longer periods of time," said Texas coach Rick Barnes on Cliff Owens had 21 points, and Jayson Mitchell added 10 for the Red Raiders (9-18 and 3-13). Big 12 Basketball "They play with tremendous chemistry," Dickey said of the Longhorns. "They hit big shots. They defended. They rebounded extremely well, and they played with a purpose." Texas' newfound confidence and purpose is something Texas Tech coach James Dickey said his team had lacked all season. It was Texas' ninth straight victory over Texas Tech, which last won in the series in the 1996-97 season. The loss was Tech's fourth straight since beating Nebraska on Feb. 21. That win broke a sevengame losing streak which followed Tech's upset of No. 21 Oklahoma on Jan. 16. Texas took an 18-8 lead, but a basket by Andy Ellis started a 12-2 Texas Tech run that tied the game 20-20. "We and Maurice were talking to each other and telling each other to keep playing." Chris Owens said. "The score was tied, but I still felt like we had control of the game." He was right. The Longhorns scored 50 of the next 68 points. They led 40-25 at halftime and built their lead to 70-38 with 5:34 to play. The Red Raiders went on a 13-5 run during the final three minutes to make the final score respectable. Texas finished with a 46-32 rebound advantage. During a three-game stretch against Kansas, Colorado and Oklahoma, Texas was outrebounded by an average of 17 boards. in the Longhorns' last five games before Saturday, they had a 38-rebound margin over their opponents. Texas was 27-of-61 from the field, while Texas Tech finished 21-of-60. Iowa State beats odds, wins conference The Associated Press AMES, Iowa — It seemed improbable at first. Big 12 Conference player of the year Marcus Fizer had taken his power game to the NBA. Michael Nurse and Stevie Johnson both were gone. It seemed unlikely Iowa State could really repeat as the conference champion with what it had left. "There was never any doubt," said point guard Jamaal Tinsley. "We knew we could do it." And so they did. No. 8 Iowa State beat Nebraska 66-73 Saturday in Hilton Coliseum and won the Big 12 title outright for the second straight year. The Cyclones (25-4 and 13-3 in the Big 12) have won 12 of their last 13 games and will be the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament in Kansas City this week. Iowa State will meet the Baylor-Colorado winner at noon on Fridav. "Nothing tops it," said coach Larry Eustachy, who also won conference championships at Idaho and Utah State. "It possibly is the best because we weren't picked first. We weren't picked anywhere - Marcus is gone; we have no chance. It's a special group." The victory came in the final home game for the team's five seniors — Tinsley, Kantrail Horton, Richard Evans, Paul Shirley and Martin Rancik. Tinsley, Horton and Evans were transfers and never lost a game at Hilton Coliseum in their two seasons, going 34.0. But it was an even more special moment for Rancik and Shirley because both have been dogged by injuries through their careers and were unable to play a major role during last year's title run. Eustachy pointed out to the other players during the team's "I said, 'You ought to really lay it out for those guys.' Eustachy said. "Those two guys have broken 74 bones together and they really deserve an effort by everybody, and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. That's the kind of team we have." shootaround Saturday morning. Shirley finished with 12 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks. Rancik had 13 points, six rebounds and two steals. "It's amazing for me," Shirley said. "Just because coming here, not really expecting to play a whole lot and then to be a part of something so special has been tremendous." Nebraska (14-15 and 7-9) tried its best to spoil the occasion. Playing without center Kimani Friend, who sprained a ligament in his right knee on Friday, the Cornhuskers raced to a 10-point lead in the first half and led by six
Big12overall
Iowa State13-325-4
Kansas12-423-5
Oklahoma12-423-6
Texas12-423-7
Okla. State10-619-8
Missouri9-718-11
Nebraska7-914-15
Baylor6-1017-10
Colorado5-1115-14
Kansas State4-1210-17
Texas A&M3-1310-19
Texas Tech3-139-18
BIG 12 STANDINGS with 14 minutes left. They shot 54 percent and made nine three-pointers. They also committed 19 turnovers and 31 fouls, leading to a 35-10 edge in free throws for Iowa State. "We didn't give them enough chance to miss shots," Nebraska First he hit a three-pointer. Then he scored on a drive and followed 22 seconds later with a runner from the left of the basket. And finally, another driving shot that turned into a three-point play. That made it 85-72. Nehraska was finished. coach Barry Collier said. "Because they were walking to the free-throw line." Still, Nebraska was in it late, drawing to 72-69 with 3:26 left on a driving shot by Cookie Belcher, who led the Cornhuskers with 25 points. Then it turned into Tinsley Time. Tinsley wound up with a career-best 29 points — 23 in the second half and 10 in the final 3:02. "They are a veteran ball club," said Nebraska guard Kevin Augustine, who scored a career-high 16 points. "I didn't really see any panic in them. Those guys have played a lot of basketball and are very confident." Better late than never 'Cats pull out win against Colorado The Associated Press BOULDER, Colo. — In the final game of what has been a rough regular season, the battle-scarred Wildcats finally found a way to win a close game at the end. Matt Siebrandt and Kelvin Howell each hit two free throws in the final 30 seconds as Kansas State held on and beat Colorado 72-67 Saturday night. Then guard Richie Terry went coast-to-coast for a It was exactly the kind of game the young Wildcats had been letting slip away all year. Colorado went on a late 11-2 run, tied the game and appeared to be doing the same thing that so many other opponents had done. Then a funny thing happened. K-State guard Larry Reid passed the ball inbounds, got a return pass and went up for a bucket that broke the tie. layup. After that, forwards Siebrandt and Howell came through at the line. "The difference was we made plays," said K-State coach Jim Wooldridge. "And not just one guy. There were a lot of guys making plays. I have to believe that one guy led off another's success." With the victory, the Wildcats finish the regular season 10-17 — one more win than a year ago under Tom Asbury. Their conference record of 4-12 is a twogame improvement. They also wound up 10th in the conference, two spots above the last-place finish they experienced a season ago. "We've been in many games like this, and it was time for us to win one." said Siebrandt, who had 10 points and six rebounds. "We haven't had many road wins, and we agreed it was our time." Travis Reynolds, who played most of the second half with foul trouble, was seven-for-seven shooting and had five rebounds to go with his 15 points. Reid and Phineas Atchison had 11 points each for K-State. "Reynolds made some big plays, and we got a big play from Richie Terry down the stretch," Wooldridge said. "But the difference was we got a lot of big plays, and not from one guy." "This was just another difficult loss for us," said Colorado coach Ricardo Patton. "We dug ourselves a hole in our last game of the season and on senior night." Jamahl Mosley had 12 points and six rebounds and Chevis Brimmer added 11 points for Colorado (15-14 overall and 5-11 in the Big 12 Conference), which lost its fifth in a row. Baylor looks to postseason after impressive Big 12 win The Associated Press WACO, Texas — Terry Black and DeMarcus Minor saved their finest performances for their final home game as Black scored 24 points, and Minor added 18, pacing the Bears (17-10) and 6-10 the senior pair led Baylor in an 85-59 rout of Texas A&M on Saturday night at the Ferrell Center. in the Big 12 Conference) to their largest margin of victory ever in a Big 12 game. "I think everyone had a great time tonight," Black said of the Bears, who broke a four-game losing streak. "We were passing the ball and we had a lot of assists. We played as a team." Both teams struggled early, but almost five minutes into the game the Bears went on an 18-2 run that gave them a 27-11 lead. Minor scored eight points during the almost seven-minute run, helping Baylor take a 38-26 lead into halftime. In the second half, Baylor continued to build on its cushion — going up by as much as 27 points — before settling in for the 26-point victory, its largest over Texas A&M in 34 years. "We ran out of gas," Texas A&M coach Melvin Watkins said. "We just don't have anything left in the tank." Guard Bernard King led Texas A&M (10-19 and 3-13) with 14 points, while guard Andy Leatherman had 11 and forward Nick Anderson 10. Black and Minor keyed a Baylor offensive attack that made 60 percent of its shots. The Bears also clamped down on defense, limiting Texas A&M to a 37 percent shooting performance. Black, who scored 19 in the second half, also notched team-highs of eight rebounds and seven assists for Baylor. Guard Wendell Greenleaf added 14 points for the Bears, while freshman guard Matt Sayman scored all 12 of his points in the second half. The Bears now hope the win carries them into the Big 12 tournament, which starts Thursday in Kansas City, Mo. Minor didn't hesitate when asked if the Bears deserve a postseason berth. "Yes, definitely," Minor said. "I think if we come out and do some damage in the Big 12 tournament, (getting a postseason bid) will pretty much take care of itself." Tough defense helps Oklahoma avenge loss to state rival The Associated Press NORMAN, Okla. — This time, Oklahoma turned a huge night by an Oklahoma State player into just another statistic. Maurice Baker scored a career-high 31 points for Oklahoma State, but No. 17 Oklahoma offset that with scoring balance and strong interior defense in a 68-56 victory Saturday night at the Lloyd Noble Center. Oklahoma guard Hollis Price scored 16 points, including a three-pointer that beat the shot clock with 1:23 to play, as the Sooners assured that they would be at least the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament this week. Nolan Johnson also scored 16 points for the Sooners (23-6 and 12-4 in the Big 12 Conference), who never trailed after an early 12-2 run gave them a 10-point lead. Forward Aaron McGhee had 11 points, and guard Kelley Newton added nine for the Sooners. "When this team was 1-3 (in conference play), I think that we buckled down and really became a much more focused team." Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson said. Oklahoma State (19-8 and 10-6) had beaten the Sooners by 28 points on Feb. 14 in Stillwater, Okla., when Victor Williams scored a career-high 26. This time, Williams had only three. Forward Fredrik Jonzen, the Cowbys' second-leading scoring averaging 15 points per game, was one of six from the field and finished with four points. No Cowboy other than Baker scored in double figures, and Baker also led the team with nine rebounds. "I think they were just playing very physical," Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton said. "Any time Fredrik got the ball, they did a good job of dropping back in his lap. He just wasn't getting any good looks. Their defense was very good." Oklahoma State, which had won four in a row, will be the No. 5 seed in the conference tournament. The Cowboys shot just 41 percent and committed 23 turnovers. Despite getting little production from anyone but Baker, Oklahoma State only trailed 58-54 with a little more than three minutes remaining after two free throws and a driving basket by Baker. But Price made two of three free throws at the 2:08 mark, then made the most of a broken play by hitting a 25-foot shot at the 35-second clock expired, pushing the lead to 63-54 with 1:23 to go. 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