AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas players say week after week, game after game that they don't follow their spot in the NCAA tournament selection hierarchy. Myck Kabongo even took it a step further, saying that he didn't know what "bracketology" was. But even for those who don't follow it closely, the message after Monday's 77-72 loss to Baylor was clear: The door hasn't shut yet, but the opening is getting awfully tight.
"It's a devastating loss for our school, for our fans and for the guys in our locker room," Kabongo said.
The Longhorns (17-11, 7-8 Big 12) lack signature wins, with just three "strong" victories — over Temple, Iowa State and Kansas State — and none over a ranked team. Yet a four-game winning streak left Texas needing to win just three of its final five games to grab 20 regular-season wins and a winning record, at 10-8, in the Big 12, considered the second-strongest league to the Big Ten. While neither is a perfect indicator, both would have been selling points in the Longhorns' favor.
But Texas has dropped the past two, struggling to contain Oklahoma State's Keiton Page as he went for 40 points on Saturday in a 90-78 loss at Stillwater. And on the quick turnaround for Monday's big game, the Longhorns couldn't keep Baylor big-man Quincy Acy off the boards. Acy scored 22 points and grabbed 16 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. The Longhorns had nine offensive rebounds as a team.
"As far as any future endeavors, I haven't personally thought about it," Texas forward Clint Chapman said regarding what was at stake. "We just prepared for Baylor."
Early on, that preparation paid off, as Texas stretched out an early advantage on its way to a 36-26 halftime lead. And the Longhorns did well despite red-hot point guard Myck Kabongo — this past week's Big 12 Rookie of the Week — only playing 10 minutes with foul trouble. J'Covan Brown and Julien Lewis stepped into the scoring and play-making duties, combining for an efficient 16 points on 10 shots and dishing out six first-half assists between the two of them.
Meanwhile, the big-man rotation of Chapman, Alexis Wangmene, Jonathan Holmes and Jaylen Bond kept Baylor's star duo of Perry Jones III and Quincy Miller from getting started. The two combined for just five points on 1-of-7 shooting and three rebounds. As a team, Baylor shot 28 percent from the field but was able to keep the game within 10 at halftime thanks mostly to the efforts of Acy, who scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.
In the second half, the Bears started playing three guards and went to a man-to-man defense, a bit of a surprise in that Baylor coach Scott Drew has taken heat this season for staying in the Bears' signature zone for too long at times. When coupled with sterling second-half performances from Acy and guard Pierre Jackson, who combined for 32 points in the final stanza, the Bears had the tools for a comeback. As a team, Baylor rebounded from its dreadful shooting in the first half to shoot 50 percent, including 66.7 percent on 3-pointers, in the second half.
"The difference in the game in the first half was our defense," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. "I think we came out in the second half a totally different team (than) in the first half. But if you think about it, that's kind of been the story of our team all year."
Texas actually upped its lead to 12 at 38-26 with 19:17 left. And Texas still held a 51-43 advantage with 12:16 left before Jackson aced a 3-pointer and Acy made three of four free throws to pull the Bears within two.
"We had a tough home loss against K-State, and we really wanted to dig deep and not give up," Acy said. "[Just] because we lost a few games, that does not mean the season is over."
As so many Texas games have, this one came down to the very end. Trailing by four with less than a minute left, Kabongo found Jonathan Holmes, who hit a 3 from the corner to cut the Baylor lead to 71-70. But on the ensuing possession, Kabongo was called for a bump away from the basket on the start of a Jackson drive. Jackson made both free throws for a three-point lead.
Then, with 13 seconds left, Brown tried a cross-court pass that was picked off by A.J. Walton. Jackson was fouled and made two more free throws, and the Longhorns weren't within a single possession with the ball the rest of the way.
"It was a big win," Heslip said. "We needed to come in on Big Monday and make a statement."
The Bears (23-5, 10-5) did just that, with Acy's 22 points, 16 rebounds and two blocks and Pierre Jackson's 25 points and six assists ringing loudly. Yet the statement might have been stronger on the opposite bench, as Texas fell to 1-8 in games decided by six points or less. Several of those have come against the league's top teams, with close losses to Baylor (twice), Kansas, Missouri, Iowa State and Kansas State.
"It just shows you we're right there — we just have to finish the job," Kabongo said. "Nobody remembers the team that loses. It's all about winning. You can say we're close, but we have to win."
That sets Texas up with three games that are the closest things to must-win contests you'll see in the regular season, including two on the road. The first of those comes up Saturday at cellar-dwelling Texas Tech. Then the Longhorns will return home to face rival Oklahoma before ending the season in Lawrence against Kansas.
"I'm not one of those people that ever thinks . . . this is a must-win game," Barnes said. "I think they're all must-wins. But I know we've got three games left."
