Dallas and Moody Coliseum Host an All-Big 12 Battle to get into the Mythical March Madness Final Four
The colors on the floor of Moody Coliseum were familiar with the green and gold of Baylor and the red and black of Texas Tech. One team fresh off a Final Four appearance last season and the other so badly wanting to make it back to a Final Four after a long hiatus of 69-years. This was an All-Big 12 battle for the trip back to Kansas City and the Mythical March Madness Final Four.
Publisher's Note: This is our go at Mythical March Madness and now entering the fourth round. The tournament and results are determined using all-time odds for each seed in NCAA Division I Men's Tournament history for advancement in each round. The roll of dice with rolls of six or below representing the higher-seeded team and rolls of seven or greater representing the lower-seeded team determine the results. If the game is written up as close then the roll of the dice went to the eighth, ninth, or tenth roll. If it is written up as a blowout then it was decided with few rolls needed. This is the Sunday action moving the tournament from "Elite Eight" to "Final Four." The final two teams punch their ticket to Kansas City to join Dayton and Gonzaga.
Let's just cut to the chase because after the Bears and the Red Raiders played two close contests, including an overtime game just back on March 2, both won by Baylor this one was just as close. At halftime, it was tied at 28 with Tech guard Davide Moretti leading Tech with 11 points including three baskets from beyond the arch. The Bears balanced scoring was led by MaCio Teague with eight points and Freddie Gillespie had seven hard earned points, including his three free throws.
Gillespie needed stitches to close a cut on his chin at halftime as the play in the paint was extremely physical.
Baylor went on a 10-2 run midway through the second half keyed by a steal by the Bears Mark Vital that he went the length of the floor with and slammed the ball through. No crowd to respond made it really strange inside the long-time home for basketball in the southwest. Jared Butler got untracked and scored four points during that run.
With 2:06 left on the clock, Baylor still led by six at 54-48, but Moretti got hot again and knocked in a three pointer and then after Baylor ran off the entire shot clock, Teague was fouled by Avery Benson and hit a pair of free throws to make it 56-51. Teague hit a second three with 1:11 left and it was 56-54.
Both teams being careful and nobody scored until Jahmi'us Ramsey threw in a 14 footer at the buzzer to tie the game and send it into overtime at 56-56.
No. 1 - Baylor 63 No. 6 - Texas Tech 60 (OT): Baylor advances to the Mytical March Madness Final Four in Kansas City.
The overtime was even more cautious by both teams as they scored just two baskets a piece in the first four and a half minutes of the extra period. After a missed basket and a rebound by Gillespie, Baylor head coach Scott Drew called his final time out.
Baylor came to inbound the basketball and Texas Tech head coach Chris Beard had a time out, but did not use it. The Bears made the decision to keep the basketball and take a final shot, no margin for error. With the last second coming off, Teague threw up a jumper from the deep wing and with the backboard completely trimmed in red light and the horn sounding, the only other audible noise in the building was the shouting delivery of Baylor radio voice John Morris screaming, "Teague made it, Teague made it, Baylor is going to the Final Four!"
A millisecond later the Bears were all screaming and rolling around the hard wood at Moody celebrating a long awaited return to the Final Four with a 30-4 record. Texas Tech sees their season end at 21-14.
Baylor is joined so far in Kansas City's Municipal Auditorium by Dayton and Gonzaga, who both advanced on Saturday.
