Texas Dominates Kansas To Win Big 12 Crown

The Texas Longhorns are headed into the NCAA Tournament with an explosive burst of momentum after dismantling the reigning champions, the Kansas Jayhawks, in a dominating performance at the Big 12 Championship in Kansas City on Saturday. Despite having already secured the Big 12 regular-season title, the Jayhawks were no match for the Longhorns, who triumphed over them with a resounding  75-59 victory in their previous meeting on March 4 in Austin. Texas has now beaten Kansas in their last two meetings by a combined 36 points. With their latest emphatic victory, the Longhorns have officially punched their ticket and await their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

All Longhorns In Big 12 Title Game

Dylan Disu led the charge for Texas with an impressive 18 points, while Sir’Jabari Rice and Marcus Carr each chipped in 17
points to add to the Longhorn’s dominant performance. Brock Cunningham and Arterio Morris came off the bench and contributed in a big way, with eight points, nine rebounds, and eight points, respectively. The Longhorns have certainly had an up-and-down year but it appears that they are starting to click at exactly the right time for coach Rodney Terry.

Jalen Wilson was a one-man show for Kansas, posting a game-high 24 points to go along with six rebounds. However, Joseph Yesufu was the only other Jayhawk in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Texas forced an elite Kansas offense without coach Bill Self again due to an undisclosed illness into 15 turnovers and just eight assists. Texas had an early 9-0 run to take a 19-13 lead after Christian Bishop took it from the top of the key for an easy layup. The Jayhawks responded with three triples, two of which came from Yesufu and Wilson, highlighting a 9-2 run of their own and hinting that this may be ab it of a battle. Cunningham answered with his second 3 of the first half to tie things up at 28 after finding a cutting Rice with an eyebrow-grazing pass in the lane for two points. Morris got five quick points with a fastbreak layup and wide-open triple on back-to-back possessions. Suddenly, the Longhorns had built a 35-28 lead after a 10-0 run. A lead they’d never relinquish.

Kansas Could Not Get Going

An expected run from Kansas never came. The Longhorns continued to outplay the Jayhawks in front of a crowd mostly wearing blue and red. Texas’ signature play of a stellar and dominant second half came when Rice found Morris for a highlight-reel, one-handed alley-oop in transition, giving the Longhorns a 20-point lead at 70-50 with under five minutes left. Texas didn’t let its foot off the gas in the closing stages, maintaining a considerable lead before comfortably cruising to a win. The Longhorns will now await on Sunday to see if they’ve done enough to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.