Jerrells comes up clutch in another Baylor upset
Baylor players celebrate after catching up to Texas during Friday's semifinal game. The Bears went on to upset the Longhorns 76-70, becoming the only ninth seed to ever advance to the Big 12 Championship final.
OKLAHOMA CITY - Three days ago, the Baylor Bears were a Big 12 afterthought. Three games and three upsets later, Baylor is 40 minutes from an NCAA Tournament berth.
After upsets of No. 8 Nebraska and No. 1 Kansas in the first two days of the Big 12 Championship tournament, No. 9 Baylor added No. 5 Texas to its list of victims with a 76-70 win at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City. The win earns Baylor a spot in tomorrow's final and a shot at the Big 12 title.
For Baylor, it was its usual cast of characters coming through in unusual ways. BU guard Curtis Jerrells, a 6-1 sharpsooter, came up with possibly the two biggest rebounds of his career in the final minute against Texas.
Leading by two late in the game, Jerrells rebounded a miss by Texas' A.J. Abrams, and hit two free throws after being fouled by Texas' Damion James in the process.
The free throws put Baylor up 69-65, only to have Abrams cut the lead back to two on the ensuing possession. Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn -- Thursday's hero for Baylor -- missed the second of two free throws with Baylor leading by only three. After the miss, Jerrells skied for the rebound, outmuscling two Texas big men for the ball.
"Usually when LaceDarius is at the line, I don't even move because I know he is going to make it," Jerrells said. "But I watch the ball and I seen it, it was falling short. I just used my judgement, and it darted right back and I just got in there."
Jerrells got the foul and hit both free throws, further helping Baylor ice the game and keep the Cinderella run alive.
"We had all our best free-throw shooters on the floor. That's what it's about," Jerrells said. "Basketball is about having confidence."
Baylor had four players in double figures for the game -- Kevin Rogers (20), Henry Dugat (17), Dunn (16) and Jerrells (13).
Texas, meanwhile, got big contributions from two of its big stars throughout the game. Abrams and James combined for 31 points, as both began to find the shooting touch that had been a bit enigmatic for both players in conference play.
Baylor coach Scott Drew was extremely complimentary of Abrams after the game.
"He's as good a catch-and-shoot player as you will find in the nation," Drew said. "He gets it off so quick. It makes it very, very tough to stop."
Before the game, Texas figured to have an advantage inside thanks to sophomore center Dexter Pittman. however, Pittman looked gassed for most of the evening, ending the game with only seven points and three rebounds. Furthermore, Pittman missed four consecutive critical free throws down the stretch that could have increased a small Texas lead.
"Our bigs did the tremendous job inside with him, fighting him. We did our best to come down and help," Jerrells said. "He is a large man - he needs a lot of attention."
Baylor now awaits the winner of No. 3 Missouri and No. 7 Oklahoma State, set to tip off in about 15 minutes.
